Welcome to the beautiful Mid North Coast. Here we have amazing wildlife, a fabulous lifestyle and spectacular scenery. Here the mountains do meet the sea (or rather the Pacific Ocean). This is the traditional land of the Birpai and Dhanggati Tribes. From where you stand you can look to the South and see 2 of the 3 mountains known as the Three Brothers. The story of the Three Brothers is creative, so no telling is the same, but the general storyline has remained unchanged for thousands of years.
Here is one version of the telling of the story https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-12/three-brothers-mountains-nsw-view-from-the-shore/12220604 Amazingly, on 12 May 1770, when Captain Cook sailed past, he also ‘named’ these 3 mountains the Three Brothers, as they resembled each other.
The Science
The Three Brother Mountains lie on the eastern rim of the Lorne Basin (Milledge 1979). The Lorne Basin is a sedimentary sequence, consisting of conglomerates, sandstones, mudstones and shales, probably laid down at around the same time as the Sydney Basin (Myson, 1998). The Lorne Basin stretches from approximately Bonny Hills in the north to Moorland (north of Taree) in the south and west to Mount Gibraltar (south of Comboyne). Some time after deposition of the basin rocks massive igneous intrusions occurred. These Late Triassic igneous rocks are mostly a micro-granite, though occasionally rhyolite is found (Gilligan et al, 1987). Rocks are composed of quartz, mica, augite and feldspar (Myson, 1998). They were more resistant to erosion than the surrounding sedimentary rocks and formed the Three Brothers Mountains. The igneous rocks of the North Brother Mountain were used for construction in the local area. Quartz rock from the Laurieton quarry, just outside the eastern boundary of the park, was used to build the Camden Haven breakwater in the late 1890s and to extend and repair the breakwater in 1968-73. North Brother Mountain rises from just above sea level to a height of 487 metres and most of the park is steeply sloping. It is an important and prominent landmark in the local area, being visible from Smoky Cape at South West Rocks to Cape Hawke near Forster and out to sea. It has long been recognised for its aesthetic value and for the views from the summit. It is important that the scenic values of the mountain as a natural landmark be preserved. Planting has recently been undertaken to restore and maintain the natural tree line at the summit.
Reference: Dooragan National Park – Plan of Management July 2004
To log the Earthcache please answer the following questions:
- The Three Brothers mountains are on the Eastern rim of the Lorne Basin, what other basin was formed around the same time?
- What 4 minerals rocks are found in the Three Brothers mountains?
- In your own words, how were the Three Brothers mountains formed?
- Take a photo of yourself, or something to identify yourself/team, and try to include one of the Brothers in your photo.
Please send your answers through to us, and feel free to log as found noting that answers have been sent to CO. Please do not post answers in your log.
Happy Caching... Enjoy the little things.