Glass House Mountains and surrounds - Nature, culture and history
The volcanic peaks of the Glass House Mountains rise dramatically from the surrounding Sunshine Coast landscape. The Glass House Mountains were named by Lieutenant Captain James Cook in 1770. In The Genesis of Queensland (1888), the following extract from Cook's journal on Thursday, 17 May 1770 noted:
"These hills lie but a little way inland, and not far from each other, they are remarkable for the singular form of their elevation, which very much resembles a glasshouse for this reason I called them the Glass Houses..."
Natural environment
This area is home to koalas, goannas, echidnas and grey kangaroos. Many birds such as kookaburras, cockatoos, lorikeets, rosellas and peregrine falcons can also be seen. The glossy black-cockatoo, which is considered vulnerable to extinction, is found in the Glass House Mountains area.
Geology
The Glass House Mountains are the eroded remnants of volcanoes that were active approximately 25-27 million years ago. These mountains were formed from plugs and masses of molten rock which solidified into hard rock called trachyte and rhyolite. Extensive erosion and lowering of the land surface since then have removed the exteriors of the volcanic cones and the surrounding softer sandstone rocks. As the volcanic mountains cooled, interesting vertical columns formed and this feature can be seen today at Mt Beerwah, Mt Ngungun and Mt Coonowrin.
Culture and history
Aboriginal links to the land
The Glass House Mountains area was a special meeting place where many Aboriginal people gathered for ceremonies and trading. This place is considered spiritually significant with many ceremonial sites still present and protected today.
Aboriginal people could "read" environmental signs and knew that certain events (such as a tree flowering) heralded another food supply. The people here planned large festivals and gatherings such as bunya nut festivals at times when local food sources were peaking. This way a crowd of hundreds of people could be catered for with minimal effort. Early missionaries in this area saw gatherings of thousands of people.
The bush here sustained people for thousands of years. The Glass House Mountains area provided many resources from a varied and rich environment which included river systems, open forests, coastal wetlands and mountain forests.
European settlement
During the 1860s, much changed for the Aboriginal people here. Vast areas of timber were felled and burnt to make way for farming and stock. The railway from Caboolture to Landsborough, built in 1890, opened the way for more intensive settlement. As part of the Beerburrum soldier settlement scheme in the early 1900s, ex-servicemen and their families were allocated land and grew pineapples. However, many farms were unsuccessful and farmers turned to the timber industry to survive.
Plantation forests
Beerwah has a long history in the timber industry. A substantial saw-milling town called Campbellville was established on the banks of Coochin Creek where timber was processed and floated downstream to Pumicestone Passage. Today the timber industry still provides timber from the exotic pine and native hardwood timber plantations.
Planting for the future
The forest plantations in this area were planted in the early 1930s and are managed by DPI Forestry. The "Tibrogargan" and "Twins" forest management areas were re-planted in the 1980s and 1990s with Caribbean pine, slash pine, and a slash-Caribbean pine hybrid. Some of these commercial forests are scheduled to be harvested in 2020.
Timber processing
Timber from these forests will be sold to local timber processors. Queensland's forest plantations are worth more than $1 billion per year and supply 85 percent of the timber used each year by Queensland's regionally-based timber industry.
Buffer zones
Before harvesting forest plantations, foresters mark native timbers along watercourses as buffer strips so that they are preserved. These buffer strips protect water quality, prevent erosion and provide corridors for wildlife.
For further information about plantation forests contact: DPI Forestry (Beerburrum), phone (07) 5438 6666.
Special thanks to the Gubbi Gubbi people for sharing their knowledge. Also special thanks to Stan Tutt for information from his book Sunshine Coast Heritage, and Pat and Sim Symons for information from their book Bush Heritage.<< Return to Glass House Mountains and surrounds Information
Last updated: 23 February 2006
