A new frontier
A hop over the border from Victoria and into South Australia opens up new territory for us to explore. Mount Gambier is only a stones throw into the great state of the south but the influences from the bordering Northern Territory and Western Australia can already be felt. The limestone geology we found along the Great Ocean Road is connected through this land but in a more explosive way. Mount Gambier’s famous Blue Lake is the result of a series of geological events. Shifting fault lines, molten rock, a rising water table, the pressure of steam and a series of massive explosions created the porous landscape which this region is famous for. The science aside, the local indigenous Booandik People have a much more convincing story
The Craitbul Story tells of the giant ancestor of the Booandik People who long ago made an oven at Mount Muirhead to cook for his wife and family. In hearing the groaning voice of the bird spirit “Bullin” warning them of the evil spirit “Tennateona”, they fled to another site where they built another oven (Mount Schank). Again they were frightened off by the threat of the evil spirit and moved to “Berrin” where they again made their oven (Mount Gambier). One day, water rose and the fire went out. They dug other ovens, but each time water rose putting out the fires. This occurred four times (the Valley Lake, Blue Lake, Browne’s Lake and Leg of Mutton Lake). Finally Craitbul and his family settled in a cave on the side of “Berrin’s ” Peak.
Even within the town itself and right behind the town hall there are Limestone sink holes. The result of a collapsed cave system. European settlers have since added their own touches to these sink holes by creating gardens within some of them.
