Mount Ossa

History

The town was named after the Mount Ossa railway station, which in turn was named after the mountain. The mountain's name was assigned by surveyor William Charles Borlase Wilson, using a name from Greek mythology (Mounts Ossa and Pelion). Silent Grove Upper State School was at 2948 Mirani-Mount Ossa Road (now in Mount Charlton). Mount Ossa State School was on Mount Ossa School Road ().

Geography

The locality is bounded in the north by the Coral Sea and in north-west by Murray Creek and in the north-east by Conow Creek, both of which flow into the Coral Sea. The central and north-eastern parts of the locality are mostly low-lying land (10–20 metres above sea level) and well-watered by a number of minor creeks. This land is freehold and predominantly used for growing sugarcane on the flatter level with some cattle grazing. The south-western part of the locality is mountainous including Mount Ossa (270 metres) from which the town takes its name. The south-western part is mostly bushland and includes the Mount Ossa National Park. The town is situated in the centre of the locality. The Bruce Highway traverses the locality from south-east to west passing through the town. At the town, the highway has a junction with the Mount Ossa Seaforth Road which exits the locality in the north-east. About one kilometre north-west of the town, the highway has another junction with the Mirani Mount Ossa Road which exits the locality in the south-west. The North Coast railway line also traverses the locality from south-east to west roughly parallel and north-east relative to the highway. The town is served by the Mount Ossa railway station (). There are two other abandoned railway stations in the locality: * Buthurra, near the south-eastern boundary of the locality () * Clanside, near the western boundary of the locality ()

Most-observed species

• Australasian Figbird

  Sphecotheres vieilloti Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  173
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  156
• Bar-shouldered Dove

  Geopelia humeralis (Temminck, 1821) · Aves
  140
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  136
• Peaceful Dove

  Geopelia placida Gould, 1844 · Aves
  134
• Rainbow Bee-eater

  Merops ornatus Latham, 1801 · Aves
  124
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  124
• Spangled Drongo

  Dicrurus bracteatus Gould, 1843 · Aves
  122