Mount Macedon ( ; or ) is a

dormant volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often ...

that is part of the Macedon Ranges of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

, located in the Central Highlands region of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The mountain has an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of with a

prominence In topography, prominence or relative height (also referred to as autonomous height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling ...

of and is located approximately northwest of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Etymology

The mountain is known as or in the Aboriginal

Woiwurrung language The Woiwurrung, also spelt Woi-wurrung, Woi Wurrung, Woiwurrong, Woiworung, and Wuywurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin people, Kulin alliance. The Woiwurrung people's territory in Central ...

of the

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language, Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the traditional owners of the Yarra River Valley, covering much of the present location of ...

people. The mountain was sighted by

Hamilton Hume Hamilton Hume (19 June 1797 – 19 April 1873) was an early explorer of the present-day Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria. In 1824, along with William Hovell, Hume participated in an expedition that first t ...

and

William Hovell William Hilton Hovell (26 April 1786 – 9 November 1875) was an English explorer of Australia. With Hamilton Hume, he made an 1824 overland expedition from Sydney to Port Phillip (near the site of present-day Melbourne), and later explored the ...

on their 1824 expedition to

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

from

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. They named it Mount Wentworth. It was renamed Mount Macedon by explorer Major Thomas Mitchell who ascended the mountain in 1836. He named it after

Philip of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ancient kingdom, and the fat ...

in honour of the fact that he was able to view Port Phillip from the summit. Several other geographic features along the path of his third ''

Australia Felix Australia Felix (Latin for "fortunate Australia" or "happy Australia") was an early name given by Thomas Mitchell to lush pasture in parts of western Victoria he explored in 1836 on his third expedition. On this expedition Mitchell was instruc ...

'' expedition were named after figures of Ancient Macedonia including the nearby

Campaspe River The Campaspe River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The ...

and

Mount Alexander Mount Alexander is a mountain located approximately 125 km north-west of Melbourne, near the town of Harcourt. It rises 350 metres above the surrounding area to a level of 744 metres above sea level. Being a prominent local landmark, ...

near Castlemaine (named after

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

History

At the base of Mount Macedon is an axe-grinding site, a large sandstone boulder with thirty-one grooves made by the sharpening of stone axes. This is an important cultural heritage site for the

tribe.

Summit

AdrianLodders-MtMacedonCross-CC AttShareAalike

The highest peak of Mount Macedon is Camel's Hump, or Camels Hump, one of three mamelons in the area, the rocky outcrop of a once small steep-sided

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

, with an elevation estimated at , and at times is covered in snow. Camel's Hump, together with Hanging Rock and Croziers Rocks are

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava (or shallow intrus ...

rocks of the

crag Crag may refer to: * Crag (climbing), a cliff or group of cliffs, in any location, which is or may be suitable for climbing * Crag (dice game), a dice game played with three dice * Crag, Arizona, US * Crag, West Virginia, US * Crag and tail, a ...

and are favoured by rock climbers. The mountain has become a popular venue for sport climbing and for families, due to its proximity to Melbourne. The view from the summit of Mount Macedon is spectacular, and takes in

city, the

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just the Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rol ...

and the

You Yangs The You Yangs are a series of granite ridges that rise up to above the flat and low-lying Werribee Plain in southern Victoria, Australia, approximately due west of the rural town of Little River, southwest of Melbourne CBD and north o ...

near

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

Mount Macedon Memorial Cross

Mount Macedon Memorial Cross The Mount Macedon Memorial Cross is a heritage-listed war memorial at 405 Cameron Drive, Mount Macedon, Victoria, Mount Macedon, Shire of Macedon Ranges, Macedon Ranges Shire, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is also known as the Cam ...

is a high monument standing near the summit of the mountain, in an area called Cross Reserve. It was established in 1935 by William Cameron, an early resident of the town of

Mount Macedon Mount Macedon ( ; or ) is a dormant volcano that is part of the Macedon Ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The mountain has a ...

, as a memorial to his son and others who had died in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Climate

Total rainfall approaches annually, reaching a maximum in winter, with minimum amounts occurring during the summer months of January to March. Snowfalls occurs on 15–20 days a year, with snow lying occurring on 10–15 days a year.Central Ranges Weather Discussion
As with the entire region, Mount Macedon is susceptible to severe frost, generally between the months of May and September, with light frosts throughout the rest of the year and minimal frost between January and March. Extreme minimums have been recorded near . A feature of the region in winter is the occasional appearance of

black ice Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a coating of glaze ice on a surface, for example on streets or on lakes. The ice itself is not black, but visually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it and light to be ...

Notable events

On 8 November 1948,

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

VH-UZK operated by

Australian National Airways Australian National Airways (ANA) was Australia's predominant aerial carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s. The Holyman's Airways period On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.I ...

crashed on Mount Macedon a few minutes after leaving

Essendon Airport Essendon Fields Airport , colloquially known by its former name Essendon Airport, is a public airport serving scheduled commercial, corporate-jet, charter and general aviation flights. It is located next to the intersection of the Tullamarin ...

. The pilot and first officer died; the cabin crew and all 19 passengers survived, with relatively minor injuries. The event is commemorated on a plaque in Cross Reserve.

References

External links

RockClimbing.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macedon Mountains of Victoria (state)