^°''io^o'^ ] Fioyal Australasian Ornilhologisls' Union. 200 



was a glinipsr of the open downs to be obtained through the mass 

 of stately bunya pines skirting the gorge of the Httle creek hard 

 by, and, looking away along the open, park-like tongue of land 

 on the fourth side, the bald head of renowned Mowbullan could 

 be seen swathed in a turban of sunlight. This mountain is the 

 highest and most important peak on the range. " Mobolon " 

 is the spelling of Cornelius Moynihan, a writer of twenty years 

 ago. who held that the name signifies " bald-headed," and that 

 the peak was called after a venerable warrior who won the esteem 

 of the assembled tribes. " The accepted spelling of the name of 

 this notable mountain at present is " Mowbullan," but Mr. W. E. 

 Parry-Okeden has recently emphasized that it should be 



IMahooballan " — " ma'oo," head, and " i)allan," a plain — so 

 named because the aborigine saw that it was the headpiece of 

 the range and had no trees on the top. 



We visited historic • Mowbullan a good deal. It is the greatest 

 air-well of them all. Scanty groves of wattle {Acacia decurrens, 

 var. paiichiglandulosa) shoot out in odd places on its sides, but, 

 for the most part, this strange mountain, that ever will have a 

 })rominent place in the history of the aboriginals of Queensland, 

 is covered only with grass and rocks. The natural corollary of 

 this fact, and of its height of 3,700 feet, is that it provides a fine 

 outlook around the country on both sides of the range. For mile 

 upon mile the open areas of the rich Darling Downs and South 

 Burnett can be seen stretching away to blue infinity, and in the 

 soft light of morning and evening the scene is very beautiful 

 indeed — a landscape for a painter. The grass on the sides of 

 Mowbullan and its smaller confreres was unusually dry at the 

 time of our visit, but it is easy to believe that in a good season, 

 when the everlasting flowers are in bloom, all these unfcnced 

 parks constitute pretty pictures. 



A Plea for Sanctuary. 

 What struck the naturalists as an astonishing thing in this 

 connection was the knowledge that, while there is a National 

 Park of 13,540 acres on the Bunya Range, the chief vantage-point, 

 Mowbullan itself, has been alienated. The land was first taken up, 

 it appears, back in the days of the MTlwraith Government, since 

 when it has changed hands more than once. Now the mountain 

 is held on one side by a district settler and on the other by a 

 southern syndicate known as the Bunya Park Estate Company. 

 Fortunately, there has been no attempt at " improvement," and 

 it should not be difficult for the Government to resume the area 

 and add it to the National Park. The desirability of such a course 

 became so strongly impressed upon all visitors that an evening 

 was given over to a discussion on the subject. This developed 

 into a consideration of the value of the mountains generally, and 

 Dr. Price, of Toowoomba, who has frequently camped in these 

 mountains, came out as a strong advocate for the reservation 

 of the whole range. Eventually a motion on the subject was 



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