Frenchmans Cap
| Frenchmans Cap | |
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View of Frenchmans Cap from near Lake Tahune Hut
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,446 m (4,744 ft) |
| Coordinates | 42°16′12″S 145°49′12″E / 42.27000°S 145.82000°E |
| Geography | |
 Frenchmans Cap
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| Location | Western Tasmania, Australia |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Jurassic |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | James Sprent (European; 1853) |
The Frenchmans Cap is a mountain in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The mountain is situated in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.
At 1,446 metres (4,744 ft) above sea level, it is within the top thirty highest mountains in Tasmania.
The mountain lies east of the West Coast Range, yet due to its prominence, it can bee seen from Macquarie Harbour. It lies south of the Lyell Highway from which it can be viewed from various locations, and south west of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.
The peaks of the Frenchmans area include:
The mountain lies in traditional lands of Aboriginal Tasmanians. They named the peak 'maberlek'.
Even though the peak was an early landmark for ships sailing the west coast, the first recorded use of Frenchmans Cap was in 1822 in connection with Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, from where the peak was visible. The origin of the name is attributed to its appearance from some angles as looking like a Frenchman's cap, notably the Liberty cap worn during the French Revolution (1789–1799).
A variation of that was reported by Henry Widdowson, who wrote in 1829 that the name was derived from "its generally being covered with snow and bearing some resemblance to the shape of dress which invariably adorns the head of a French Cook".
The distinctive shape of the mountain was used as a guiding beacon by many, largely unsuccessful, parties of escaping convicts as they attempted to struggle through the dense scrub of Western Tasmania to the settled districts further east. It was mentioned as a geographical reference in the account later dictated by convict Alexander Pearce to authorities, following his capture.
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Wikipedia