Mount Majura is a small
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 (topography), summit area, and ...
with an elevation of that is located in the
northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
suburbs of
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
in the
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Mount Majura lies close to the more prominent
Mount Ainslie
Mount Ainslie is a hill with an elevation of that is located in the northeastern suburbs of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Mount Ainslie lies within part of the Canberra Nature Park.
Location and features
Mount Ains ...
and is the highest point within the urban boundaries of Canberra. Mount Majura is contained within part of the
Canberra Nature Park
The Canberra Nature Park is a series of thirty three separate protected areas in and around Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, ranging from bushland hills to lowland native grassland. Many of the areas have previously been cleared for gra ...
.
Canberra Nature Park
Mount Majura is part of the Canberra Nature Park, lying at the eastern end of the suburb of , which is on the northeast edge of Canberra. At the summit of Mount Majura is a radar station and
aircraft warning light
Aviation obstruction lighting is used to enhance the visibility of structures or fixed obstacles which may conflict with the safe navigation of aircraft. Obstruction lighting is commonly installed on towers, buildings, and even fences located i ...
for the nearby
Canberra Airport
Canberra Airport is an international airport situated in the District of Majura, Australian Capital Territory serving Australia's capital city, Canberra, as well as the nearby city of Queanbeyan and regional areas of the Australian Capital Te ...
. The station contains a primary and
secondary radar
Secondary surveillance radar (SSR)''Secondary Surveillance Radar'', Stevens M.C. Artech House, is a radar system used in air traffic control (ATC), that unlike primary radar systems that measure the bearing and distance of targets using the d ...
system, as well as transmitters and receivers for
Telstra
Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...
,
Optus
Singtel Optus Pty Limited (commonly referred to as Optus) is an Australian Telecommunications in Australia, telecommunications company headquartered in Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore, Si ...
,
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
and a repeater for the Canberra Amateur Radio Club. Canberra's North East electricity substation is also located near the base of the mountain and is accessed via walking paths on the Ainslie side. The road primarily serves the radar station and, unlike the road on Mount Ainslie, is unavailable to the public. However, there are popular walking trails which lead to the top of the mountain from and Hackett. There is also an extensive series of single track bicycle trails on the eastern side, in an area known as the Majura Pines. The hill is covered with native Australian trees, mostly
eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
, but is also home to a large number of highly sensitive rare plant species, including up to 26 species of terrestrial orchids.
Mount Majura's local volunteer park care group is known as the Friends of Mount Majura (FoMM).
Other large hills that are part of Canberra Nature Park include
Mount Taylor,
Mount Ainslie
Mount Ainslie is a hill with an elevation of that is located in the northeastern suburbs of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Mount Ainslie lies within part of the Canberra Nature Park.
Location and features
Mount Ains ...
, Mount Mugga Mugga,
Mount Stromlo
Mount Stromlo (formerly Mount Strom ) is a mountain with an elevation of that is situated in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The mountain is most notable as the location of the Mount Stromlo Observatory. The mountain forms part ...
and
Black Mountain.
Etymology
Mount Majura was likely named by
Robert Campbell, one of the first major land owners close to the mountain. Majura (or similar names, such as ''Majurygong'' or ''Majongbury'') was a common place name recorded across the district on early surveys. The first map of the region,
Thomas Mitchell's 1831 survey records 'Majura' as the area south of
Bungendore
Bungendore is a town in the Queanbeyan Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is on the Kings Highway near Lake George, the Molonglo River Valley and the Australian Capital Territory border. It has ...
, where
Hoskinstown
Hoskinstown is a locality in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. The locality, and what remains of the cluster of settlement of the same name, is 38 km southeast of Canberra the Capital city of Australia, and 299 k ...
is now located. By 1835, an area just to the north of Bungendore was referred to as Majura. Mitchell's surveys include mainly Indigenous place-names, and the name may ultimately derive from such a name.
It is also believed that Majura may be named after a location in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Campbell spent much of his life as a merchant trading between England, India and Australia. Some believe that Mount Majura is named after Majura Gate in the city of
Surat
Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...
. However this is unlikely since the Indian office of Campbell & Co. was located in the city of
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
.
References
External links
Mount Majura Rare Plant List
{{Australian Capital Territory mountains , state=autocollapse
Majura, Mount