Talk:Mount Kosciuszko

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[edit] pronunciation

Re.: It should also be noted that the common Australian pronunciation of Kosciuszko, "koz-ee-os-koe", is quite different from the pronunciation in Polish.
What is the Polish pronunciation? D.D. 12:20, 17 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Re.: "What is the Polish pronunciation?" It's really impossible to show without hearing it (and even then it is difficult to pronounce for English speakers), the closest would be "Kosh-choosh-koh". The vowels are a bit different and there's no 'sz' sound in English.

I think a better way to show the English pronunciation would be "kozzy osko". MagdaBudzynowska 03:44, 10 Apr 2004 (UTC)

[edit] aboriginal name

There is affair about renaming the name to aborigenal name. As i've heard, no aborigenes were living here earlier before English speaking settlers, though... Could somebody explain the matter in article? 150.254.31.167 08:17, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

How do you know no Aboriginal peopel were on Mt Kosciusko pre Europeans? I doubt if anyone lived on this hill in recent prehistoric times because of climate but the hill would have been visted regularly by Aboriginal people before the arrival of the Europeans.

[edit] Name swap with Mt Townsend

Is this actually true? :"Various measurements of the peak originally called by that name showed it to be slightly lower than its neighbour, Mount Townsend, and the names were thereupon transposed by the New South Wales Lands Department, so that Mount Kosciusko still remains the highest peak of Australia". A quick google search doesn't locate any supporting evidence. A supporting reference would be useful.

It's lifted verbatim from the Year Book Australia 1909 ([1] - this link now accompanies the statement in the article). I don't know whether it's true though. Nurg 05:46, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

It is true. I have copies of the original maps that show the swap.

I've heard it said that the NSW authorities always knew which was highest, but that Victorian surveyers used what they thought was Mount Kosciusko (but was actually Mount Townsend) as a base line for Victorian maps, which has the ring of truth, but I can't remember the source.--Grahamec 07:50, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Ok, I'm confused.

Mount Townsend and Mount Kosciuszko don't actually look alike. So how does the story about looking like the mound in Poland hold true if the names of the mountains were transposed? I'm not trying to be difficult, but it does seem to be a flaw.

[edit] "hike" Australian English?

Is "hike" Australian English? Andjam 08:45, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

yes definately Maelgwn 12:06, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Easiest Route

I think the 'Easiest Route' being listed as 'Hike' is wrong. To me, the chairlift access to near the top, and then a short boardwalk to the actual summit is easier. Especially if you stop off at the Bar & Grill up near the top.... BryanJones 07:04, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

Walk, dawdle, stroll, ramble ??? Be Bold! ...maelgwntalk 09:41, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
From Thredbo using the chairlift to the top of the range, and then the return walk of 13km takes 4-6 hours. My 7 year old did it in 5 hours with lunch breaks and occasional breaks. The track from Charlotte Pass is much longer. I did this by bicycle with 2 kids and this took about 9 hours - but that was in the early 1990's when there was still serious snow drifts in summer to slow down the pace.--Takver (talk) 16:41, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Higher Australian mountains

Firstly, I don't see how there could be a problem with saying Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the mainland, as the status of the higher mountains is (or at least should be) spelt out later in the article, which is a better option than making any definitive statements about what is or isn't in Australia.

Macquarie Island, which Intelligent Mr Toad mentioned in his edit summary, does not have a higher mountain and so is completely irrelevant, but is actually part of Tasmania, and so definitely included in the Commonwealth. The Antartic Territory is debatable, as Australia has a treaty obligation not to assert full sovereignty south of 60 degrees. The Heard and MacDonald Islands are recognised as an Australian Territory, often referred to as an external territory, but I think you will find that, despite the ways in which each territory has its own special status, the federal government doesn't distinguish between "internal" and "external" territories when talking about territories as a whole. To say they are not part of the Commonwealth of Australia is overly simplistic. JPD (talk) 16:45, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

To most readers the statement "Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the mainland" implies that there is a higher mountain in Tasmania, which there isn't. The Commonwealth of Australia consists of the six states, the two mainland territories, and such offshore islands as are part of the respective states, such as Lord Howe Island. It does NOT include the external territories such as Heard Island or the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT). Does the Australia article give the land area of Australia as though the AAT was part of Australia? It does not. The simple correct statement is "Kosciuszko is the highest mountain in Australia (not including its external territories)". I will amend the article accordingly. Intelligent Mr Toad 06:27, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

I guess the notion of external territories has enough use to be acceptable, even if it is not official. By the way, though, there are three mainland territories, that would definitely be included in any definition of the Commonwealth. JPD (talk) 09:35, 10 July 2007 (UTC)