Mount Carbine

History

The town of Mount Carbine is said to be named after the horse Carbine that won the 1890 Melbourne Cup. The town had been first settled around that time by those who had come to mine the wolfram (tungsten), discovered here that same year.  These early miners, perhaps believing that their new settlement would become well known for its wealth, apparently decided that the famous Cup winner’s name was the most suitable. In its early years, the town was entirely reliant upon the area’s wolfram deposits for its viability.  The main period of growth in mining was from 1907, with John Moffat’s Irvinebank Company undertaking the major development of the mines.  In this early period, Mount Carbine’s residents were predominantly those who were associated in some way with the wolfram mines, as well as their families. Mount Carbine Provisional School opened in 1908, becoming Mount Carbine State School on 1 January 1909. It closed due to low student numbers in 1927. It re-opened in 1939, closing permanently in 1957. It was on the western side of Pump Road (approx ). Brooklyn Sanctuary was purchased in 2004. Between 2008 and 2013, Mount Carbine was within the Tablelands Region.

Geography

The locality is bounded to the east by the ridge of the Great Dividing Range. The Mitchell River enters the locality from the west (Hurricane) where it forms part of the western boundary of the locality, before flowing east and forming part of the southern boundary. It then exits to the south (Southedge). The Mcleod River forms part of the western boundary on its confluence with the Mitchell River. The north and east of the locality are within a number of protected areas (from north to south): * Mount Lewis National Park * Mount Spurgeon National Park A further comprising most of the south and west of the locality is part of the Brooklyn Sanctuary, a nature reserve owned and operated by the not-for-profit Australian Wildlife Conservancy. The sanctuary includes some former mine sites. Almost all of the locality is used for nature conservation. The exceptions include what remains of the town of Mount Carbine in the south of the locality and some farms around Butcher Creek and Mary Creek, mostly engaged in grazing on native vegetation. * Lighthouse Mountain (Cudgee Cudgee) () * Little Alto () * Mount Alto () * Mount Armit () * Mount Fraser () * Mount Misery () * Mount Spurgeon () * Ords Hill () * Roots Mount ()

Most-observed species

• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  1,134
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  1,075
• Lewin's Honeyeater

  Meliphaga lewinii (Swainson, 1837) · Aves
  949
• Bridled Honeyeater

  Bolemoreus frenatus (E.P.Ramsay, 1874) · Aves
  921
• Brown Cuckoo-Dove

  Macropygia phasianella (Temminck, 1821) · Aves
  880
• Gray-headed Robin

  Heteromyias cinereifrons (E.P.Ramsay, 1876) · Aves
  871
• Bar-shouldered Dove

  Geopelia humeralis (Temminck, 1821) · Aves
  795
• Yellow-throated Scrubwren

  Sericornis citreogularis Gould, 1838 · Aves
  784