Hanging Rock & Picnic At Hanging Rock, Mount Macedon, VIC, Australia December 20, 2014 Hanging Rock & Picnic At Hanging Rock, (formally known as Mount Diogenes), in central Victoria, Australia, is a distinctive geological formation, 718m above sea level (105m above plain level) on the plain between the two small townships of Newham and Hesket, approximately 70 km north-west of Melbourne and a few kilometres north of Mount Macedon, a former volcano. Best known as the site where a party of schoolgirls disappeared in February 1900 in the fictional story Picnic at Hanging Rock, Hanging Rock is located within the Wurundjeri nations territory. Hanging Rock is a mamelon, created 6.25 million years ago by stiff magma pouring from a vent and congealing in place. Often thought to be a volcanic plug, it is not. Two other mamelons exist nearby, created in the same period: Camels Hump, to the south on Mount Macedon and, to the east, Croziers Rocks.[citation needed] All three mamelons are made of solvsbergite, a form of trachyte only found in two or three other places in the world. As Hanging Rocks magma cooled and contracted it split into rough columns. These weathered over time into the many pinnacles that can be seen today. Hanging Rock contains numerous distinctive rock formations, including the Hanging Rock itself (a boulder suspended between other boulders, under which is the main entrance path), the Colonnade, the Eagle and the UFO. The highest point on Hanging Rock is 718 metres above sea level and 105 metres above the plain below. Hanging Rock is located within the Wurundjeri nations territory but they exercised a custodial responsibility on behalf of the surrounding tribes in the Kulin nation. It was a site of male initiation and as such entry was forbidden except those young males being taken there for ceremonial initiation. After colonial settlement the Aboriginal people of the area were quickly dispossessed and forced out of the area by 1844. However one last initiation ceremony was held there in approximately November 1851 by a Wurundjeri Elder from the Templestowe area in the Yarra Valley. This ceremony was also attended by two young settlers children, Willie Chivers, 11, and his younger brother Tom, 7, who were being cared for on a daily basis by the tribe after their mother had died. Their father went missing after looking for their mother. The rocks official name, Mount Diogenes, was bestowed on it by the surveyor Robert Hoddle in 1844 in keeping with the spirit of several ancient Greek names given by Major Thomas Mitchell during his expedition through Victoria in 1836, which passed close to Hanging Rock. Others include Mount Macedon, Mount Alexander and the Campaspe River. Hanging Rock is the centrepiece for the Hanging Rock Recreation Reserve, a public reserve managed by the Macedon Ranges Shire Council. The reserve also includes a forest, horse racing track, picnic grounds, creek, interpretation centre and cafe. The reserve is a habitat for endemic flora and fauna, including koalas, wallabies, possums, wedge-tailed eagles and kookaburras. The reserve is open to the public during daylight hours seven days a week. Entry is charged per vehicle. Camping is possible by arrangement. Hanging Rock was listed on the Register of the National Estate until it lost its registration during heritage register reforms. The Hanging Rock Action Group has since nominated the entire Hanging Rock Recreation Reserve for listing on the Victorian Heritage Register. Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian drama and mystery film directed by Peter Weir and starring Anne-Louise Lambert, Helen Morse, Rachel Roberts, Vivean Gray and Dominic Guard. The film was adapted by Cliff Green from the 1967 novel of the same name by Joan Lindsay. The film relates the story of the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their teacher during a picnic to Hanging Rock on St. Valentines Day in 1900, and the subsequent effect on the local community. Picnic at Hanging Rock was a commercial and critical success.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 08:15:10 +0000
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