Mount Barker is a mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 just outside of the town of Mount Barker

Mount Barker, South Australia

Mount Barker is an expanding city, home to 10 258 residents that is 33 kilometres up the South Eastern Freeway, east of Adelaide, in South Australia. It is the seat of the District Council of Mount Barker, is the largest town in the Adelaide Hills, and is one of the fastest growing areas in the...

 in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

.

The mountain is the home to a transmission tower that services SAGRN

Government Radio Network (Australia)

The Government Radio Network is the umbrella term used to refer to various systems in place across Australia that enable state-wide trunked radio communication. The network operates through inter-linked sites for government and public services such as police, ambulance, fire, or roads authorities...

 and mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

 transmissions throughout the area.

History

Mount Barker was first sighted by Captain Charles Sturt

Charles Sturt

Captain Charles Napier Sturt was an English explorer of Australia, and part of the European Exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from both Sydney and later from Adelaide. His expeditions traced several of the westward-flowing rivers,...

 in 1830, although he thought he was looking at the previously discovered Mount Lofty

Mount Lofty

Mount Lofty is the highest point in the Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about 15km east of the centre of the city of Adelaide in South Australia and gives unrivalled panoramic views of the city and the Adelaide plains and foothills. It was first climbed by a European when explorer Collet Barker...

. Captain Collet Barker

Collet Barker

Collet Barker was a British military officer and explorer. He explored areas of South Australia, Western Australia and Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory-History:Barker was born in Hackney, he lived in Newbury as a child...

 fixed this error when he surveyed the area in 1831. Sturt named the mountain in honor of Captain Barker after he was killed days later by Aborigines.

John Barton Hack

John Barton Hack

John Barton Hack was an early settler in South Australia; a prominent farmer, businessman and public figure. He lost his fortune in the financial crisis of 1840 and despite his best efforts, never regained anything like his former influence and prosperity...

 claimed his party of Stuart, John Morphett

John Morphett

Sir John Morphett was a South Australian pioneer, landowner and politician.-Early life:Morphett was born in London, the second son of Nathaniel Morphett, a solicitor, and his wife Mary, née Gliddon, of Cummins, Ide, Devon, and was educated at Plymouth and Highgate Grammar Schools...

, bushman Tom Davies and "a gentleman from Hobart Town" were, in 1837, the first white men to climb the hill. A counterclaim, of Robert Cock

Robert Cock

Robert Cock was one of the first European explorers of the Adelaide region of South Australia following the establishment of the new colony in December 1836...

, William Finlayson

William Finlayson (churchman)

William Finlayson was a churchman and farmer in the early days of South Australia, and father of nine children including two sons prominent in the early days of that colony.-William Finlayson:...

, A(dolphus) Valentine Wyatt and George Barton late in December 1837 is highly credible.