An Australian Point of View #5 Mountains
One of my most vivid memories of my first year of high school is the day my geography teacher, a European immigrant, made a scathing comment about Australia’s mountains. How dare we call our main mountain range “great” when, in comparison to the European alps it was nothing. I remember, even at the tender age of 12, feeling indignant that he should feel free to criticise my country.
Since then, I’ve seen much of this land and explored many of its mountain areas. I know now that Australia, once part of the supercontinent Gondwana, is the oldest and flattest continent on Earth.
Tectonic movement and volcanic activity have shaped the upland areas and erosion by wind and water has worn them away; instead of the rugged craggy peaks seen in Europe and the Americas, Australia’s mountain ranges are characterised by highland plateaus and deep canyons, wide valleys and rounded peaks.
Australia’s highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, reaches an elevation of just 2,228 metres above sea level.
The Great Dividing Range, so maligned by my teacher, is the third longest land-based mountain range on Earth. It is 3,500 kilometres long and stretches from the northernmost tip of Queensland, through New South wales and into Victoria. At its widest it is more than 300 kilometres across. The range dates from the Carboniferous Period, making it more than 300 million years old. Surely the term “great” is well-deserved.
Perhaps that teacher needed to study his geography!
I want to thank you again for showing us how beautiful your country is from all directions and angles. I wish I had traveled when I was younger so I could have seen it in person. But, your photographic tours are certainly appreciated and enjoyed. 🙂
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I’m very pleased to share it with you Judy, and happy to know you’re enjoying these posts.
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It all looks pretty hilly to me 🙂 A number of years back I took a visiting colleague from Denmark to admire the view of Christchurch and Lyttelton from the road along the top of the Cashmere Hill. He was exuberant in his excitement at being atop one of our ‘mountains’. It’s all relative 🙂
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This is true. It probably didn’t help that my teacher wasn’t very nice, so I probably objected even more because of that.
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Spoken by a proud Australian, Carol. 🙂 🙂 It’s just vast compared with our puny island.
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Yes it is, Jo and we still have many places yet to explore.
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I like all of mountains and their picturesque valleys.
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We do too and we still have many to explore.
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They might not be lofty, compared to those in other countries, but they’re every bit as beautiful, and walking in them is a strenuous and uplifting experience.
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True. I do prefer walking down to walking up but the view at the top is always worth the effort.
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Don’t you wish sometimes you could meet your old teachers and challenge their ideas now as adults! It’s amazing how things said many years ago can stay with you.
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I wonder what he would say in his defence!
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Loved you photos. We love all mountains and a few years I certainly enjoyed yours. Your teacher was so wrong, but he did motivate you to create this beautiful blog post. Thanks for sharing.
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Glad you enjoyed the mountains and this post.
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Well, you sure showed your teacher that they were wrong!
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I wonder what he would say if he read this post!
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I hope youngsters today are given better geography lessons. The geography lessons I got about Australia were very limited. About all I remember of them is Mount Kosciuszko and the Great Barrier Reef,
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Let’s hope so!
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And I also remember that New Zealanders in our multi national classroom took pleasure in telling the Australian students that Mt Cook was higher than Mt Kosciuszko. Height was the only thing that counted in those childish days!
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Lucky we know now better!
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Indeed!
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What a strange teacher! I’m sure you’re not the only one to remember that strange line!
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I wonder! He simply didn’t know any better. He was an odd man in many ways.
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Loved this post and your photos – making me homesick!
Like we’ve always said, unless you go out there and explore for yourself, then you have a tainted and somewhat narrow view of your own world. You can’t get a total experience out of a book, especially in Australia.
Although a teacher and especially an immigrant, should know better.
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It was in the 70s and attitudes and knowledge were quite different then. I suspect he didn’t know any better. I wonder now if he ever went travelling in Australia.
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That would be an interesting conversation to see what his views are these days.
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That’s right! Australia has a wide variety of mountains! And the Grampians are so incredibly old, the Alps seem juvenile 😉
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That’s why they’re so spiky! 🙂
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Yes! 🙂
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He certainly did need to study his geography. Your country is AMAZING, and so very beautiful . . .and there is so much about it that is unique and HUGE!!
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So true, Becky. Australia is vast. I suspect this particular man had probably not travelled much and he just didn’t know. It was in the 70s, but the comment has stuck with me ever since.
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Not surprised . . . wish we could track him down and see if he has changed his mind!!
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A great post about our great mountains in all their diversity, age and size. Maybe not upwards but certainly in every other way.
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Thank you. We have so many wonderful regions still to explore.
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the landscape is so beautiful…… I loved it…..
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We love it too and enjoy getting away with our caravan to explore new areas.
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Amazing photos. Love this landscape.
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Thank you. It is different in every part too and there is so much to see and do.
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I think that teacher needed to get out more! We’re so blessed to live in such a beautiful country. Gorgeous photos Carol.
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Thanks Miriam. We do live in a wonderful country.
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Teachers often use statistics to prove a point. Perhaps he hadn’t realised there is more to a mountain than its height. I love mountains. I love seeing them, I love driving through them, but I’m not hugely fond of climbing or hiking in them. I thought South Africa’s mountains were stunningly beautiful until I saw those in Canada. Scotland, Wales and Norway have stunning ranges. As does Switzerland. And Australia and New Zealand, though I haven’t seen the south island. Maybe it is because I come from the flat eastern side of England that I am so fond of them. We only have hills in Cornwall and I can just about cope with those. I do miss mountains though.
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This was in the 70s and he simply didn’t know, I think. New Zealand’s South Island has the most amazing mountain ranges. Gorgeous with snow on them too.
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Yes, I would love to visit the South Island.
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Your photographs are absolutely beautiful and make me want to visit Australia!! What is the expression “vengeance is a dish best eaten cold”? Haha, if so, it took you a few years to zing back at your teacher, but well done for ultimately boomeranging back to his uppity European attitude. “Great” is in the eye of the local inhabitant.
Ben
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Yes, it’s been many years but I always think of it when we travel in Australia. You should plan an Australian trip.
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These are fabulous views. I think your geography teacher clearly had a limited idea of what the word ‘great’ means!
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He was coming from a European 1970s perspective and, even though as an adult I know that, the comment still annoys me. 🙂 He probably never changed that opinion either.
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Wow Carol, we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful country. It’s great to be reminded of the beauty of our nation, especially by these great photos. Cradle Mountain is my fav. 🙂
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It was so cold the day we were there. The wombats were out and about, very active because they knew it was going to snow the next day and they were stocking up! It was such a treat to see them.
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I bet. They are just gorgeous creatures, aren’t they? 😉
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And for us, not often seen, so it was quite special.
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👍🏼😊
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Wow, what a post. I loved the diversity of Your mountain collection. Photo showing Mount Kosciuszko, has some similarities than our Arctic fells. I copied this from Wikipedia than let Google translate it: “The oldest are the Saariselkä fells, whose bedrock is about 1.9 billion years old granulite”.
Here some photos from Pallastunturi Arctic fell (1.9 to 1.8 billion years old):
North of the Arctic Circle 9
Thank You for this post. Have a good day!
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I’m pleased to hear you enjoyed seeing these photos of Australia. Thanks for the link too.
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There are certainly some amazing mountains in Australia, Carol. I love that photo of the Bungle Bungles – they remind me of Cappadocia in Turkey, but with more vegetation on them. The Kroombit Tops are beautiful, and the Glass House Mountains look similar to the karsts in China and Vietnam. So many varied and stunning landscapes. 🙂
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Australia is such a vast country with many differing environments, Cathy. I love sharing some of them with you, and I hope to see more in the coming years.
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I never heave been to your country but you show us great mountains! ha!
I just am back from road tripping though West-irland & Sooth-west Ireland & I am just in awe from the great amazing views & mountains that we just don’t see in tiny Belgium!
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That would have been a wonderful road trip. We’ve just come back from five weeks in Canada. Very different landscapes from what we see in Australia.
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Great photos!
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