The oral history of the Boandik people of south-eastern South Australia includes a story that suggests their ancestors witnessed volcanic activity in the area. The Craitbul story tells of a giant ancestor, who made an oven to cook for his wife and family, at what is now Mount Muirhead. They buried their food overnight in the earth to cook — which tells us the ground here was unusually hot. The groaning voice of a bird spirit warned them of evil spirits and so they fled to another site (Mount Schank) where they built another oven. Once more they were frightened off by the threat of the evil spirit and moved on to another place (Mount Gambier), where they again built their oven. One day water rose and the fire went out (the Blue Lake). They dug other ovens, but each time the water rose, it put out the fires.
It is not possible to date this Aboriginal legend, but the story implies that volcanic activity took place comparatively recently in geological terms. A study of relationships between the volcanic rocks and fossil beach deposits has shown that there were two phases of the volcanic activity that supports the legends.
The older volcanic phase from around 30,000 years ago included the formation of the cinder cone Mt Muirhead. The start of local aboriginal occupation also occurred from this time. The legend talks of the hot ground at Mount Muirhead from the recent volcanic activity. The secondary eruptive phase around 10,000 years ago consists of the Mount Schank and Mount Gambier volcanoes, whose shapes are still fresh and have been only slightly affected by erosion.
At the listed coordinates you will stand on a lookout. Mount Muirhead is immediately to the north across the road. The mountain is privately owned and public access is not permitted. Please examine the mountain view and prepare answers for the following questions. You can log a find immediately if you wish, however also send your answers within a reasonable period to confirm your understanding of the earthscience lesson.
-Estimate the angle of the cone sides? Do you see any erosion? Does this condition help to age the mountain?
-Does the mountain have a crater? Why do you think this has occurred? Does this feature help to age the mountain?
Mount Muirhead Lookout is a great place to view the surrounding Millicent flats, the Mount Burr Range and Forestry South Australia pine plantations. You can see across the rich black soil flats to the township of Millicent and further on the horizon to the Limestone Coast and Canunda National Park. Mount Muirhead is the South Australian starting point for the Kanawinka Volcanoes Discovery Trail.