Gai-i (previously known as Mount Wheeler) is a small mountain situated between

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

and

Yeppoon Yeppoon () is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of ...

in the state of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It is one of several igneous

volcanic plug A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcano, volcanic object created when magma hardens within a Volcanic vent, vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if risi ...

formations that feature on the landscape near the

Capricorn Coast The Capricorn Coast is a stretch of coastline in Central Queensland, Australia and is part of the Shire of Livingstone (formerly part of Rockhampton Region). Geography The Capricorn Coasts takes its name from Cape Capricorn () on Curtis Island ...

. The mountain is situated on a site known as Gawula, which is administered by the Gawula Aboriginal Land Trust. Traditionally home to a group of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

known as the

Darumbal The Darumbal people, also spelt Darambal and Dharumbal, are the Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally occupied Central Queensland, speaking dialects of the Darumbal language. and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Countr ...

people, it was returned to them in 2007 under the Aboriginal Land Act.

History

Gawula is the traditional home of the

people. Many indigenous groups from the region would meet at this site to exchange tools and arrange marriages. A confrontation between early European settlers and the Aboriginal

people reportedly occurred on or near Mt Wheeler, involving a number of Aboriginal deaths. In 1868 gold was found on the mountain. While initial mining was successful, a report in 1887 states that one of the largest gold nuggets in Queensland was found there; the same report also indicates that the mining success quickly petered out. More recently Mt Wheeler became something of a lookout spot for scenic views during the 20th century, and has been used as a Recreation Reserve for bushwalking and mountain biking. In 2007, ownership of the mountain was handed over to 25 trustees representing the Darumbal, the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of the mountain. The deed of grant to the Gawula Aboriginal Land Trust was the first in the Rockhampton region under the Aboriginal Land Act (1991).

Naming

According to local historians, Gai-i was given the name ''Mount Cock’s Comb'' by

Captain Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

in 1770. However this is not corroborated by Cook's ''Endeavour'' journal or other sources. The mountain was later named ''Mt Wheeler''. Although some have suggested it was named after Frederick Wheeler, an inspector with the

Native Police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal troopers under the command of European officers appointed by British colonial governments. The units existed in va ...

, who is alleged to have been involved in a massacre of Aboriginal people at the site, forcing them to jump off the cliffs by the hundreds - archival evidence suggests it was more likely named such after Gold Commissioner John Wheeler who worked in the area during the 1860s. The name of the mountain was officially changed to ''Gai-i'' in 2018.

Physical features

Gai-i is a steep-sided

, similar to other surrounding mountains like Mount Baga and Pine Mountain. There are large cliffs on its western face. On the south-east face is a type of soft rock which has formed into many huge caverns and overhangs. Mount Gai-i stands at approximately high.

References

{{Reflist , refs= {{cite press release , date=20 January 2007 , title=Mt Wheeler handed over to traditional Darumbal owners in historic ceremony , publisher=Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory; Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland: The Honourable Craig Wallace , url=http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/Id/49968 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611052019/http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/Id/49968 , archive-date=11 June 2016 {{cite book , author=Richards, Jonathan , chapter='Many were killed from falling over the cliffs’: The naming of Mount Wheeler, Central Queensland , editor1=Clark, Ian D. , editor2=Hercus, Luise , editor3=Kostanski, Laura , title=Indigenous and Minority Placenames Australian and International Perspectives , date=2014 , publisher=Australian National University Press , location=Canberra , isbn=978-1-925021-63-9 , url=http://press.anu.edu.au/apps/bookworm/view/Indigenous+and+Minority+Placenames+Australian+and+International+Perspectives/11111/ch08.xhtml#toc_marker-12 , chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/9018363 {{cite news , last1=Semmler , first1=Erin , last2=Loram , first2=Lucy , date=15 July 2021 , title=Darumbal elders forced to close sacred mountain hike where massacre occurred , url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-15/massacre-site-gawula-gai-i-hike-closed-darumbal-central-qld-/100290566 , work=ABC News , publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation , location= , access-date=15 July 2021 {{cite news , last1=Terzon , first1=Emilia , last2=Robinson , first2=Paul , date=15 May 2018 , title=Two Queensland mountains to be renamed to rid them of racist connotations , url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-15/mount-jim-crow-and-mount-wheeler-to-be-renamed/9762114 , work=ABC News , publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation , location= , access-date=15 July 2021 {{cite web , title=Gawula with Sally Vea Vea , date=3 April 2013 , publisher=Fitzroy Basin Assoc. , type=video , url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxzXuFuall0 , via=YouTube Mountains of Queensland, Wheeler Rockhampton Massacres of ethnic groups

History

Naming

Physical features

See also

References