BRIBIE BUG BLOG

24^th April 2012

Away Ride to Glasshouse Mountains

Bob Stutter   Leader

Tami Telford Leader
Fiona Cayford
Isabelle Cooper
Sandra Allan
Peter Crawford
Tommy
Joie Sumby
Mike Warner

The Glasshouse Mountains Shopping Centre was the meeting venue for this ride aptly named The Pineapple Fields Ride (for obvious reasons) by Tami and Bob.

Our route for this ride began at Railway Parade and then turning left into Pikes Road.  Most of us ventured on along Gympie Road and back for a further 6 kilometres returning to Pikes Road, onto Coonowrin Road and eventually arriving back at the Glasshouse Mountains township for coffee at the bakery/coffee shop there.

Although this ride was only 22 kilometres in length, the hilly terrain made it quite challenging.  We passed many pineapple fields with the produce in various stages of growth, orchards of macadamia nut trees and the peaks and crags of the glasshouse mountains rising before us.

There are 12 mountains in the glasshouse region, they are as follows:

Mount Beerburrum - 276 m

Mount Beerwah - 555 m
Mount Coochin - 235 m
Mount Coonowrin or Crookneck - 377 m
Mount Elimbah or The Saddleback - 129 m
Mount Miketeebumulgrai - 199 m
Mount Ngungun - 253 m
Round Mountain
Mount Tibberoowuccum - 220 m
Mount Tibrogargan - 364 m
Mount Tunbubudla or the Twins - 312 and 293 m
Wild Horse Mountain - 123 m

This group of mountains were named by Captain James Cook as he sailed north up the coast of what is now Queensland in 1770 as part of his epic voyage aboard his ship H.M. Bark Endeavour. They were so named as the shape of the mountains reminded him of the huge glass furnaces (glasshouses) back in his native Yorkshire.

 Before this time though the Glasshouse Mountains were seen by the Aboriginal people as a mysterious place of spiritual significance and the names of the mountains were so named by the Kabi Kabi people of the Sunshine Coast.

There is an Aboriginal legend regarding the montains that goes something like this:

'Now Tibrogargan was the father of all the tribes and Beerwah was his wife and they had many children.

Coonowrin, the eldest; the twins, Tunbubudla; Miketeebumulgrai; Elimbah whose shoulders were bent because she carried many cares, the little one called Round because she was so fat and small, and the one called Wild Horse since he always strayed away from the others to paddle out to sea. (Ngungun, Beerburrum and Coochin do not seem to be mentioned in the legend).

One day when Tibrogargan was gazing out to sea, he perceived a great rising of the waters. He knew then that there was to be a very great flood and he became worried for Beerwah who had borne him many children and was again pregnant and would not be able to reach the safety of the mountains in the west without assistance.

So he called to his eldest son, Coonowrin, and told him of the flood which was coming and said, 'Take your mother, Beerwah, to the safety of the mountains while I gather your brothers and sisters who are at play and I will bring them along.'

When Tibrogargan looked back to see how Coonowrin was tending to his mother he was dismayed to see him running off alone. Now this was a spiritless thing for Coonowrin to do and as he had shown himself to be a coward he was to be despised.

Tibrogargan became very angry and he picked up his nulla nulla (a club) and chased Coonowrin and cracked him over the head with a mighty blow with such force that it dislocated Coonowrin's neck. He has never been able to straighten it since.

 By and by, the floods subsided and when the plains dried out the family was able to return to the place where they lived before. Then when the other children saw Coonowrin they teased him and called, 'How did you get your wry neck - How did you get your wry neck?' This made Coonowrin feel ashamed.

So Coonowrin went to Tibrogargan and asked for forgiveness but the law of the tribe would not permit this. He wept for his son had disgraced him. Now the shame of this was very great and Tibrogargan's tears were many and as they trickled down they formed a stream which wended its way to the sea.

So Coonowrin went then to his mother, Beerwah but she also cried and her tears became a stream and flowed away to the sea. One by one, he went to his brothers and sisters, but they all cried at their brother's shame.

Then Tibrogargan called to Coonowrin and asked why he had deserted his mother and Coonowrin replied, 'She is the biggest of us all and should be able to take care of herself. Coonowrin did not know that his mother was again with child and that that was the reason for her grossness. Then Tibrogargan put his son behind him and vowed he would never look at him again.

Even to this day Tibrogargan gazes far, far out to sea and never looks at Coonowrin. Coonowrin hangs his head in shame and cries, and his tears run off to the sea, and his mother, Beerwah, is still pregnant, for, you see, it takes many years to give birth to a mountain."

A  very pleasant morning with good company and comradeship.

Official Photographer:  Tommy (with thanks).