The Flinders Peak Group is an unnamed range of hills located on the northern edge of the Scenic Rim Region, south west of Logan City and south east of the City of Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. The summit in the Range is Flinders Peak reaching above sea level. The first Europeans to cross the range were Patrick Logan and his exploration party in June 1827. Most of the range remains naturally vegetated within a series of protected areas. Both the Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate and the Flinders Peak Conservation Park are located along this range. Other mountains include Mount Joyce, Mount Blaine, Mount Goolman, Mount Elliott, Mount Flintoff, Mount Welcome and Ivorys Rock. The range is visible from many locations around the Scenic Rim.
Landforms
The southern-most mountain of the range is Mount Joyce, which is separated from the Dugandan Range by Teviot Brook.
History
The local Ugarapul people call Flinder's Peak, Booroong'pah or Booroongapah or Booroongpah. It is a sacred site because they believe that the powerful spirit, "Yurrangpul", lives there, and guards their traditions and sacred places. His name is similar to the local word for green tree frog: "Yurrang". The green tree frog is the totem of the Ugarapul people. Mount Blaine is known to the Ugarapul people as Ginginbaar, and the Ugarapul meaning for Goolman, used in Mount Goolman, is Axe.
Naming
The peaks of the range derived their names as follows:
Mount Joyce, formerly known as Kents Peak, so marked on a map of the Moreton Bay District published in 1842 by Robert Dixonsurveyor.
Mount Blaine is probably named after John Blaine who took up land near Peak Crossing in 1869 as the owner of Portion 89, Parish of Goolman.
Mount Goolman, formerly named by John Oxley as Murdoch Peak, is derived from the Yuggera language indicating stone axe. Murdoch Peak was probably named after Peter Murdoch, superintendent of the agricultural establishment at Emu Plains.
Mount Elliott is reportedly named after Robert Elliott who took up land in 1868.
The range drains into both the Bremer River Basin and via Teviot Brook into the Logan River Basin. Teviot Brook is a major tributary of the Logan River that also supplies water to Wyaralong Dam.
Land ownership and control
The Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate is a collection of freehold and public land that is either owned or controlled by Ipswich City Council. The estate is not a protected area under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. The Flinders Peak Conservation Park is entirely surrounded by the Flinders-Coolman Conservation Estate. The Conservation Park is controlled by the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management with the trustee being Ipswich City Council.
Public access
Flinders Peak track
Flinders Peak Track, used to access Flinders Peak, was closed to the general public by Ipswich City Council in November 2009 in the interest of public safety. One section of the track was deemed too difficult for the general public to negotiate so Council are endeavouring to re-align it for safer public access. All other tracks within the Estate have remained open. Some social commentators question the reason why the Flinders Peak Track is closed. It has since been reopened, with a slight detour to avoid the difficult section.
Boonah to Ipswich Trail
As of December 2010, the Queensland Department of Infrastructure and Planning were consulting stakeholders in regard to developing the Boonah-to-Ipswich Trail, a 68 kilometre multi-use non-motorised recreation trail, in partnership with five local Councils. The development of the rrail is in accordance with the South East Queensland Regional Trails Strategy . The located within Ipswich City is planned to wind through the Flinders Goolman Conservation Estate and also will be the northern terminus of the trail. At the foot of Mount Joyce against Teviot Brook a recreation park is planned to incorporate the Boonah-to-Ipswich Trail.
