Australian Mountain Peaks
Cache Name: AMP034 – Federation Peak
Peak ID: 34
Elevation: 1224m
State: TAS
Location: Arthur Range, Southwest National Park, Tasmania
Coordinates: 43°16′17″S 146°28′32″E
Cache Size: 450ml plastic container
Federation Peak is a prominent Tasmanian mountain that marks the end of the Eastern Arthur Range, in the Southwest National Park. It is well known for its distinctive sharp spire-like shape. The peak, approximately 90 kilometres southwest from Hobart, was named after the Federation of Australia.
With an elevation of 1224 metres above sea level, the last stretch of the route up is extremely steep and exposed, involving rock-climbing like moves 600 metres above Lake Geeves. Its reputation is such that Sir Edmund Hillary declared it "Australia's only real mountain".
The first westerner to sight the peak was the surveyor James Sprent who was carrying out a trigonometrical survey of Tasmania. He described it as "the Obelisk". It became known as Sprent's Obelisk, however in 1901 it was officially named Federation Peak in honour of the Federation of Australia by Thomas Bather Moore while cutting a track from Hastings to Port Davey via Old River.
It took almost 50 years after the first western sighting for the summit to be reached, a testament to the harshness of southwest Tasmania. Challenges include thick horizontal scrub, ancient cool temperate rainforest, harsh terrain, and unpredictable weather generated by the roaring forties.
After several unsuccessful attempts by various groups in the late 1940s, a party from the Geelong College Exploration Society led by John Béchervaise reached the summit on 27 January 1949. The exposed and technical nature of the usual route that is usually climbed unroped has resulted in a number of fatalities; most recently on 23 March 2016 when a bushwalker fell to her death.