Hanging Rock, Victoria

Hanging Rock, Victoria
Victoria, Australia
Highest point
Elevation	718 m (2,356 ft) ^[1]AHD
Prominence	105 metres (344 ft) above plain ^[1]
Coordinates	37°19′49″S 144°35′42″E / 37.330222°S 144.595083°E / -37.330222; 144.595083Coordinates: 37°19′49″S 144°35′42″E / 37.330222°S 144.595083°E / -37.330222; 144.595083
Geography
Location	Victoria, Australia
Parent range	Macedon
Geology
Age of rock	6.25 million years
Mountain type	Mamelon

Hanging Rock (formally known as Mount Diogenes), in central Victoria, Australia, is a distinctive geological formation, 718m above sea level (105m above plain level) on the plain between the two small townships of Newham and Hesket, approximately 70 km north-west of Melbourne and a few kilometres north of Mount Macedon, a former volcano. Hanging Rock is located within the Wurundjeri nation's territory. It is best known through the fictional story Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Hanging Rock is a mamelon, created 6.25 million years ago by stiff magma pouring from a vent and congealing in place. Often thought to be a volcanic plug, it is not. Two other mamelons exist nearby, created in the same period: Camels Hump, to the south on Mount Macedon and, to the east, Crozier's Rocks. All three mamelons are made of solvsbergite, a form of trachyte only found in two or three other places in the world. As Hanging Rock's magma cooled and contracted it split into rough columns. These weathered over time into the many pinnacles that can be seen today.

Hanging Rock contains numerous distinctive rock formations, including the "Hanging Rock" itself (a boulder suspended between other boulders, under which is the main entrance path), the Colonnade, the Eagle and the UFO. The highest point on Hanging Rock is 718 metres above sea level and 105 metres above the plain below. Hanging Rock is located within the Wurundjeri nation's territory but they exercised a custodial responsibility on behalf of the surrounding tribes in the Kulin nation. It was a site of male initiation and as such entry was forbidden except those young males being taken there for ceremonial initiation. After colonial settlement the Aboriginal people of the area were quickly dispossessed and forced out of the area by 1844. However one last initiation ceremony was held there in approximately November 1851 by a Wurundjeri Elder from the Templestowe area in the Yarra Valley. This ceremony was also attended by two young settlers' children, Willie Chivers, 11, and his younger brother Tom, 7, who were being cared for on a daily basis by the tribe after their mother had died. Their father went missing after looking for their mother.

The rock's official name, "Mount Diogenes", was bestowed on it by the surveyor Robert Hoddle in 1844 in keeping with the spirit of several ancient Macedonian names given by Major Thomas Mitchell during his expedition through Victoria in 1836, which passed close to Hanging Rock. Others include Mount Macedon, Mount Alexander and the Campaspe River.^[2]

Hanging Rock is the centrepiece for the Hanging Rock Recreation Reserve, a public reserve managed by the Macedon Ranges Shire Council. The reserve includes a horse racing track, picnic grounds, creek, interpretation centre and cafe. The reserve is a habitat for endemic flora and fauna, including koalas, wallabies, possums, phascogales, wedge-tailed eagles and kookaburras.

The reserve is open to the public during daylight hours seven days a week. Entry is charged per vehicle. Camping is possible by arrangement.

Hanging Rock Reserve is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register as a place of historical, aesthetic and social significance to the State of Victoria.^[3]

Hanging Rock Reserve is currently under review by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (Victoria) to determine future governance and administrative arrangements for management of the site.^[4]

Community

Horse races have been held at Hanging Rock for over one hundred years; the Hanging Rock Racing Club holds two race meetings a year on New Year's Day and Australia Day (26 January).^[5]

The Friends of Hanging Rock, established in 1987, is a community group which holds events open to the public, such as planting days and wildlife tours.^[6]

In 2013 the Hanging Rock Action Group was formed by local residents to call for adequate community consultation about the Macedon Ranges Shire Council's proposal to build a 200-person conference centre and 100 bed hotel in the Eastern Paddock, adjacent to and very visible from the Rock.^[7]

Influence on the arts

William Ford, At the Hanging Rock, 1875, National Gallery of Victoria

Hanging Rock was the inspiration and setting for the novel Picnic at Hanging Rock, written by Joan Lindsay and published in 1967. The novel dealt with the disappearance of a number of schoolgirls during a visit to the site. Their disappearance was explained in the final chapter, but Lindsay deleted this chapter at the suggestion of her editor, thinking the mystery was greater without it.

The novel inspired the film Picnic at Hanging Rock, made in 1975 and directed by Peter Weir. The success of the film was responsible for a substantial increase in visits to the rock and a renewal of interest in the novel. Yvonne Rousseau wrote a book called The Murders at Hanging Rock, published in 1980, which examined possible explanations for the disappearance of the girls.

As a result of the increased interest, the deleted final chapter of the novel was finally published in 1987 as The Secret of Hanging Rock.

Concert venue

Hanging Rock reserve is currently used as an occasional outdoor concert venue by major international acts on the Australian leg of their tours.

The following events have taken place at Hanging Rock as part of a trial by Frontier Touring and the Macedon Ranges Shire Council:^[8]

Leonard Cohen - November 2010
Rod Stewart - February 2012
Bruce Springsteen - March 2013 (Wrecking Ball tour)

In 2014 the Rolling Stones were scheduled to play a night concert (30 March) at Hanging Rock as part of their "14 On Fire" tour. The death of Mick Jagger's partner, L'Wren Scott, resulted in the postponement of the entire tour. The tour was rescheduled and resumed in Adelaide on October 25, 2014. The Hanging Rock concert was rescheduled to take place on Saturday, November 8, 2014, but Rolling Stones lead Mick Jagger cancelled the concert due to a throat infection.^[9]

In October 2013 Frontier Touring signed a five-year agreement with the Macedon Ranges Shire Council to hold up to four concerts per year at Hanging Rock, effective from 31 October 2014.^[10]

Subsequent concerts have been:

The Eagles - February 2015 (History of the Eagles)
Rod Stewart - March 2015
Cold Chisel - November 2015

Gallery

Entrance to Hanging Rock
Rock Formations
Engraving from 1866 near the summit

References

1 2 "About Hanging Rock". Macedon Ranges Tourism. Retrieved 2014-11-08.
↑ Duncan, J.S, ed. (1982). Atlas of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printing Office. pp. 74 =. ISBN 0-7241-8255-1.
↑ http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/12533
↑ http://www.delwp.vic.gov.au/news-and-announcements/hanging-rock-review
↑ Country Racing Victoria. "Hanging Rock Racing Club". Retrieved 2014-04-09.
↑ http://friendsofhangingrock.org
↑ Hanging Rock Action Group. "Community Consultation". Retrieved 9 April 2014.
↑ The Age. "Springsteen wrecks Hanging Rock".
↑ "Hanging Rock Show Cancelled". rollingstones.com. November 6, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
↑ Macedon Ranges Shire Council. "More concerts planned for Hanging Rock". Retrieved 9 April 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hanging Rock.

Mountains in Victoria, Australia

Grampians

William (1,167 m or 3,829 ft)
Difficult
Wilson
Zero

Victorian Alps

Bogong High Plains	Nelse West (1,893 m or 6,211 ft) Nelse North (1,885 m or 6,184 ft) Fainter South (1,883 m or 6,178 ft) Hotham (1,862 m or 6,109 ft) McKay (1,849 m or 6,066 ft) Cope (1,837 m or 6,027 ft) Spion Kopje (1,837 m or 6,027 ft) Jim (1,818 m or 5,965 ft)

Cathedral Range	Lake (1,482 m or 4,862 ft) The Green Hill (1,241 m or 4,072 ft) Sugarloaf (904 m or 2,966 ft) The Cathedral (801 m or 2,628 ft) South Jawbone Peak (761 m or 2,497 ft)

Cobberas Range	Cobberas No. 1 (1,810 m or 5,938 ft) Cobberas No. 2 Moscow Peak Middle Peak Cleft Peak

Cobbler Plateau	Speculation (1,648 m or 5,407 ft) Cobbler (1,628 m or 5,341 ft) Koonika (1,545 m or 5,069 ft) Despair (1,460 m or 4,790 ft)

Other	Bogong (1,986 m or 6,516 ft) Feathertop (1,922 m or 6,306 ft) Loch (1,865 m or 6,119 ft) Buller (1,805 m or 5,922 ft) Wills (1,755 m or 5,758 ft) Gibbo (1,750 m or 5,741 ft) Stirling (1,749 m or 5,738 ft) Howitt (1,742 m or 5,715 ft) The Horn (1,723 m or 5,653 ft) Buffalo (1,723 m or 5,653 ft) Wellington (1,634 m or 5,361 ft) Buggery (Alpine) (1,598 m or 5,243 ft) Baw Baw (1,567 m or 5,141 ft) Torbreck (1,516 m or 4,974 ft) St Gwinear (circa 1,500 m or 4,921 ft) Mueller (1,460 m or 4,790 ft) Selma (1,456 m or 4,777 ft) Useful (1,435 m or 4,708 ft) Tambo (1,430 m or 4,692 ft) Selwyn (1,411 m or 4,629 ft) Terrible (1,325 m or 4,347 ft) Donna Buang (1,250 m or 4,101 ft) Buggery (Wangaratta) (1,153 m or 3,783 ft) Bulla Bulla (906 m or 2,972 ft) Dom Dom (740 m or 2,428 ft) Brumby Point Pine

Other
mountain ranges

Central Highlands	Macedon (1,001 m or 3,284 ft)

Dandenong Ranges	Dandenong (633 m or 2,077 ft)

Pyrenees Ranges	Avoca (747 m or 2,451 ft) Warrenmang (537 m or 1,762 ft)

Strzelecki Ranges	Tassie (740 m or 2,428 ft)

Other	Matlock (1,377 m or 4,518 ft) Ritchie (1,259 m or 4,131 ft) Toorongo (1,247 m or 4,091 ft) Horsfall (1,130 m or 3,707 ft) Kaye (998 m or 3,274 ft) Elizabeth (941 m or 3,087 ft) Ghiran (924 m or 3,031 ft) Disappointment (794 m or 2,605 ft) Riddell (781 m or 2,562 ft) Beenak (745 m or 2,444 ft) Alexander (744 m or 2,441 ft) Buninyong (719 m or 2,359 ft) Hanging Rock / Diogenes (718 m or 2,356 ft) Warrenheip (714 m or 2,343 ft) Franklin (648 m or 2,126 ft) Beckworth (634 m or 2,080 ft) Corhanwarrabul (628 m or 2,060 ft) Tarrengower (556 m or 1,824 ft) Warrenmang (526 m or 1,726 ft) Teneriffe (444 m or 1,457 ft) Napier (440 m or 1,444 ft) Briggs Bluff (420 m or 1,378 ft) Arapiles (369 m or 1,211 ft) You Yangs (352 m or 1,155 ft) Leura (313 m or 1,027 ft) Noorat (310 m or 1,017 ft) Elephant (240 m or 787 ft) Warrnambool (216 m or 709 ft) Eccles (178 m or 584 ft) Wycheproof (148 m or 486 ft) Cooper (137 m or 449 ft) Fraser Hopeless Typo

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