Mount Hill (Alternative name:Korti Purre, also previously known as Bluff Mount) is a prominent peak in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

on the eastern side of southern

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...

. It is located within the locality of

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

Geography

Mount Hill is the southern peak of a low range of hills lying along the eastern coast of Eyre Peninsula and is about west of

Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and ...

. At an elevation of about above sea level, the isolated peak is a prominent landmark from the gulf. The surrounding country, originally very scrubby, has been mostly cleared for cropping. The nearest town is

Port Neill Port Neill (formerly Carrow) is a small coastal town on the eastern side of the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia about 3 km off the Lincoln Highway (Australia), Lincoln Highway between the major towns of Whyalla and Port Lincoln. It is 576 ...

. A railway siding located on the

Eyre Peninsula Railway The Eyre Peninsula Railway is a gauge railway on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. Radiating out from the ports at Port Lincoln and Thevenard, it is isolated from the rest of the South Australian railway network. Peaking at 777 kilometr ...

to the north-west of the hill has the name 'Mount Hill.'

History

The first European to sight this peak was

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

, who sailed past on 7 March 1802 and noted it in his log as 'a bluff inland mountain' and on his chart as a 'bluff mount', alluding to the bluffness of its northern face. It was named Mount Hill on or about 20 April 1840 by Governor

George Gawler Lieutenant-Colonel George Gawler, KH, (21 July 1795 – 7 May 1869) was the second Governor of South Australia, at the same time serving as Resident Commissioner, from 17 October 1838 until 15 May 1841. Biography Early life Gawler, born on 21 ...

when he was exploring this coast northwards on horseback from

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

accompanied by explorer and landholder

John Hill John Hill may refer to: Business * John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary * John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter * John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...

and Deputy Surveyor General

Thomas Burr Thomas Burr (1813–1866), surveyor and mine manager, was a British explorer and Deputy Surveyor General of South Australia 1839–46. Early life in England Born 1813 in England, probably at Kent, Thomas Burr's father was George Dominicus Burr ( ...

. Their expedition was supported at sea by the brig ''Porter'' and the government cutter . For the purpose of gaining a better view of the unexplored interior of Eyre Peninsula, Gawler and party ascended the peak, at which time it was named after John Hill. The party then proceeded northward past Mount Olinthus (which they also ascended and named) toward the

Middleback Range The Middleback Range is a mountain range on the eastern side of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The Middleback Range has been a source of iron ore for over a century, particularly to feed the Whyalla Steelworks. Mines in the region were first d ...

s, before returning to Franklin Harbour which Gawler also named and is at present, the site for the town of Cowell. ''Water Witch'' and ''Porter'' parted there, with ''Porter'' returning to Port Lincoln with Gawler and ''Water Witch'' to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

via Point Riley, near

Wallaroo Wallaroo is a common name for several species of moderately large macropods, intermediate in size between the kangaroos and the wallabies. The word "wallaroo" is from the Dharug ''walaru'', and not a portmanteau of the words "kangaroo" and "wal ...

. On 28 April 1840 near Point Riley Hill and Burr disembarked, the pair returning overland on horseback to Adelaide, thereby being the first Europeans to traverse northern

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island to the south by Investigator Strai ...

. The second recorded European exploration party to ascend Mount Hill was that of explorer

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved to ...

, on 30 September 1840. A book titled ''In the Shadow of the Bluff'' gives a detailed account of the history of Mount Hill and the Hundred of Butler.In the Shadow of the Bluff. Published by the Butler Centenary Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Hill South Australia

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...

Eyre Peninsula