Mount William (also Mount Duwil) is a
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
of the Grampians Mountain Range, located within the
Grampians National Park
The Grampians National Park, commonly known as the Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd.
The national park is situated between ...
, in the
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 ...
n state of
Victoria. The mountain is situated approximately west-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 ...
on the eastern edge of the national park, approximately drive south from
Halls Gap.
Features and location
Mount William is the highest point within the
Grampians National Park
The Grampians National Park, commonly known as the Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd.
The national park is situated between ...
. Sir
Thomas Mitchell reached the summit with a group of explorers in 1836. The first settler in the area was
Horatio Wills, who established a sheep run at Mount William in 1840, and named nearby Mount Ararat, after which
the town is named. His son,
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er and
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
pioneer
Tom Wills
Thomas Wentworth Wills (19 August 1835 – 2 May 1880) was an Australian sportsman who is credited with being Australia's first cricketer of significance and a founder of Australian rules football. Born in the British penal colony of Colo ...
, grew up as a lone white child among the
Djab wurrung Aboriginal tribes of Mount William.
Three transmission towers are located at the summit of Mount William including an amateur radio repeater. A sealed service road continues to the summit, but is not accessible by vehicle to the general public.
Visitors to the mountain can drive to a carpark located approximately up the mountain, before proceeding on foot for to the summit. It will take a person of moderate fitness approximately 45 mins to walk. No permit is required to climb the mountain.
Gallery
Image:Mt_William_1.JPG, Western vantage from Mount William
Image:Mt_William_3.JPG, Western vantage from Mount William
Image:Arthur Streeton - Land of the Golden Fleece, 1926.jpg, Mount William depicted in Arthur Streeton
Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism.
Early life
Streeton was born in Mount Moriac, Victoria ...
's 1926 painting ''Land of the Golden Fleece''
Climate
Due to being an exposed peak in the west of Victoria, Mount William features especially cool maximum temperatures throughout the year. Winter cloud cover is profound; with an extraordinary 26 days of precipitation in July, constituting an annual total of 215 days—quite possibly the highest figure of any site in mainland Australia.
Snowfalls are both frequent and heavy throughout the year. Daily maximum temperatures can struggle above the single digits even in summer, and on such days the afternoon and mid-day readings can be near to in extreme cases such as in December 2022. The peak can be classed as a cold and moist
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Csb'') on account of the low summer rainfall − in February averaging only of rain.
See also
*
*
Pomonal, Victoria
References
External links
Geoscience Australia - Mount William
{{Victorian mountains , state=autocollapse
William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
Grampians (national park)