A panoramic photo has been used as an Orientation Table at the top of Mount Painter, to point out different features and locations in front of you. They include:
- National Arboretum Canberra
- Mount Taylor
- Mount Tennent
- Bullen Range
^ Wright
- Gibraltar Peak: 1040m
^ Tidbinbilla Valley
- Mount Gingera: 1850m
- Mount Domain
= Tidbinbilla Range
^ Lower Molonglo River
- Camels Hump
^ Stromlo Forest Park
- Mount Franklin: 1646m
- Mount Aggie: 1496m
- Sugarloaf Hill
= Brindabella Range
^ Stromlo Point
- Condor Hill
- Mount MacDonald
v Coppins Crossing Road
^ Uriarra Forest
- Mount Corse: 1421m
- Mount Blundell: 1230m
- Kama Nature Reserve
Beneath the panoramic photo is the following information from the interpretative sign:
Fire
'Fire has had an influence on this landscape over thousands of years. 'Fire-stick farming' practised by Aboriginal people helped create and maintain the open woodland that covered slopes and hills when Europeans first arrived in the region.
'More recently, the 2003 bushfires burnt much of the land you can see before you, from the distant hills to the National Arboretum Canberra. Homes on the edge of the nearby suburb of Cook were put on alert to evacuate.
'Plantings on Mount Painter are governed by measures designed to minimise the likely impact of future fires, for example, no plantings within 100 metres of the suburbs, limited planting on the upper slopes and sufficient distance between the likely size of mature trees and shrubs to stop direct spread of fire from canopy to canopy.
A Cultural Landscape
'The land before you is the traditional homeland of the Ngunnawal people. Each part of the landscape had significance to the different members of the group depending on their position in society. Family groups congregated on the plains while mountain tops were part of men's country - places of transition. Elders and soon-to-be-men travelled to the highest peaks of the Tidbinbilla and Brindabella ranges for special ceremonies involving the teaching of lore. Gibraltar Peak acted as a marker to guide people into the mountains.
'Beyond the Brindabella Range to the west is neighbouring Wiradjuri Country. Mount Coree would have been an ideal lookout for each group to see what the other was doing.
'Mount Palmer provides good all round views of the surrounding landscape. Ideal for getting the bigger picture and overseeing things in one's own country including observing patterns of wildlife movement.'
Wildlife Stepping Stones
'Between large patches of native vegetation, there are corridors of vegetation that animals use to move from one area to the next in order to find food, water, shelter and a mate. Mount Painter is an important part of a network of greenery which runs from Black Mountain, though Aranda Bushland, The Pinnacle, Kama Nature Reserve and the Lower Molongolo River valley, which then connects with the Murrumbidgee River corridor. Birds such as Gang-Gang Cockatoo and Spotted Pardalotes feed in the canopy of eucalypts on Mount Painter's lower slopes. Some species such as the Flame Robin migrate from the mountain ranges to spend the winter months on the plains around Mount Painter. Other birds such as Yellow-face and White-naped honeyeaters use river corridors, including the Murrumbidgee and Molonglo rivers, as migration routes.'
A Moment in Time
'The panorama image, taken in June 2014, is just a single moment in time. Regular visitors to Mount Painter will already know the changes that different seasons, weather and time of day bring. Changes made by people are also very evident from here including urban development.
'The summit walking track signs have been sponsored by Spicers.'
Visited: 1742-4, Saturday, 1 September, 2018