Mount Coot-Tha Summit Lookout

Mount Coot-tha Lookout & Kiosk is a heritage-listed lookout at Sir Samuel Griffith Drive, Mount Coot-tha, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1918 to c. 1950. It is also known as One-Tree-Hill. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.

History

Mount Coot-tha is part of the Taylor Range which forms a backdrop of hills to the City of Brisbane, and is the best known vantage point from which to view the city and surrounds. Mount Coot-tha was previously known as One-Tree-Hill, a reference to when the hill terminated in a bare knoll with a solitary large tree at the summit.

The Taylor Range was originally named Glenmorrison Range by the explorer John Oxley in 1823. In July 1828, this range was referred to as Glenmoriston's Range and Sir Herbert Taylor's Range by the colonial botanist Charles Fraser, and as Glenmorriston's Range by Captain Patrick Logan, Commandant of the penal settlement at Brisbane.

The first recorded ascent by European explorers was on 6 July 1828, with Fraser, Captain Patrick Logan and explorer Allan Cunningham. Fraser's journal describes in detail the species of trees found there, and that the view from the south-east to north-west was extensive and very grand, presenting an immense thinly wooded plain, whose surface was gently undulated, and clothed with luxuriant grass.

A request to purchase One-Tree-Hill in 1865 was refused, and the Surveyor-General replied that it would be required for trigonometrical purposes, and was moreover a point to which inhabitants of this city frequently repaired for recreation on account of the extensive view and fresh air.

The Taylor Range provided a source of good timber and One-Tree-Hill was first proclaimed a reserve for railway purposes on 21 February 1873 in order that the source of timber could be secured for development of the railway from Ipswich to Brisbane. In 1880, One-Tree-Hill, together with the surrounding area of 1,500 acres (610 ha), was placed in charge of a body of Trustees as a reserve for public recreation. It was at this time that the name was changed to Mount Coot-tha. Mr HW Radford, Clerk of the Parliament, and Honorary Secretary to the Trustees of the Public Recreation Reserve, questioned a descendant of earlier members of the aboriginal tribe that frequented that area and discovered that the aboriginal name for the area was Coot-tha or Kuta, the aboriginal name for honey or the place of honey. Hence the name change to its official title of Mount Coot-tha.

The summit was accessed by walking tracks, and by the 1870s some visitors were driving up with horse and carriages. When Mount Coot-tha became a reserve for public recreation, the track was improved to become a steep and windy road. The surviving one-tree was surrounded by a protective fence and in 1886 a shelter shed and water tank was built. Mount Coot-tha was proclaimed a reserve for native birds on 20 December 1890.

The Saturday half-holiday was legislated for in Queensland as part of the 1900 Factory Act. The half-holiday was the beginning of the weekend as an institution, and together with public holidays the popularity of recreation areas and activities increased. With the advent of the motor car, motoring itself became a recreation activity. By 1918 it could be asserted that the steep rough bridle tracks of years ago were replaced with well-made roads and paths so that pedestrians and motorists could attain the highest points of Mount Coot-tha with the utmost ease. This road later became Sir Samuel Griffith Drive.

In 1918 the Trustees of the Reserve requested that the Greater Brisbane Council take over the administration of the area and at this time it is believed that a new kiosk was built next to the existing shelter shed.

Address: 1012 Sir Samuel Griffith Dr, Mount Coot-Tha QLD 4066, Australia
Hours: Open 24 hours
Phone: +61 7 3403 8888