Mount Howitt

Mount Howitt
The summit of Mount Howitt as seen from West Peak in late autumn
Elevation	1,742 m (5,715 ft)AHD
Location
Location	Victoria, Australia
Range	Great Dividing Range
Coordinates	37°11′S 146°39′E / 37.183°S 146.650°E / -37.183; 146.650Coordinates: 37°11′S 146°39′E / 37.183°S 146.650°E / -37.183; 146.650
Climbing
Easiest route	Hike/ski

Mount Howitt is a mountain in Victoria, Australia, named for Alfred William Howitt. Located in the Wonangatta Moroka Unit of the Alpine National Park approximately 170 km north-east of Melbourne.

The mountain is a popular bushwalking destination due to spectacular views and relatively easy access in summer via several popular walks including the Australian Alps Walking Track. The closet point to a road is via MacAlister Springs and the Howitt Plains, a distance of about seven kilometres. The much longer and difficult hike up the West Spur is also popular. It climbs from the Howqua River, which is generally accessed via Mount Stirling. In winter road closures restrict access to trailheads no closer than 15 km (9.3 mi) away making the area popular with remoteness-seeking back country and cross country skiers.^[1]

Vegetation

The mountain is surrounded by deep valleys, where riparian forests of Manna Gum dominate. At higher altitudes, Mountain Gum - Snow Gum forests begin to dominate and they grow on sheltered sites between 1,000 and 1,400 metres with a grassy or heathy understorey. Above this, the summit itself is above treeline ^[2]

History

Aboriginal people used the King and Howqua areas as major trade routes across the Great Dividing Range, including Mount Howitt itself. They also had several quarries in the area that yielded the hard greenstone which was highly valued for tools and weapons. European settlement began in the 1840s, when grazing commenced, followed by the discovery of gold in the Howqua Valley in the 1860s.^[3]

Shelters and alpine huts

The closest shelter to Mount Howitt is the Vallejo Gantner Hut at Macalister Springs. Here there is also a reliable water source provided by a spring water pipe which flows throughout the year, even during drought. In the summer of 2013/2014 a new toilet was built at Macalister Springs with spectacular southern facing views. The toilet is a drop toilet with waste being helicoptered out when full.

In popular culture

The area around Mount Howitt is a setting for the Tomorrow series of books by John Marsden. In these books he changes the name of the nearby Cross Cut Saw to Tailor's Stitch, and the Devils Staircase to Satan's Steps.^[4]

The Man from Snowy River is one of Australia's most famous poems written by one of Australia's most famous poets, Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson and while the character of 'The Man' is generally believed to be based on Jack Riley from Corryong in the Upper Murray River,^[5] the film of the same name ^[6] was filmed in the area around Mount Howitt. Perhaps most prominent of the locations that appears in the film is at Hells Window, on Mount Magdala, which is connected to Mount Howitt via Big Hill.

References

External links

"Mount Howitt". Big Ben’s Victoria. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
"Mount Howitt". An appreciation of the Bogong bioregion. Retrieved 2010-03-02.

Mountains in Victoria, Australia

Grampians

William (1,167 m or 3,829 ft)
Difficult
Wilson
Zero

Victorian Alps

Bogong High Plains	Nelse West (1,893 m or 6,211 ft) Nelse North (1,885 m or 6,184 ft) Fainter South (1,883 m or 6,178 ft) Hotham (1,862 m or 6,109 ft) McKay (1,849 m or 6,066 ft) Cope (1,837 m or 6,027 ft) Spion Kopje (1,837 m or 6,027 ft) Jim (1,818 m or 5,965 ft)

Cathedral Range	Lake (1,482 m or 4,862 ft) The Green Hill (1,241 m or 4,072 ft) Sugarloaf (904 m or 2,966 ft) The Cathedral (801 m or 2,628 ft) South Jawbone Peak (761 m or 2,497 ft)

Cobberas Range	Cobberas No. 1 (1,810 m or 5,938 ft) Cobberas No. 2 Moscow Peak Middle Peak Cleft Peak

Cobbler Plateau	Speculation (1,648 m or 5,407 ft) Cobbler (1,628 m or 5,341 ft) Koonika (1,545 m or 5,069 ft) Despair (1,460 m or 4,790 ft)

Other	Bogong (1,986 m or 6,516 ft) Feathertop (1,922 m or 6,306 ft) Loch (1,865 m or 6,119 ft) Buller (1,805 m or 5,922 ft) Wills (1,755 m or 5,758 ft) Gibbo (1,750 m or 5,741 ft) Stirling (1,749 m or 5,738 ft) Howitt (1,742 m or 5,715 ft) The Horn (1,723 m or 5,653 ft) Buffalo (1,723 m or 5,653 ft) Wellington (1,634 m or 5,361 ft) Buggery (Alpine) (1,598 m or 5,243 ft) Baw Baw (1,567 m or 5,141 ft) Torbreck (1,516 m or 4,974 ft) St Gwinear (circa 1,500 m or 4,921 ft) Mueller (1,460 m or 4,790 ft) Selma (1,456 m or 4,777 ft) Useful (1,435 m or 4,708 ft) Tambo (1,430 m or 4,692 ft) Selwyn (1,411 m or 4,629 ft) Terrible (1,325 m or 4,347 ft) Donna Buang (1,250 m or 4,101 ft) Buggery (Wangaratta) (1,153 m or 3,783 ft) Bulla Bulla (906 m or 2,972 ft) Dom Dom (740 m or 2,428 ft) Brumby Point Pine

Other
mountain ranges

Central Highlands	Macedon (1,001 m or 3,284 ft)

Dandenong Ranges	Dandenong (633 m or 2,077 ft)

Pyrenees Ranges	Avoca (747 m or 2,451 ft) Warrenmang (537 m or 1,762 ft)

Strzelecki Ranges	Tassie (740 m or 2,428 ft)

Other	Matlock (1,377 m or 4,518 ft) Ritchie (1,259 m or 4,131 ft) Toorongo (1,247 m or 4,091 ft) Horsfall (1,130 m or 3,707 ft) Kaye (998 m or 3,274 ft) Elizabeth (941 m or 3,087 ft) Ghiran (924 m or 3,031 ft) Disappointment (794 m or 2,605 ft) Riddell (781 m or 2,562 ft) Beenak (745 m or 2,444 ft) Alexander (744 m or 2,441 ft) Buninyong (719 m or 2,359 ft) Hanging Rock / Diogenes (718 m or 2,356 ft) Warrenheip (714 m or 2,343 ft) Franklin (648 m or 2,126 ft) Beckworth (634 m or 2,080 ft) Corhanwarrabul (628 m or 2,060 ft) Tarrengower (556 m or 1,824 ft) Warrenmang (526 m or 1,726 ft) Teneriffe (444 m or 1,457 ft) Napier (440 m or 1,444 ft) Briggs Bluff (420 m or 1,378 ft) Arapiles (369 m or 1,211 ft) You Yangs (352 m or 1,155 ft) Leura (313 m or 1,027 ft) Noorat (310 m or 1,017 ft) Elephant (240 m or 787 ft) Warrnambool (216 m or 709 ft) Eccles (178 m or 584 ft) Wycheproof (148 m or 486 ft) Cooper (137 m or 449 ft) Hopeless Typo