McPherson Range
Encyclopedia
The McPherson Range is an extensive mountain range
, a spur of the Great Dividing Range
, heading in an easterly direction from near Wallangarra
to the Pacific Ocean
coastline. It forms part of the Scenic Rim
on the border between the states of New South Wales
and Queensland
. Further west of the McPherson Range is the Main Range
. Towards the coast the range continues into the Border Ranges
and other mountainous terrain formed by the Tweed Volcano
.
The Australian electoral Division of McPherson
was named after the mountain range.
, Queen Mary Falls
, Daggs Falls, Browns Falls and Upper Browns Falls. Other notable mountains in the range include Mount Lindesay and Mount Barney
.
The range is an area of significant scenic beauty and contains a multitude of National Parks, including Mount Barney National Park
, Border Ranges National Park
and Lamington National Park
amongst others which possess World Heritage listing, as the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.
The Brisbane
-Sydney
railway line and the Lions Road
pass over the range at Richmond Gap, as does the Mount Lindesay Highway
and the Nerang
-Murwillumbah
Road. A third passage through Teviot Gap, provides a road route between Boonah
and Killarney
near Wilson's Peak.
and Patrick Logan
while searching for a route to the Darling Downs from the newly established Moreton Bay
penal colony. Logan had climbed Mount Barney
thinking that he was on Mount Warning
until he reached the summit and saw the true Mount Warning further south. Realising they were on another range they named it the McPherson Range. Logan named Wilsons Peak and Mount Shadforth, which is now known as Mount Toowoonan.
The McPherson Range was the location of the Stinson airliner crash, which went missing on a flight between Brisbane and Sydney in 1937. Alfonso Bernard O'Reilly, a local farmer trekked through thick forests and rugged terrain to discover the wreck and two emaciated, badly injured survivors, nine days after the crash.
The Stream Lily
is a perennial plant found along creeks and gullies of the range. The extinct fern species Antrophyum austroqueenslandicum
may still exist in unsurveyed parts of the range.
The unique Lamington Spiny Crayfish colours has evolved with white in New South Wales valleys and blue crayfish in Queensland's section of the range.
The rainforests contain important populations of the endangered Rufous Scrub-bird
, and the vulnerable Albert's Lyrebird
, both of which are confined to South-east Queensland and North-east New South Wales.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
, a spur of the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
, heading in an easterly direction from near Wallangarra
Wallangarra, Queensland
Wallangarra is a village on the border between Queensland and New South Wales in Australia. It is the third most southerly town in Queensland, 258 km south west of Brisbane. Wallangarra is on the Queensland side of the border and Jennings is on the New South Wales side...
to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coastline. It forms part of the Scenic Rim
Scenic Rim
The Scenic Rim is a group of forested mountain ranges of the Great Dividing Range straddling the border between south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales, Australia.-Description:...
on the border between the states of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. Further west of the McPherson Range is the Main Range
Main Range National Park
Main Range is a mountain range and a national park in Queensland , 85 km southwest of Brisbane. It is part of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia . It protects the western part of a semicircle of mountains in South East Queensland known as the Scenic Rim...
. Towards the coast the range continues into the Border Ranges
Border Ranges
Border Ranges can refer to:* Border Ranges National Park, a National Park north of Sydney, Australia* Border Ranges , a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains, on the border between Canada and the United States...
and other mountainous terrain formed by the Tweed Volcano
Tweed Volcano
Tweed Volcano was an early Miocene shield volcano in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. In the course of about three million years, Tweed Volcano was formed over the East Australia hotspot when this part of the continent passed over it around 23 million years ago...
.
The Australian electoral Division of McPherson
Division of McPherson
The Division of McPherson is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 1948 and is named for the McPherson Range, which forms one of the divisional boundaries...
was named after the mountain range.
Geography
Wilsons Peak is considered to be the intersection of the Great Divide and the McPherson Range. There are five waterfalls in this part of the range including Teviot FallsTeviot Falls
Teviot Falls are found on the McPherson Range near Wilsons Peak in Queensland, Australia, close to the border with New South Wales.On the partially unsealed road up the range is the Teviot Gap, also known as The Head, and this is the best place to view the falls.There are another four waterfalls...
, Queen Mary Falls
Queen Mary Falls
Queen Mary Falls are found in Main Range National Park on the McPherson Range near the New South Wales/Queensland border.The 40 m waterfall is located 50 km south-east of Warwick, 10 km east of the town of Killarney in Queensland, Australia...
, Daggs Falls, Browns Falls and Upper Browns Falls. Other notable mountains in the range include Mount Lindesay and Mount Barney
Mount Barney
Mount Barney is a mountain located in south-east Queensland, Australia. It lies approximately 130 kilometres south-west of Brisbane, not far from the Queensland - New South Wales border, and forms part of the McPherson Range. It is a popular destination for bushwalkers and campers...
.
The range is an area of significant scenic beauty and contains a multitude of National Parks, including Mount Barney National Park
Mount Barney National Park
Mount Barney National Park is a national park in Queensland , 90 km southwest of Brisbane. It amalgamated the adjacent Mount Lindesay National Park in 1980. It is part of the Scenic Rim Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance in the conservation...
, Border Ranges National Park
Border Ranges National Park
Border Ranges National Park, 150 km south of Brisbane, Australia, is in northern New South Wales with a small portion located in Queensland....
and Lamington National Park
Lamington National Park
Lamington is a national park in Queensland, Australia, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border...
amongst others which possess World Heritage listing, as the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.
The Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
-Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
railway line and the Lions Road
Lions Road
The Lions Road is a road running between the Summerland Way in New South Wales and a junction at the Mount Lindesay Highway near Rathdowney. Strictly speaking, it is the road that joins two pre-existing sections of rural road, namely Wilson Avenue in New South Wales and Running Creek Road in...
pass over the range at Richmond Gap, as does the Mount Lindesay Highway
Mount Lindesay Highway
The Mount Lindesay Highway is a highway in Queensland which has been given the national route number 13. It runs from Brisbane, where it leaves Ipswich Road in the suburb of Moorooka , to the New South Wales border where it becomes the Summerland Way heading south to Kyogle.The highway used to...
and the Nerang
Nerang, Queensland
Nerang is a suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, that lies upon the Nerang River. At the 2006 Census, Nerang had a population of 16,066....
-Murwillumbah
Murwillumbah, New South Wales
Murwillumbah is a town of approximately 7,500 people in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia in the Tweed Shire. It lies on the Tweed River, 848 km north-east of Sydney, 13 km south of the Queensland border and 132 km south of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Murwillumbah had a...
Road. A third passage through Teviot Gap, provides a road route between Boonah
Boonah, Queensland
Boonah is a town in south eastern Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 2,285. The area produces vegetables for the nearby Brisbane Markets notably carrots, potatoes, and cereal crops. Beef, pork and timber are also produced locally.The town is positioned near the...
and Killarney
Killarney, Queensland
Killarney is a small town located 35 km south-east of Warwick, on the Condamine River in Queensland, Australia. The town forms part of the Southern Downs local government area. Killarney is located about 8 km from the Queensland/New South Wales border. It is close to Queen Mary Falls, in the Main...
near Wilson's Peak.
History
The ranges were first explored by white settlers in 1828. The party was headed by Allan CunninghamAllan Cunningham (botanist)
Allan Cunningham was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his travels in New South Wales to collect plants.- Early life :...
and Patrick Logan
Patrick Logan
Captain Patrick Logan was the commandant of the Moreton Bay penal colony from 1826 until his death in 1830. He is thought to have been killed by Aboriginal Australians who objected to him entering their lands...
while searching for a route to the Darling Downs from the newly established Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
penal colony. Logan had climbed Mount Barney
Mount Barney
Mount Barney is a mountain located in south-east Queensland, Australia. It lies approximately 130 kilometres south-west of Brisbane, not far from the Queensland - New South Wales border, and forms part of the McPherson Range. It is a popular destination for bushwalkers and campers...
thinking that he was on Mount Warning
Mount Warning
Mount Warning is a mountain west-south-west of Murwillumbah, near the border with Queensland in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia...
until he reached the summit and saw the true Mount Warning further south. Realising they were on another range they named it the McPherson Range. Logan named Wilsons Peak and Mount Shadforth, which is now known as Mount Toowoonan.
The McPherson Range was the location of the Stinson airliner crash, which went missing on a flight between Brisbane and Sydney in 1937. Alfonso Bernard O'Reilly, a local farmer trekked through thick forests and rugged terrain to discover the wreck and two emaciated, badly injured survivors, nine days after the crash.
Flora and fauna
The sub-tropical rainforest on the range has never been damaged by severe bushfires and contains more than 20 species of rock and tree orchids.The Stream Lily
Helmholtzia glaberrima
Helmholtzia glaberrima, commonly referred to as Stream Lily, is a rhizomatous perennial plant which is native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia....
is a perennial plant found along creeks and gullies of the range. The extinct fern species Antrophyum austroqueenslandicum
Antrophyum austroqueenslandicum
Antrophyum austroqueenslandicum was a species of epiphytic or lithrophytic fern known from subtropical rainforest in Lamington National Park in the state of Queensland, Australia. Only one plant was known in the wild and when this plant died the specimen was preserved and used to describe the...
may still exist in unsurveyed parts of the range.
The unique Lamington Spiny Crayfish colours has evolved with white in New South Wales valleys and blue crayfish in Queensland's section of the range.
The rainforests contain important populations of the endangered Rufous Scrub-bird
Rufous Scrub-bird
The Rufous Scrub-bird is a bird species in the family Atrichornithidae. It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests...
, and the vulnerable Albert's Lyrebird
Albert's Lyrebird
The Albert's Lyrebird is a pheasant-sized songbird, approximately 90cm long, with brown upper body plumage and rich chestnut below. It is very similar with the Superb Lyrebird in its habits. This bird also mimics other species sounds....
, both of which are confined to South-east Queensland and North-east New South Wales.
See also
- Gold Coast hinterlandGold Coast hinterlandThe Gold Coast hinterland is an area of South East Queensland, Australia that comprises the Tweed Range, Nimmel Range, Tamborine Mountain, Numinbah Valley, eastern parts of the McPherson Range and western parts of suburban Gold Coast.-History:...
- List of mountains in Australia