Mount Gibraltar | |
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Aboriginal: Bowrell | |
Mount Gibraltar seen from the west
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 863 m (2,831 ft) |
Coordinates | 34°27′55.20″S 150°25′41.76″E / 34.4653333°S 150.4282667°ECoordinates: 34°27′55.20″S 150°25′41.76″E / 34.4653333°S 150.4282667°E |
Geography | |
Location | Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia |
Geology | |
Age of rock | 150 million years |
Climbing | |
First ascent | (by European), John Wilson, 1798 |
Mount Gibraltar (Aboriginal: Bowrell) is a mountain with an elevation of 863 metres (2,831 ft) AHD that is located in the Southern Highlands region, between Bowral and Mittagong, in New South Wales, Australia. Further west is Berrima.
The mountain is locally known as 'The Gib', and is in the form of a ridge, rather than an obvious conical peak. The western extremity of the ridge is commonly pointed out as the mountain itself. 'The Gib' is primarily a residential area with a large nature reserve at its peak.
The first European to climb the mountain, in 1798, was explorer John Wilson. He learned from local Aborigines the name 'Bowrell', which meant 'a high place'. Surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell also climbed Mount Gibraltar.
The Main South Railway skirts Mount Gibraltar at its western foothills, passing through a tunnel under Evans Street, Bowral. The original tunnel was single track, but it was replaced in the 1920s by a double track tunnel.