The Glasshouse Mountains
All information on this page courtesy of 'Silent Sentinels' by Wayne Ellis, Glasshouse Kinesiology
"Each stands in gloomy isolation, silent and alone...
towering majestically into the clear blue sky...
unspeakably weird in their mournful solitude, unutterably sad in their voiceless silence and irremediable decay.
So they stand there as Cook saw them from the deck of his vessel, off Cape Moreton 124 years ago; as Flinders saw them, as the wild sons of pathless woods beheld them far back across the dim old centuries in times long buried in oblivion; and as the stars alone shall see them far hence..."
Archibald Meston 1895
towering majestically into the clear blue sky...
unspeakably weird in their mournful solitude, unutterably sad in their voiceless silence and irremediable decay.
So they stand there as Cook saw them from the deck of his vessel, off Cape Moreton 124 years ago; as Flinders saw them, as the wild sons of pathless woods beheld them far back across the dim old centuries in times long buried in oblivion; and as the stars alone shall see them far hence..."
Archibald Meston 1895
The Legend
It is said that Tibrogargan, the father, and Beerwah, the mother, had many children. Coonowrin the eldest, Beerburrum, the Tunbubudla twins, the Coochin twins Ngungun, Tibberoowuccum, Miketeebumulgrai, and Saddleback. There was Round who was fat and small and Wild Horse who was always paddling in the sea.
One day, Tibrogargan was gazing out to sea and noticed a great rising of the waters Hurrying off to gather his younger children, in order to flee to the safety of the mountains ii the west, he called out to Coonowrin to help his mother, who by the way, was again with child.
Looking back to see how Coonowrin was assisting Beerwah, Tibrogargan was greatly angered to see him running off alone. He pursued Coonowrin and, raising his club, struck the latter such a mighty blow that it dislodged Coonowrin's neck, and he has never been able to straighten it since.
When the floods had subsided and the family returned to the plains, the other children teased Coonowrin about his crooked neck. Feeling ashamed, Coonowrin went over to Tibrogargan and asked for his forgiveness, but filled with shame at his son's cowardice Tibrogargan could do nothing but weep copious tears, which, trickling along the ground formed a stream that flowed into the sea.
Then Coonowrin went to his brothers and sisters but they also wept at the shame of their brother's cowardice. The lamentations of Coonowrin's parents and of his brothers and sisters at his disgrace explain the presence of the numerous small streams in the area.
Tibrogargan then called to Coonowrin, asking him why he had deserted his mother Coonowrin replied that as Beerwah was the biggest of them all she should be able to take care of herself. He did not know that she was again pregnant, which was the reason for her great size. Then Tibrogargan turned his back on his son and vowed that he would never look at him again.
Even today Tibrogargan gazes far out to sea and never looks around at Coonowrin. who hangs his head and cries, his tears running off to the sea. His mother Beerwah is still heavy with child, as it takes a long, long time to give birth to a mountain.
Geology
Around 25 million years ago molten magma flowed into the older surrounding rock, volcanic vents and other subterranean cavities before cooling into trachyte and rhyolite. Erosion over millions of years has lowered the softer surrounding sandstone rock leaving the unique landscape we see today.
These remnant plugs are composed of unusual forms of rhyolites and trachytes that are high in sodium and potassium, both alkaline elements.
Rhyolite is a light coloured fine grained volcanic or intrusive rock with a high silica content. It is the fine grained equivalent to granite.
Trachyte is a light coloured fine grained volcanic or intrusive rock mainly composed of potassium and feldspar. It is the fine grained equivalent of synenite, (a light coloured granitic rock consisting of mainly potassium feldspar with oniy minor quartz).
Mts Tibrogargan, Cooee, Coonowrin, Tunbubudla, Coochin, Elimbah, Wild Horse, Tibberoowuccum, Ngungun and Trachyte Ridge are composed of Alkali rhyolite, (comendite)
Mt Beerwah is composed of Alkali trachyte (similar to comendite but with less quartz). Mts Miketeebumulgrai and Beerburrum are composed of Porphyritic trachyte, a very fme grained rock with large feldspar crystals.
Stony Knob, (now a quarry), east of Mt Tibrogargan, and Round Mountain, are composed of a very fine evenly grained rock containing the iron rich olivine mineral fayalite.
