Mount Baga


Mount Baga is a trachyte plug that lies between Rockhampton and Yeppoon, Australia. Standing at approximately 150 m above the surrounding plains, Mount Baga affords a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape. Mount Wheeler can be seen to the southeast, while many other trachyte formations can be seen to the north and west.
Well covered by trees and scrub, Mount Baga has no signed walking trails and climbing up the slopes is not recommended. The surface consists mostly of broken shale rock. There are several small but sheer cliffs, mostly on the southeastern face, which can be clearly seen from the Capricorn Highway.
Mount Baga holds a significance to the Darumbal Aboriginal people and its creation is told in a Dreaming legend:
In the Dreamtime long ago, a boy and a girl from the tribe fell in love and wanted to marry. The old people were distraught as it was against the tribal code to marry someone from the same totem. The couple took no notice, running away to hide in the flat scrub of what is now Mount Baga. The rainbow serpent, or Moomdagytta, sitting up on Mount Gai-i saw the dilemma and decided to intervene. He spun himself around between the girl and boy with such force, bringing up trees and dirt until a mountain appeared separating the couple. His powers frightened the couple and from then on they abided by the tribal code.
The mountain's name caused controversy due to the fact it most likely is named after the US Jim Crow laws, although the circumstances in which this name was applied to the mountain are unclear.
For these reasons and to better reflect the importance of the mountain to the Darumbal people, the name was changed to Mount Baga.