Mount Buninyong is an
extinct volcano
A volcano is a rupture 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 found where tectonic plates a ...
in western
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia rising to
AHD. It lies within the Mount Buninyong Scenic Reserve, north of the town of
Buninyong
Buninyong is a town 11 km from Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Midland Highway, south of Ballarat on the road to Geelong.
Buninyong was proclaimed a town on 27 June 1851 on the same day as Winchelsea, Portarlington, L ...
and south of
Ballarat, on the regional city's rural-urban fringe.
Snow falls on Mt. Buninyong on average 6 days a year, and in heavy winters it may be snowcapped for a short period.
Location and features
The mountain was originally named Mount Bonan Yowing, which is said to derive from an
Aboriginal word meaning 'a man lying on his back with his knee raised'. It was from its peak that
Thomas Learmonth and a group of squatters first viewed in 1837 what would become the Ballarat district. It is one of the more recognizable landmarks in the entire
Goldfields region.
Mount Buninyong is located on crown land. Much of it is a public reserve with a substantial native forest that is a major
koala
The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the w ...
habitat. It is an important piece of regional infrastructure as a site for multiple communications antenna for radio and television broadcasting. It is home to picnic areas and the observation tower at its summit is a local tourist destination.
Much of the mountain was cleared for agriculture or housing, but widespread protests during the 1980s led to the preservation of native forest cover on much of the upper portion.
Total annual rainfall for the Mount Buninyong area is .
[Mulcondry, E. (1990). Draft Management Plan : Mount Buninyong Victoria. School of Biological & Chemical Sciences, Ballarat C.A.E.] During the colder months growing conditions are restricted. Severe frosts and snow fall occur during winter.
The soils of the mount are very fertile and the high permeability and available water capacity makes these soils very favourable for agriculture.
Heritage
The Keyeet balug clan of the Wada Wurrung (or
Wathaurong
The Wathaurong nation, also called the Wathaurung, Wadawurrung and Wadda Wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australian people living in the area near Melbourne, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula in the state of Victoria. They are part of the Kulin al ...
) tribe occupied the Mount Buninyong area. An aboriginal burial site was located in the 1860s and more recently stone tools have been found.
[Centre for Environmental Management. (1997). Mount Buninyong Scenic Reserve: Final Management Plan. City of Ballarat.] Mount Buninyong is seen as a significant site for the recognition of the ongoing connection of Aboriginal people with the land through creation stories and cultural sites and is an ideal site for interpreting Aboriginal cultural history. There have been no records of Aboriginal archaeological sites for Mount Buninyong. There is no evidence that the area has been surveyed. Aboriginal Affairs Victoria has recommended that a survey should take place.
[
Mount Buninyong was an important navigation peak for the early colonisers heading west for pastoral occupation. Springs at the base of the mount were important sites for early settlement.][ Pound Creek Spring has remained as a public Water Reserve.
]
See also
* List of mountains in Victoria
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buninyong, Mount
Ballarat
Mountains of Victoria (Australia)
Volcanoes of Victoria (Australia)
Extinct volcanoes