What you'll see
Mount Arawang Trig
Trigonometric (trig) stations like the one at the top of Mount Arawang can be found on hilltops throughout the ACT. The characteristic white metal quadripods with black discs above were installed in the 1970s as part of the ACT Precision Zone, a national geodetic survey. The ACT Precision Zone and its associated marks have been the main surveying infrastructure for all new development in the ACT since the early 1970s.
Survey practice at the time involved setting over ground marks and reading angles to other marks using theodolites. The quadripod is a considerable advantage over other systems. Old rock cairn trigs needed to be dismantled to expose the ground mark before any angle observations could take place. The advantage of the ACT quadripod design is that it allows a surveyor to set up over a mark cited directly under the quadripod. Highly accurate, they remain a distinctive feature of the ACT's hilltops.
The Arawang trig station was established for the surveying of the Tuggeranong sewer tunnel. The trig station and Mount Arawang take their name from a homestead located nearby.
Once the legal limit of settlement
The Murrumbidgee River, with the Brindabella Range beyond, once formed a formidable barrier for travel and settlement. For a long time this was the limit of the region's pastoral settlement. The river marked the edge of the County of Murray and the boundary for legal occupation by pastoral settlement.
It was only after 1836 that settlers could legally lease land on the other side of the Murrumbidgee. Those who did had few safe places to cross the unpredictable river. Residents lobbied for a bridge to be built nearby at Red Rocks Gorge, but the site of Tharwa, further south, was chosen.
Now located within the Murrumbidgee River Corridor, the Bullen Range Nature Reserve remains a tranquil place where the beauty of Canberra's changing landscapes can be appreciated.
Natural values
Look out for pictures of the trail's flora and fauna on each of the trail head signs and learn about Canberra's plants and animals. Bring a pencil and your own printed copy of the Whose Backyard activity sheet (1.9 MB) to collect a special pencil rubbing for each trail section.
In this section, you may see:
- Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)
- Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)
- Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
Add a sighting to the NatureMapr or visit the Canberra Birds website.
