64-603: Mount Lofty ( 34°58′S 138°42′E / 34.967°S 138.700°E / -34.967; 138.700 , elevation 710 m (2,330 ft) AHD ) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges . It is located about 15 km (9.3 mi) east of the Adelaide city centre , within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia . The mountain's summit has panoramic views of
128-505: A large number of bird species including parrots , galahs , emus , the wedge-tailed eagle and small numbers of water birds. Reptiles include goannas , snakes , dragon lizards , skinks and geckos . The streambank froglet is an endemic amphibian . The Ranges are part of the Tirari–Sturt stony desert ecoregion . A team acting on behalf of the Government of South Australia and
192-751: A manner similar to the state's capital city, Adelaide. Governor Jervois reputedly bestowed the name 'Quorn' because his private secretary at the time had come from the parish of Quorn, Leicestershire in England. In the 1920s Aroona became an outstation of Oraparinna Station , and spring water was used to irrigate large gardens there. The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia. It starts about 200 km (125 mi) north of Adelaide city centre . The discontinuous ranges stretch for over 430 km (265 mi) from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna . Its most characteristic landmark
256-653: A time known as Stawell School , a private school for girls, were never rebuilt. Part of this property was excised for the ABC-TV transmitter building and mast. Note that historically, "Mount Lofty" addresses frequently referred to the area now known as Crafers and to parts of Stirling . Mount Lofty is the coldest location in the Adelaide area; during winter months the temperature may not exceed 3-4 °C on some days. Adelaide's metropolitan area experiences mild winters, with temperatures virtually never cold enough to produce snow;
320-608: Is Wilpena Pound / Ikara , a large, sickle -shaped, natural amphitheatre that covers 80 km (31 sq mi), and contains the range's highest peak, St Mary Peak (1,171 m (3,842 ft), ) which adjoins the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park . The southern ranges are notable for the Pichi Richi heritage steam and diesel railway and Mount Remarkable National Park . The Heysen Trail and Mawson Trail run for several hundred kilometres along
384-569: Is a long open valley that lies around 25 km (16 mi) north of Wilpena Pound, between the Heysen Range and ABC Ranges. The lease was taken up first by the Brownes, and then by Johnson Frederick Hayward in the 1850s. Hayward had arrived in 1847 from Somerset , and was initially overseer of Pekina Station . Hayward Bluff, False Mount Hayward, South Mount Hayward, and Mount Hayward, in the Heysen Range, are all named after him. The Aroona head station
448-533: Is a regular occurrence. The snow is a novelty for the approximately 1.4 million residents of the Adelaide Plains (particularly for children), and photographs of it have made the front page of the local newspaper many times. Mount Lofty has a cool Mediterranean climate ( Csb ) in the Köppen climate classification , due to its elevation and very dry summers with a pronounced winter rainfall peak. The annual rainfall
512-479: Is an amalgamation of decades of spirit levelling work conducted by numerous state and territory authorities across the country, and was corrected to align with the mean sea level observations of thirty tide gauges positioned around the entire coastline. While it remains the published vertical datum for all surveying and engineering operations performed throughout Australia , newer technologies have uncovered numerous deficiencies, offsets and distortions within
576-671: Is an area of great geological and palaeontological significance, and includes the oldest fossil evidence of animal life was discovered. The Ediacaran Period and Ediacaran biota take their name from the Ediacara Hills within the ranges. In August 2022, a nomination for the Flinders Ranges to be named a World Heritage Site was lodged. The first humans to inhabit the Flinders Ranges were the Adnyamathanha people (meaning " hill people " or "rock people") whose descendants still reside in
640-429: Is nearly twice the amount, and the monthly rainfall during winter more than twice the amount, of the city of Adelaide. Cloud cover is particularly heavy during the winter months. Australian Height Datum The Australian Height Datum was introduced in 1971 as the official vertical datum for Australia, and thereby serves as the benchmark to which all height measurements are referred. The Australian Height Datum
704-736: The ABC ), and the Mount Lofty Fire Tower operated by the Country Fire Service . Summit Road, Mt Lofty, was historically one of the best-known addresses in South Australia, with the summer houses of several prominent families being located there. These were all destroyed or severely damaged by the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983, but have subsequently been restored. They include: Other buildings, such as St Michael's House (an Anglican theological college and priory) and "Arthur's Seat", for
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#1732844949193768-718: The Mount Brown Conservation Park south of Quorn. The Flinders Ranges are composed largely of folded and faulted sediments of the Adelaide Geosyncline . This very thick sequence was deposited in a large basin during the Neoproterozoic on the passive margin of the ancient continent of Rodinia . During the Cambrian (about 540 million years ago) the area underwent the Delamerian orogeny , when this sequence of rocks
832-550: The traditional owners , the Adnyamathanha people , which includes internationally renowned American palaeontologist Mary L. Droser , lodged a nomination for a tentative listing as a World Heritage Site , which was accepted by UNESCO in April 2021. The application was made on the basis of its unique geological and palaeontological values. It is a lengthy process, and the site needs to fulfil very specific criteria as well as showing strong evidence that its values are absolutely unique in
896-607: The 1970s, the Australian Height Datum was constructed using a lower standard of spirit-levelling equipment and techniques to ensure completion in the shortest possible period of time. For example, approximately 80% (76520 km) of the primary levelling contributing to the Australian National Levelling Network was completed by private contractors during the 10-year period from 1960 to 1970. Since then, significant errors have been identified including
960-557: The AUSGeoid09 model is able to “practically” eliminate the north–south error when converting GNSS readings to Australian Height Datum heights. The Australian Height Datum ( Tasmania ) is considered as a separate datum to the Australian Height Datum, consisting of a least-squares adjustment of seventy-two levelling sections across the Tasmanian state, while simultaneously assigning the mean sea level of two tidal gauges at Hobart and Burnie
1024-542: The Australian Height Datum surface was derived and officially adopted in 1971 as the benchmark to which all new vertical height measurements in Australia are referenced to. Since the inception of the Australian Height Datum in 1971, numerous deficiencies, distortions, offsets and other errors have been identified and examined using newer technologies. Due to Australia's desperate need for a surveying vertical control and accurate topographic mapping for mining exploration during
1088-469: The Australian Height Datum, leading to discussions about defining a new Australian vertical datum. Prior to the creation of the Australian Height Datum, levelling surveys were carried out by professional surveyors for construction and mapping purposes using only local or state-based vertical datums. The execution of military operations across the Australian mainland during World War II heavily exposed
1152-469: The Australian Height Datum: the datum surface has a gradient of zero (i.e. perfectly horizontal). While this systematic error is relatively insignificant for the design of “small-scale engineering projects” that use local heights, the north–south slope is very influential on the design of “large-scale studies” that span larger distances across the country. The north–south slope is primarily due to
1216-413: The Australian National Levelling Network that were used to determine the Australian Height Datum, each utilising their own levelling parties that conducted a combination of one-way and two-way levelling. These levelling parties consisted of two drivers of separate vehicles, as well as one instrument man who would alternate between the cars as they "leap-frog along the levelling route". This strategy involved
1280-543: The Flinders, including the plateau of the Gammon Ranges and the Heysen Range. Cuesta forms are also very common. The Ranges are renowned for the Ediacara Hills , south-west of Leigh Creek , where in 1946 some of the oldest fossil evidence of animal life was discovered. Similar fossils have subsequently been found in the ranges, including at Nilpena , with an application being made for World Heritage listing to help protect
1344-588: The Interior Hydro-Electric Authority One-Way Levelling Two-Way Levelling Sea level data from thirty tidal gauges positioned around the Australian mainland coastline was also collected in order to derive the Australian Height Datum. The distances between each successive tidal gauge varied significantly around the country, with the smallest interval between Port Kembla to Camp Cove (128 km) and
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#17328449491931408-729: The National Mapping Council of Australia in July 1971. The Australian Height Datum is the vertical height of 0.000m established within the Australian National Levelling Network (ANLN), through taking the mean sea level of 30 tide gauges along the entire Australian coastline during the period of 1966–1968. The datum surface is based upon a least squares adjustment of the original, ‘primary’ levelling data spanning 97,320 km, combined with more recent, ‘supplementary’ levelling data spanning 80,000 km. Five different observing authorities contributed to primary levelling sections in
1472-656: The Quorn township). During the late 1870s the push to open agricultural land for wheat north of the Goyder's Line had met with unusual success, with good rainfall and crops in the Flinders Ranges. This, along with the copper mining lobby (copper was mined in the Hawker-Flinders Ranges area in the late 1850s and transported overland by bullock dray), induced the government to build a narrow gauge railway line north of Port Augusta through Pichi Richi Pass, Quorn , Hawker and along
1536-462: The Ranges are largely species adapted to a semi-arid environment, including sugar gum , cypress-pine , mallee and black oak . Moister areas near Wilpena Pound support grevilleas , Guinea flowers , Liliaceae and ferns . Reeds and sedges grow near permanent water sources such as springs and waterholes . Since the eradication of dingos and the establishment of permanent waterholes for stock,
1600-597: The addition of the Northern Territory and Queensland state authorities. To assist mining companies with the search for oil during the 1960s, the Federal Government made additional funds available to the Director of National Mapping to employ private contract surveyors to speed up the surveying effort. By 1970, the consolidation of levelling and tide gauge data from these collective surveying operations resulted in
1664-830: The area, and the Ngadjuri (Ndajurri) people, They inhabited the range for tens of thousands of years before being dispersed by European settlement after colonisation . Cave paintings , rock engravings and other cultural artefacts indicate that the Adnyamathana and Ndajurri lived in the Flinders Ranges for tens of thousands of years. Occupation of the Warratyi rock shelter dates back approximately 49,000 years. The first European explorers were an exploration party from Matthew Flinders ' seagoing visit to upper Spencer Gulf aboard HMS Investigator . They climbed Mount Brown in March 1802. In
1728-572: The city and the Adelaide plains to the west, and of the Picadilly Valley to the east. It is also popular destination for international tourists, as well as for cyclists coming up the old Mount Barker Road through Eagle on the Hill , and for walkers from Waterfall Gully . The adjacent peaks of Mount Lofty and Mount Bonython form a prominent landmark visible across the Adelaide Plains , known to
1792-437: The early 1860s Hayward returned to England, and purchased an estate near Bath , which he called Aroona. In 1852 Kanyaka Station was established by Hugh Proby. William Pinkerton is credited as being the first European to find a route through the Flinders Ranges via Pichi Richi Pass. In 1853 he drove 7,000 sheep along the eastern plains of the range, to where Quorn would be built 25 years later (Pinkerton Creek runs through
1856-686: The entire of the Australian continent ; an activity later named the Australian Levelling Survey. From 1945 to 1955, the New South Wales , Victorian and Western Australian state authorities, with assistance from the Royal Australian Survey Corps , commenced the Australian Levelling Survey by levelling 4,800 km of the mainland. By 1960, 20,800 km of controlled levelling had been completed with
1920-399: The establishment of the two datums, the mean sea levels for the mainland and Tasmanian datums are highly likely to contain some degree of error relative to the true mean sea level value. This neglection of the differences in ocean's time-mean dynamic topography between the creation of Australian Height Datum (mainland) and Australian Height Datum (Tasmania) resulted in a distinct offset between
1984-414: The fact that the Australian Height Datum was taken as the fixed mean sea level of 30 tide gauges around Australia over a 2-year period, ignoring the natural variations in sea-surface topography . The National Mapping Council of Australia chose to use this ‘mean sea level’ approach to minimise the use of negative heights, that are quite problematic for surveyors and engineers, near coastal areas where most of
Mount Lofty - Misplaced Pages Continue
2048-496: The first three pastoral leases in the central Flinders Ranges were only marked out in 1851. These were Wilpena , Arkaba , and Aroona , which were developed as sheep stations . The leases were initially granted for 14 years by the government of the Colony of South Australia , over land dubbed "unoccupied waste lands". The name Aroona is derived from an Adnyamathanha word meaning "running water", or "place of frogs". Aroona Valley
2112-503: The formation of a 97,320 km "single homogenous network" of primary levelling spanning the entire country, named the Australian National Levelling Network . Through the linear adjustment of 757 primary levelling sections across the Australian National Levelling Network, while simultaneously "holding 30 tide gauges fixed at their mean sea level values", the Australian Height Datum was determined and then adopted by
2176-427: The formation of a distinct 1.5m North-South slope within the Australian Height Datum. In order to counteract this slope, the AUSGeoid09 gravimetric quasigeoid model has been introduced to determine Australian Height Datum heights from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) readings. As GPS heights provide a far greater limit of reading that the magnitude of the spirit-level errors in the Australian Height Datum,
2240-448: The gully from Waterfall Gully , through the Cleland National Park and from Chambers Gully . This is a 4 km uphill trek and one of Adelaide's most popular exercise circuits. The summit provides panoramic views across Adelaide, a cafe-restaurant and a gift shop. Kangaroos are sometimes spotted on the trails leading up to the summit. On the ridge near the summit are three television transmission towers (the northernmost being that of
2304-476: The height of the mainland and Tasmania datum surfaces , estimated to be between −61 mm and +48 mm. In addition to the north–south slope, numerous other regional distortions within the Australian Height Datum have been identified across the state of Western Australia. The largest of these non-linear distortions are present across the Goldfields-Esperance and northern Kimberley regions. Unlike
2368-411: The instrument man taking both a back sight and fore sight staff reading, before being driven by one of the drivers, past the other driver's stationary car, to the next set-up position to take the next set of reading. The two drivers’ responsibility was to hold the levelling staffs , while the instrument man would operate the level and record the readings in a level book. By employing this strategy,
2432-561: The lack of Australian topographic mapping , to such a great extent that Prime Minister Ben Chifley approved the formation of the National Mapping Council of Australia in 1945 with a primary objective of planning and managing the nation's topographic mapping activities. The inaugural National Mapping Council consisted of the Director of National Mapping, the Commonwealth Surveyor General and respective State Surveyors-General. The council's first meeting held discussions between
2496-466: The largest interval between Point Lonsdale to Port Kembla (1,150 km). Sea level observations were conducted on an hourly basis from 1 January 1966 to 31 December 1968 for 29 of the designated tidal gauges, and from 1 January 1957 to 31 December 1960 for the single tidal gauge at Karumba , Queensland . Once all the tidal data was collected and processed, the Port MacDonnell tidal gauge station
2560-458: The levelling parties were able to achieve an average of 35 km of primary levelling each day. One-way levelling involved adopting this outlined methodology in only one direction, while two-way levelling also would repeat this again in the opposite direction to improve the accuracy of the readings. The following outlines the cumulative contribution of the levelling parties for their respective observing authority: (Combined) National Mapping
2624-443: The local Kaurna people as Yuridla , 'two-ears', part of the body of an ancestral being called Nganu. This Kaurna name has been preserved in its anglicised form as the name of the nearby town of Uraidla . Mount Lofty was named by Matthew Flinders on 23 March 1802 during his circumnavigation of the Australian continent . The explorer Collet Barker was the first European to climb it, in April 1831, almost six years before Adelaide
Mount Lofty - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-540: The nearest snowfields to Adelaide are in central Victoria, over 700 km away. However, Mount Lofty's summit is the most common location for snow in South Australia; rare snowfalls sometimes occur in other parts of the Mount Lofty Ranges, and occasionally further north, in the Flinders and Gammon Ranges . Snowfall tends to be light (rarely lasting for more than a day) and does not take place every year. Sleet however
2752-461: The north during the summer. The area gets around 250 mm (9.8 in) of rain annually, with the highest at Wilpena Pound , at 350 mm (14 in). Frost is common on winter mornings and temperatures have dropped as low as −8 °C (18 °F). Snow has even been recorded in the Wilpena Pound and at Blinman . As of 2013, the last significant snowfall was in 1995. The flora of
2816-465: The north–south slope of 1.5m, offset between Australia mainland and Tasmania of 26 cm, as well as regional distortions throughout Western Australia. The North-South Slope is a systematic error in the Australian Height Datum's horizontal surface of approximately 1.5m from the North coast to South coast of Australia. This tilt is quite problematic, as it invalidates the major assumption in using
2880-401: The number of red kangaroos , western grey kangaroos and wallaroos in the Flinders Ranges has increased. The yellow-footed rock-wallaby , which neared extinction after the arrival of Europeans due to hunting and predation by foxes , has now stabilised. Other endemic marsupials include dunnarts and planigales . Insectivorous bats make up a significant proportion of the mammals. There are
2944-431: The population resides. By utilising the mean sea level approach, the creation of the Australian Height Datum neglected the significant influence the ocean's time- mean dynamic topography on the fluctuations in sea surface levels around the country. Spatial variation of sea level change , freshwater outflow in harbour areas where tide gauges are positioned, and an amalgamation of ocean dynamics have all contributed to
3008-427: The range for tens of thousands of years. Its most well-known landmark is Wilpena Pound / Ikara , a formation that creates a natural amphitheatre covering 80 km (31 sq mi) and containing the range's highest peak, St Mary Peak (1,171 m (3,842 ft)). The ranges include several national parks , the largest being the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park , as well as other protected areas . It
3072-629: The ranges, providing scenic long distance routes for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders. Several small areas in the ranges have the protected area status. These include the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park near Wilpena Pound/Ikara, the Mount Remarkable National Park in the south near Melrose , the Arkaroola Protection Area in the north, The Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park west of Quorn , and
3136-415: The respective state authorities about the need to have a unified national scheme for surveying and mapping of Australia. Upon the meeting's completion, members of the National Mapping Council of Australia unanimously agreed that the Director of National Mapping, Frederick Johnston , would be tasked with the coordination of local, state and Commonwealth authorities in order to execute mapping activities across
3200-415: The route to Alice Springs . Hawker townsite was surveyed at a bend in the railway line where the train line left the main road to Blinman , and named in 1880 after South Australian politician and pastoralist George Charles Hawker . Quorn was surveyed by Godfrey Walsh and proclaimed a town on 16 May 1878. The township covered an area of 1.72 km (0.66 sq mi) and was laid out in squares in
3264-560: The sites. In 2004 a new geological period, the Ediacaran Period, was created to mark the appearance of Ediacaran biota . The region has a semi-arid climate with hot dry summers and cool winters. Summer temperatures usually exceed 38 °C (100 °F), while winters have highs around 13–16 °C (55–61 °F), depending on the elevation. Although rainfall is erratic, most of the precipitation falls in winter. There are also some monsoonal showers and storms that move in from
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#17328449491933328-534: The spirit-levelling observations” during the creation of the Australian Height Datum. Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia , which starts about 200 km (125 mi) north of Adelaide . The ranges stretch for over 430 km (265 mi) from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna . The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabited
3392-405: The vertical height of 0.000m over the year of 1972. This method deviates from the method employed to determine the mean sea level used to create the mainland Australian Height Datum, which was taken across the period from 1966 – 1968 for 29 of the tidal gauges and 1957-1960 for the single tidal gauge at Karumba . By employing inconsistent approaches to the study period of the mean sea level during
3456-474: The well-defined and measurable north–south tilt across the state, the linear regression of these distortions does not lend itself to any distinct trends. Moreover, the utilising gravimetric quasigeoid models to “practically” eliminate the impact of the ocean's time-mean dynamic topography does not minimise the extent of these regional distortions. For these reasons, the regional distortions throughout Western Australia are attributed to random errors “present in
3520-471: The west of the ranges to Marree , to service the agricultural and pastoral industries. However, rainfall returned to a normal pattern for the region, causing many agricultural farms to collapse. Remnants of abandoned homes can still be seen dotted around the arid landscape. Wilpena station, due to its unusual geography, along with areas around Quorn and Carrieton, are now the only places north of Goyder's Line to sustain any crops. Wilpena has now been left to
3584-474: The wild and is only a tourist location. As of 2009, kukri, unpopular with most Australian farmers as it yields 10–15% less grain than other varieties of wheat, is being grown for export to India. Mining exploration continued in the region, but coal mining at Leigh Creek and barytes at Oraparinna were the only long-term successes. Pastoral industries flourished, and the rail line became of major importance in opening up and servicing sheep and cattle stations along
3648-516: The winter of 1839 Edward John Eyre , with five men, two drays and ten horses, further explored the region, setting out from Adelaide on 1 May. The party set up a depot near Mount Arden, and then explored the surrounding region and upper Spencer Gulf, before heading east to the Murray River and returning to Adelaide . There are records of squatters in the Quorn district as early as 1845; however,
3712-483: The world. The involvement of the Adnyamathanha people, particularly their caring for country and sharing knowledge of their cultural heritage, is an important part of the future management of a World Heritage site. In November 2022, the state government announced an allocation of A$ 500,000 over four years towards enabling the Adnyamathanha people to identify priorities for cultural heritage protection. One example
3776-507: Was built next to a waterhole used by local Adnyamathanha people for its permanent supply of fresh water, but the Aboriginal people were not welcome on the station during Hayward's time there. He was implicated in a massacre of Aboriginal people near Brachina Gorge . At least 15 men, women, and children were killed in a dawn attack on 17 March 1852, in retaliation for the murder of stockman Robert Richardson on 14 March. Hayward said that he
3840-534: Was fitted to the top to improve visibility at night. This strobe was removed after the war, but then re-installed in the 1990s, when the obelisk was repainted and restored during construction of a new kiosk. The summit can be accessed by road from the South Eastern Freeway at Crafers , and from the eastern suburbs via Greenhill Road and the Mount Lofty Scenic Route. There is a walking route up
3904-402: Was folded and faulted into a large mountain range. The area has undergone subsequent erosion resulting in the relatively low ranges today. Most of the high ground and ridgetops are sequences of quartzites that outcrop along strike . The high walls of Wilpena Pound are formed by the outcropping beds of the eponymous Pound Quartzite in a synclinal structure. Synclines form other high parts of
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#17328449491933968-486: Was obliged to defend his men, due to the absence of police, and that he was attempting to "capture the murderers", firing at them in "self-defence". Sergeant Major Rose, who was in the district at the time with the Protector of Aborigines , Matthew Moorhouse , arrested two Aboriginal men called Bill and Jemmy, but they were released after being held for some time owing to lack of evidence and problems finding an interpreter. In
4032-467: Was selected to be the “nominal origin” and the station's mean sea level was assigned a value of 0.000 m. Zero condition equations between Port MacDonnell and the other 29 stations’ sea level data were then utilised to hold the mean sea level at 0.000 m across the entire national tide gauge network, while the primary and secondary levelling records within the Australian National Levelling Network were simultaneously adjusted to fit this model. In doing so,
4096-502: Was settled. A stone cairn at the summit was originally used to mark the trig point , and in 1885 this was replaced by an obelisk which served as the central reference point for surveying purposes across Adelaide. In 1902 the obelisk was rededicated and renamed as the "Flinders Column". The summit was closed to the public during the Second World War , when the obelisk was considered an indispensable navigation aid . A flashing strobe
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