Gai-i (previously known as Mount Wheeler) is a small mountain situated between Rockhampton and

Yeppoon Yeppoon is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of the ...

in the state of

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 ...

, Australia. It is one of several igneous

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 ...

formations that feature on the landscape near the

Capricorn Coast The Capricorn Coast is a stretch of coastline in Central Queensland, Australia and is part of the Shire of Livingstone (formerly part of Rockhampton Region). Geography The Capricorn Coasts takes its name from Cape Capricorn () on Curtis Is ...

. The mountain is situated on a site known as Gawula, which is administered by the Gawula Aboriginal Land Trust. Traditionally home to a group of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

known as the

Darumbal The Darumbal people, also spelt Dharumbal, are the Aboriginal Australians that have traditionally occupied Central Queensland, speaking dialects of the Darumbal language. Darumbal people of the Keppel Islands and surrounding regions are sometime ...

people, it was returned to them in 2007 under the Aboriginal Land Act.

History

Gawula is the traditional home of the

people. Many indigenous groups from the region would meet at this site to exchange tools and arrange marriages. A confrontation between early European settlers and the Aboriginal

people reportedly occurred on or near Mt Wheeler, involving a number of Aboriginal deaths. In 1868 gold was found on the mountain. While initial mining was successful, a report in 1887 states that one of the largest gold nuggets in Queensland was found there; the same report also indicates that the mining success quickly petered out. More recently Mt Wheeler became something of a lookout spot for scenic views during the 20th century, and has been used as a Recreation Reserve for bushwalking and mountain biking. In 2007, ownership of the mountain was handed over to 25 trustees representing the Darumbal, the traditional owners of the mountain. The deed of grant to the Gawula Aboriginal Land Trust was the first in the Rockhampton region under the Aboriginal Land Act (1991).

Naming

According to local historians, Gai-i was given the name ''Mount Cock’s Comb'' by

Captain 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 ...

in 1770. However this is not corroborated by Cook's ''Endeavour'' journal or other sources. The mountain was later named ''Mt Wheeler''. Although some have suggested it was named after Frederick Wheeler, an inspector with the

Native Police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentie ...

, who is alleged to have been involved in a massacre of Aboriginal people at the site, forcing them to jump off the cliffs by the hundreds - archival evidence suggests it was more likely named such after Gold Commissioner John Wheeler who worked in the area during the 1860s. The name of the mountain was officially changed to ''Gai-i'' in 2018.

Physical features

Gai-i is a steep-sided

, similar to other surrounding mountains like

Mount Baga Mount Baga (formerly Mount Jim Crow) is a trachyte plug that lies between Rockhampton and Yeppoon, Australia. Standing at approximately 150 m above the surrounding plains (221 m above sea level), Mount Baga affords a panoramic view of the surrou ...

and Pine Mountain. There are large cliffs on its western face. On the south-east face is a type of soft rock which has formed into many huge caverns and overhangs. Mount Wheeler stands at approximately high.

References

{{Reflist , refs= {{cite press release , date=20 January 2007 , title=Mt Wheeler handed over to traditional Darumbal owners in historic ceremony , publisher=Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory; Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland: The Honourable Craig Wallace , url=http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/Id/49968 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611052019/http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/Id/49968 , archive-date=11 June 2016 {{cite book , author=Richards, Jonathan , chapter='Many were killed from falling over the cliffs’: The naming of Mount Wheeler, Central Queensland , editor1=Clark, Ian D. , editor2=Hercus, Luise , editor3=Kostanski, Laura , title=Indigenous and Minority Placenames Australian and International Perspectives , date=2014 , publisher=Australian National University Press , location=Canberra , isbn=978-1-925021-63-9 , url=http://press.anu.edu.au/apps/bookworm/view/Indigenous+and+Minority+Placenames+Australian+and+International+Perspectives/11111/ch08.xhtml#toc_marker-12 , chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/9018363 {{cite news , last1=Semmler , first1=Erin , last2=Loram , first2=Lucy , date=15 July 2021 , title=Darumbal elders forced to close sacred mountain hike where massacre occurred , url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-15/massacre-site-gawula-gai-i-hike-closed-darumbal-central-qld-/100290566 , work=ABC News , publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation , location= , access-date=15 July 2021 {{cite news , last1=Terzon , first1=Emilia , last2=Robinson , first2=Paul , date=15 May 2018 , title=Two Queensland mountains to be renamed to rid them of racist connotations , url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-15/mount-jim-crow-and-mount-wheeler-to-be-renamed/9762114 , work=ABC News , publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation , location= , access-date=15 July 2021 {{cite web , title=Gawula with Sally Vea Vea , date=3 April 2013 , publisher=Fitzroy Basin Assoc. , type=video , url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxzXuFuall0 , via=YouTube Wheeler Rockhampton Massacres of ethnic groups

History

Naming

Physical features

See also

References