Mount Warning ( Bundjalung: ''Wollumbin''), 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 ...

in the

Tweed Range The Tweed Range is a mountain range which is the western extension of the Tweed Volcano caldera rim, part of the Scenic Rim of the Great Dividing Range, located in northern New South Wales, near the southeastern border of Queensland, in Austra ...

in the

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most north-easterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, was formed from a

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

of the now-gone

Tweed Volcano Tweed Volcano is a partially eroded Early Miocene shield volcano located in northeastern New South Wales, which formed when this region of Australia passed over the East Australia hotspot around 23 million years ago. Mount Warning, Laming ...

. The mountain is located west-south-west of

Murwillumbah Murwillumbah ( ) is a town in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848 km north-e ...

, near the border between New South Wales and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. Lieutenant

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

saw the mountain from the sea and named it Mount Warning.

Shield volcano

Mount Warning is the central volcanic remnant of an ancient

shield volcano A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more vi ...

, the

, which would have been about above sea level or just under twice the height of the current mountain.The Caldera of the Mount Warning Shield Volcano. rochureNew South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. 1990. This volcano last erupted around 23 million years ago. As the mountain's central vent cooled it shrank, forming a depression at the top that has greatly eroded.

Today the vast areas that were part of the volcano include many mountains and ranges at some distance from Mount Warning, and include the Border Ranges, Tamborine Mountain, the McPherson Range and both the

Lamington Plateau The Lamington National Park is a national park, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border in Australia. From Southport on the Gold Coast the park is to the southwest and Brisbane is north. T ...

and

Springbrook Plateau Springbrook is a rural town and locality in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Springbrook had a population of 659 people. The locality borders New South Wales. Geography The plateau is covered in subtro ...

s. The erosion

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

formed since this eruption is easily visible around the summit and forms the rim of the

Tweed Valley Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...

. During the last stages of eruption, different and more resistant forms of

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

that were cooler than those flows that created the shield volcano remained to form the current peak. The whole central Mount Warning

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

was also pushed up by forces that remained active after lava eruptions had stopped.

Aboriginal significance

Wollumbin is a place of cultural and traditional significance to the Bundjalung people and contains sacred sites, where particular ceremonies and initiation rites are performed. The summit area of the Mountain is a declared ''Aboriginal Place'' under the ''National Parks and Wildlife Act''. While now spelt Wollumbin, the Aboriginal word had numerous alternative spellings which are recorded in the historic record including; Walumban, Walumbin, and Wooloombin, all referring to the same place. In 1873 reference can be found to the Mountain being referred to by Aboriginal people as "Wollumbin", signifying "big fellow mountain". The Aboriginal significance of the area is contextual and dependant on direction of observance, gender, and status of whoever is telling the story. Several different stories exist about Wollumbin including reference to the Mountain as the Warrior Chief, a special place of significance for brush turkey, and the cloud catcher. Many more stories exist that are not in the public record. The name Wollumbin refers to the whole of the central vent and its surrounding ring dykes. The Bundjalung people observe cultural and traditional restrictions forbidding the uninitiated from climbing the mountain, and, as such, ask that others also do not attempt to climb the mountain. The government National Parks and Wildlife Service advertise this request and do not encourage climbers to hike the Mt. Warning/Wollumbin Trail up the mountain, but it is not forbidden by park regulations.

Name confusion

In 2005 the name "Mount Wollumbin" was removed from a peak nearby to Mount Warning by the Geographical Names Board. This mountain is also referred to as Mount Ivy and Mount Dum Dum and was believed to be named Mount Wollumbin in error. In 2006 the Geographical Names Board assigned dual naming to Mount Warning, to also be known by its indigenous name of Wollumbin. The name Wollumbin refers the whole of the central vent and its surrounding ring dykes.

Etymology

On 16 May 1770, Captain

was the first European to record seeing "… a remarkable sharp peaked Mountain lying inland…" from a point of land he named Cape Byron. Just five hours later while sailing North, Cook was forced to change course to the East after encountering the dangerous reefs that run 3 miles to the East from

Fingal Head Fingal Head is a village on the Tasman Sea coast in the far northeast of New South Wales, Australia, about 5 km south of the New South Wales and Queensland border. The village is often just called Fingal. The headland and the small off-shor ...

, now named Danger Reefs (Inner, South, and Outer reefs). The next morning, Cook recorded:

"…We now saw the breakers eefsagain within us which we past at the distance of 1 League km they lay in the Lat de of 38°..8' ater changed to 28°..8'& stretch off East two Leagues 0 kmfrom a point under which is a small Island. There situation may always be found by the peaked mountain before mentioned which bears SWBW from them this and on this account I have named Mount Warning it lies 7 or 8 Leagues 5-40 kminland in the latitude of 28°..22" S° the land is high and hilly about it but it is conspicuous enough to be distinguished from everything else. The point off which these shoals lay I have named Point Danger to the northward of it the land which is low trends NWBN but we soon found that it did not keep that direction long before it turned again to the northward."

Protected area

The mountain is now protected by the surrounding

Wollumbin National Park Wollumbin National Park (previously known as 'Mount Warning National Park') is a national park located in northern New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney near the border with the state of Queensland. It surrounds Mount Warning, part of a r ...

, and access is regulated by the

New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment responsible for managing most of the protected areas in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name ...

. Mount Warning is part of the United Nations World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.

Walking track

Over 60,000 people a year make the , five-hour round-trip trek to the top from . An ascent of the mountain takes approximately 1½ to 3½ hours (one way) and requires a good level of fitness. There are also viewing platforms at the summit. The total journey is 8.8 km (5.5 mi). In March 2020 the summit track was closed by National Parks NSW citing safety concerns, to be reviewed in May 2021. However, in February 2021 documents obtained through Freedom Of Information revealed that the track and surrounding area has actually been secretly scheduled to be permanently closed. As of August 2022 park authorities had placed a barrier on the access road several kilometres from the trailhead. This would add a forty minute uphill walk to the ascent for anyone attempting to climb the mountain; and the path on the mountain itself had deteriorated badly in places. In late October 2022 NSW authorities did go ahead and ban public access to Wollumbin National Park, to be enforced with heavy fines. This was soon followed by a video posting showing a hiker flouting the ban.

References

External links

UNESCO World Heritage Listing

Mount Warning National Park

includes driving directions.
Northern Rivers Geology blog
Mount Warning.

The Caldera of the Tweed Volcano - original source. {{DEFAULTSORT:Warning, Mount warning Tweed Volcano Mountains of New South Wales Volcanic plugs of New South Wales Northern Rivers