Mount Keira ( ) is a suburb and mountain in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.
Mount Keira is a site of significant cultural heritage for the Wodi Wodi people. The name derives from the Wodi Wodi name for the mountain, Geera or Djera.Place Names of the Wollongong region . Wollongong City Library. Retrieved 30 December 2005. The first maps of the area called it Keera, later adding the "i". Mount Keira forms a part of the Illawarra escarpment, all of which is sacred land to the Wodi Wodi people of the wider Dharawal language group.
The suburb of Mount Keira, a semi-rural township of Wollongong, is located on the mountain's summit and southern flank.
The summit of Mount Keira has an elevation of above sea levelWollongong W-8285 (Includes Flagstaff Point W-9185) 1:10,000 Orthophoto Contour Map. (Second edition March 1977). Central Mapping Authority of New South Wales. and is located northwest of the city of Wollongong. Its distinctive shape and proximity to Wollongong make it a major local landmark. It is noted for the views of the city from the popular summit lookout and its history of coal mining. It was formed as part of the Illawarra escarpment fold between 80 and 60 million years ago and the erosion by creeks that ensued.
Indigenous significance and history Mount Keira is located on the traditional lands of the Wodi Wodi people, who form a part of the larger Dharawal language group. Archeological evidence shows Dharawal people have occupied the Illawarra for at least 30,000 years.Wollongong City Council, 2010 Patterns of use have been recorded in oral histories, physical features and written records.Robertson and Hindmarsh, 2013
The story of Mount Keira and the Five Islands According to the Alcheringa, the Dreaming of the local Aboriginal peoples, Mount Keira is Geera, the daughter of Oola-boola-woo, the west wind. The story of the creation of Mount Keira is tied to the creation of the Five Islands, which sit just off the Wollongong coast. In the story, Oola-boola-woo had six daughters, Mimosa, Wilga, Lilli Pilli, Wattle, Clematis and Geera. They lived a-top the Illawarra escarpment, and one by one the first five children misbehaved, raising the ire of Oola-boola-woo, who cast them and the stone beneath them out to sea, forming the Five Islands. Geera, who was now the only child left on their escarpment home, had no one to play with and no one to talk to, as her father was often away. Geera spent all day sitting, hunched over and watching the camps of the local Aboriginal people and looking out to sea to her five sisters. Eventually, she turned to stone, dust and leaves building up around her until she became a part of the escarpment. She is known today as Mount Keira.Illawarra Aboriginals: An Introductory History
Education Mount Keira has been recognised as one of the most significant educational resources and teaching sites to the Dharawal people of the Illawarra region. Today, this is reflected in some of the major educational institutions of the Illawarra including the University of Wollongong, Wollongong TAFE, Wollongong High School and Keira High School sitting in the shadow of Mount Keira. Mount Keira demonstration school is a small public school that lies at the base of the mountain.
Indigenous perspectives on future development Mount Keira has been described as the Uluru of the Illawarra, due to its deep cultural significance. There are currently plans for Mount Keira to be further developed for adventure tourism. These plans for further development have caused some contention in the Indigenous community, who want to ensure the site is respected as a place of spiritual and historical importance.
Geographic description Mount Keira forms part of the Illawarra escarpment, which it joins by a high saddle on the back (western) side. It is capped by a westward-sloping plateau of relatively hard sandstone ringed on the remaining three sides by cliffs. From the cliff base the mountain slopes down to the surrounding foothills and coastal plain. From Wollongong, the mountain looks rather flat-topped; from the north it appears part of the escarpment.
The majority of the mountain is forested with eucalypt (sclerophyll) forest and sub-tropical rainforest, while civilisation encroaches on the lower slope regions. Surrounding suburbs are (from north to south): Balgownie, Mount Pleasant; Mount Ousley; Keiraville; West Wollongong; Figtree and Mount Kembla.
The mountain is drained by several creeks, and has many gullies on its slopes such as the ones present on the ring track and the one directly south of the mountain known as Hell Hole after an axe murder by a convict who dispatched a labourer known as Old Tom in Byarong Creek. The south and western slopes are drained by Byarong Creek, which flows west of Byarong Park before descending to Figtree and then to the sea. The eastern slopes are drained by creeks that flow into Para or Fairy Creek, which flows through the Wollongong Botanic Gardens before arriving at Fairy Lagoon at Puckeys Estate Reserve. The northern slopes are drained by Cabbage Tree Creek.
Mount Ousley Road climbs up the northern spur and over the escarpment and is the major road link between Wollongong and Sydney. On the road is the small suburb of Mount Pleasant. At Mount Pleasant is the Illawarra Rhododendron Park, located on Parrish Avenue near the start of the Mount Pleasant Track. It contains thousands of azaleas and hundreds of rhododendrons as well as camellias. A section of rainforest is located in the top section with short walking trails. The park covers .Illawarra Rhododendron Gardens, Illawarra – Check-in.com.au Australia
On the southern side, Mount Keira Road leaves suburbia and winds its way through the bush up the back of the mountain, giving access to the (now closed) Kemira coal mine, Byarong park, Girl Guides camp, Scout camp, and ultimately the summit lookout via Queen Elizabeth Drive. The Scout camp was established in 1939 by Sid Hoskins and later described by Lady Baden Powell (wife of Lord Baden Powell, the founder of Scouting) as "surely one of the most beautiful campsites in the world". Mount Keira Road was built using convict labour in 1835–1836, surveyed by Surveyor General Thomas Mitchell,The Eureka Council (Inc) – History of Wollongong using much of the route used by O'Briens Road but descending the south and west slopes of Mount Keira rather than Mount Nebo, a nearby hill to Mount Keira's south. Byarong Park was originally a pit pony grazing area, the ponies were stabled at the site of the Girl Guide camp.
Summit lookout
In 1955 the Rotary Club of Wollongong, with the support of local government and businesses, constructed the summit lookout. In 2005, the Summit Park refurbishment provided an opening up of vistas of the coastal plain from Kiama to Sydney, and is managed as an annexe of the Wollongong Botanic Garden. It contains 9.4 hectares of landMount Keira – Local area information . Wollongong City Library. Retrieved 30 December 2005. and it is a major tourist destination, many visitors to Wollongong climbing the Ken Ausburn Track.
As well as overlooking Wollongong, the summit provides views from the Kurnell Refinery north to the northern headland of Jervis Bay, south, as well as the Blue Mountains to the far west and out to sea to the east for . On a good day it is easy to see the northern escarpment and, from the Victoria Rock Lookout, reached by a short trail or cliff track, one can see Knights Hill, Mount Kembla and Saddleback Mountain clearly. Summit facilities include car parking spaces, toilets, picnic areas with wooden tables and benches, and a kiosk/restaurant, the Mountaintop. An early man to climb the mountain of note was botanist Allan Cunningham.
At the summit is the Mountaintop Restaurant, used for food, drink and function purposes. Just west of it by a few metres is the transmission tower, visible easily from the plain and a local landmark. The new larger tower was built by Telstra with the ownership reverting to Wollongong City Council on completion. There was a campaign to paint it green so it would blend with the summit plateau canopy but this failed and it remains grey.
In 2006 binocular telescopes were fitted, and after several tests, vandalism and malfunctioning being a problem, they are currently in use for "gold coin" donation to the Rotary club. With these it is possible to see places like Stanwell Park in the distance and Brokers Nose trigonometric station.
The summit lookout and Queen Elizabeth Drive was officially opened in 1959, but attempts to secure land from Australian Iron & Steel began in 1954. Both a map and plaque remain from the original lookout park design, though the previous hang-gliding ramp has been taken down for the new observation walkways.
Flora and fauna Eucalypt forest and rainforest cover the mountain summit and undeveloped slopes. Rainforest is predominant in sheltered areas, particularly on the southern side.
The mountain has been heavily logged in the past, yielding blackbutt, blue gum, turpentine and other timbers. Red cedar, in particular, was highly prized and there are stories of giant trees with trunk diameters of or more being felled.Fuller, Leon. (March 1988). "Mt. Keira Ring Track" Brochure. Illawarra Escarpment State Recreation Area. Remnant bushland on the west and north slopes and a few trees defying extensive logging still exist, but much of the east slopes are replaced bushland grown after clearing since the 1930s.
Plant species found on the mountain include: Cabbage tree palm (Livistona australis) Coast white box (Eucalyptus quadrangulata) Giant stinging tree (Dendrocnide excelsa) Native tamarind (Diploglottis australis) Red cedar (Toona australis) Sassafras (Doryphora sassafras) Turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera) Citronella (Citronella moorei) Jackwood (Cryptocarya glaucescens) Bollygum (Litsea reticulata)
Introduced weeds such as lantana (Lantana camara) have also gained a hold on the mountain, particularly since the 1968 bushfires.
The forests provide habitat for a large number of bird and other fauna species.
Notable fauna species include: Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) Eastern blue-tongued lizard (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides) Superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) Wallaby
There is also a population of introduced rusa deer residing on and around the mountain, which are often seen by local residents at dusk or dawn.
Walking tracks