Tamborine Mountain

Tamborine Mountain
Tamborine Mountain landscape
Highest point
Elevation	525 m (1,722 ft)
Geography
Location	Queensland, Australia
Parent range	Great Dividing Range
Geology
Age of rock	Aquitanian
Mountain type	Shield volcano

Tamborine Mountain Queensland
Tamborine Mountain
Coordinates	27°58′10″S 153°11′57″E / 27.96944°S 153.19917°E / -27.96944; 153.19917Coordinates: 27°58′10″S 153°11′57″E / 27.96944°S 153.19917°E / -27.96944; 153.19917
Population	7,030 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	4272
LGA(s)	Scenic Rim Region
State electorate(s)	Beaudesert
Federal Division(s)	Wright
Suburbs around Tamborine Mountain: Tamborine Cedar Creek Wongawallan Boyland Tamborine Mountain Guanaba Wonglepong Benobble Witheren Clagiraba

Tamborine Mountain is a 28 square kilometres (11 sq mi) plateau (8 km long by 4 km wide) and locality in the Scenic Rim local government area of South East Queensland, Australia. In the 2011 census, Tamborine Mountain had a population of 7,030 people. The name is of Aboriginal origin and has nothing to do with the musical instrument. It is considered part of the Gold Coast hinterland and has a strong tourist industry.

Tamborine Mountain was inhabited by Aborigines for tens of thousands of years and, at the time of early European settlement, lay in the territory of the Wangerriburras. The origin of the name Tamborine comes from the Anglicised version of the Aboriginal word 'Jambreen' from the Yugambeh language. The spelling also appears on early records as Tchambreem and even Goombireen, which means 'wild lime' and refers to the finger lime trees growing on the mountain.

Until it was opened for selection in 1878 it was covered with a diverse range of forest types. In that year the first white settler, John O'Callaghan selected a parcel of land on the mountain. Much clearing for agriculture took place, though efforts were made to protect the natural values of the area, with Witches Falls National Park (now part of the Tamborine National Park) being declared in 1908, the first in Queensland. The Tamborine National Park is made up of 12 separate sections of land, mainly remnant rainforest, on the plateau and surrounding foothills. A tourist road to the mountain was opened in 1924.

Tamborine Mountain has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

The geological origin of the plateau is a lava flow from the Mount Warning volcanic eruption 22 million years ago. Tamborine Mountain rises at the start of the north-east section of the Scenic Rim, the name given to a group of mountains in South East Queensland.