The Bundaberg Hummock, also referred to as The Hummock, is an extinct volcano [1] remnant situated in the locality of Qunaba east of Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. Its official (but rarely used) name is Sloping Hummock. [2] The summit of the hill holds both a memorial to Bert Hinkler and the heritage listed Sir Anthony's Rest.
From the deck of HMS Norfolk, Lieutenant Matthew Flinders took a bearing on a small volcanic outcrop, five kilometres to the south of Mon Repos beach. Flinders was surveying the waters between Great Sandy Island (Fraser Island) and the mainland. He named the outcrop the Sloping Hummock during his 1799 visit. [3]
In 1930, the Bundaberg branch of the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) acquired the land at the top of the Hummock in order to create a park for motoring tourists to enjoy the views. [4] The park was officially opened on 17 October 1931. [5]
On 14 August 1937, the President of the RACQ unveiled a memorial to the Bundaberg-born aviator Bert Hinkler on the top of the Hummock. [6] [7]
Qunaba is predominantly farming land, much of it used to grow sugarcane. It is mostly flat land with the exception of the Hummock which provides excellent views over the surrounding flat farmlands. [8] [9] The sides of the Hummock have attracted residential development to take advantage of the views. [10] The fertility of the area is due to the volcanic soil from previous eruptions of the Hummock, which also left the local area scattered with volcanic rocks.
The Hummock has been heritage listed as follows:
Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bundaberg central business district is situated along the southern bank of the Burnett River, about 20 km (12 mi) from its mouth at Burnett Heads, and flows into the Coral Sea. The city is sited on a rich coastal plain, supporting one of the nation's most productive agricultural regions. The area of Bundaberg is the home of the Taribelang-Bunda, Goreng Goreng, Gurang, and Bailai peoples. Popular nicknames for Bundaberg include "Bundy", "Rum City", and "The 'Berg". The demonym of Bundaberg is Bundabergian.
Maryborough is a city and a suburb in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. At the 2021 Census, the suburb of Maryborough had a population of 15,287.
Herbert John Louis Hinkler, better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person to fly solo from England to Australia, completed on 22 February 1928, and the first person to fly solo across the Southern Atlantic Ocean. He married in 1932 at the age of 39, and died less than a year later after crashing into remote countryside near Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy during a solo flight record attempt.
The Division of Hinkler is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.
Biggenden is a rural town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Biggenden had a population of 788 people.
Mon Repos Conservation Park is a national park containing an important turtle rookery located at Mon Repos, Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) east of Bundaberg. Mon Repos hosts the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland and supports the most significant nesting population of the endangered loggerhead turtle in the South Pacific Ocean. Successful breeding here is critical if the loggerhead species is to survive. In far smaller numbers the flatback and green turtles and, intermittently, the leatherback turtle also nest along the Bundaberg coast.
Burnett Heads is a coastal town and locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Burnett Heads had a population of 2,656 people.
Wallaville is a rural town and locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 372 kilometres (231 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane and 43 kilometres (27 mi) south west of the regional centre of Bundaberg. In the 2016 census, Wallaville had a population of 410 people.
Wide Bay–Burnett is a region of the Australian state of Queensland, located between 170–400 km (110–250 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane. The area's population growth has exceeded the state average over the past 20 years, and it is forecast to grow to more than 430,000 by 2031. It is the subject of the Draft Wide Bay–Burnett Regional Plan, which aims to facilitate this growth while protecting over 90% of the region from urban development.
Bundaberg Central is the central suburb and central business district of Bundaberg in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Bundaberg Central had a population of 162 people.
The Port of Maryborough, Queensland, was opened in 1847 and in 1859 it was declared a port of entry, meaning that overseas and intercolonial vessels could arrive and depart direct, although there appears to have been considerable uncertainty about the name of the port outside Queensland for some years. Customs officials elsewhere and such publications as the Mercantile Navy List frequently called the port "Wide Bay" well into the 1860s.
Bundaberg North is a suburb of Bundaberg in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Bundaberg North had a population of 5,451 people. It occupies the developed area north of the Burnett River, opposite the Bundaberg CBD.
Oakwood is a rural locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Oakwood had a population of 331 people.
Mon Repos is a coastal locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Mon Repos had a population of 30 people.
Frederic Herbert (Herb) Faircloth (1870–1925) was an architect in Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. Many of his buildings are now heritage-listed.
Sir Anthony's Rest is a heritage-listed dry-stone lookout at Sir Anthony's Rest Street, Qunaba, Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built for the official visit of the Governor of Queensland, Sir Anthony Musgrave, to Bundaberg in his 1888 tour of the area. It is located on the summit of the Bundaberg Hummock hill and provides a commanding view of the surrounding Bargara canefields.
Qunaba is a rural locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Qunaba had a population of 793 people.
Millbank is a mixed-use suburb in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Millbank had a population of 2,512 people.
The Isis Junction railway station is a former railway station on the North Coast railway line in Buxton, Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It was the junction for the former Isis railway line that served the Shire of Isis.
Bundaberg–Bargara Road is a state-controlled district road in the Bundaberg region of Queensland, Australia. It is rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). It runs from the Isis Highway in Bundaberg West to Holland Street in Bargara, a distance of 14.4 kilometres (8.9 mi).
Media related to The Hummock, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons