Mount Brown Conservation Park is a national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 in the in the Southern Flinders Ranges

Southern Flinders Ranges

Southern Flinders Ranges is a South Australian wine region, located east of Spencer Gulf and north of the Clare Valley. It is located to the east and north-east of Port Pirie...

 of 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 park has established walking trails, including a section of the Heysen trail

Heysen Trail

The Heysen Trail is a long distance walking trail in South Australia. It runs from Parachilna Gorge, in the Flinders Ranges via the Adelaide Hills to Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula and is approximately 1200 km in length....

. The park is managed by the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources; entry is free. It is located 14 km south of Quorn

Quorn, South Australia

Quorn is a township and railhead in the Flinders Ranges in the north of South Australia, 39 km northeast of Port Augusta. At the 2006 census, Quorn had a population of 1068.Quorn is the home of the Flinders Ranges Council local government area...

 and about 300 km north of the nearest airport at Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

.

History

The Flinders Ranges were initially charted in in 1802 by Matthew Flinders

Matthew Flinders

Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...

 while aboard the survey ship HMS Investigator

HMS Investigator

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Investigator. Another was planned, but renamed before being launched: was a 22-gun armed ship purchased in 1798 and taken into service as HMS Xenophon. She was renamed HMS Investigator in 1801 and used as a survey ship. Under the command of...

. Matthew Flinders had been tasked by Sir Joseph Banks to investigate the possibility of a sea route into or through the continent. HMS Investigator dropped anchor at the head of Spencer Gulf on 10 March 1802, but did not find any evidence of such a passage.

Mount Brown is named in honour of Robert Brown

Robert Brown (botanist)

Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...

, the ship's botanist, who climbed the mountain and viewed Willochra Plain

Willochra Plain

The Willochra Plain is a wide plain situated East of Port Augusta, South Australia.The area falls in view from Mount Brown Lookout and from walking trails in The Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park. Details for these walks are available at the SA Dept website....

. It is one of the tallest peaks in the Range, standing at 964 meters. The ship's landscape artist, Robert Westall, sketched Mount Brown in a view of three prominent peaks as seen from the ship.