10/06/2024
The Glass House Mountains
located in the Hinterlands of the Sunshine Coast. 75 Minutes North of Brisbane Holiday Village. From Brisbane, the mountains can be reached by following the Bruce Highway north and taking the Glass House Mountains Tourist Drive turn-off onto Steve Irwin Way.
Each mountain was named to reflect the Aboriginal, or First People’s culture surrounding them. The legend of the Glass House Mountains revolves around the mountains as a family. The story goes:
Tibrogargan was the father, Beerwah was his wife, and they had many children.
One day Tibrogargan was gazing out to see and saw a threat of a great flood. He worried about his wife as she was pregnant and would not be able to reach the safety of the mountains without assistance, so he called his eldest son, Coonowrin, and told him of the flood. Tibrogargan asked Coonowrin to take Beerwah to the mountains, to safety, whilst he gathered the rest of his sons and daughters who were out playing and would follow.
Coonowrin was a coward and instead of helping his mother, he ran away. Tibrogargan saw him leave his mother and was very angry. Tibrogargan chased Coonowrin and hit him over the head with such force that it dislocated Coonowrin’s neck.
When the flood subsided, the family returned home. When the other children saw Coonowrin and what had happened to his neck, they teased him and made Coonowrin feel ashamed of his actions.
Coonowrin asked for forgiveness from Tibrogargan, but the law of their tribe would not permit this. When Tibrogargan asked Coonowrin why he did not help his mother, Coonowrin said it was because she was so big – he thought she should be able to take care of herself (he did not know she was pregnant).
Tibrogargan turned his back on his son and never looked at him again.
Today, Mount Tibrogargan looks out to sea and Mount Coonowrin hangs his head in shame behind him.
