Mysteries of spooky site
FNQ’S BLACK MOUNTAIN INSPIRES STRANGE TALES AND THEORIES
RISING as a jumbled collection of giant boulders, a geological formation near Cooktown has been dubbed the Bermuda Triangle of the Far North due to mysterious disappearances and talk of dark forces and ancient legend.
The collection of black granite stones, known as Kalkajaka to traditional owners, has captured the imagination of supernatural fanatics from all over the world.
Black Mountain is a place that not many people can drive past on the way to Cooktown without experiencing a shiver down the spine.
Folklore tells of unexplained disappearances, a strange magnetic anomaly that disrupts aircraft instrumentation, rare creatures found nowhere else and dreamtime stories of tribal massacre. Living in the shadow of the mountain, geologist Gavin Dear has heard all the stories, including YouTube videos detailing sightings of ghosts, the giant Queensland tiger, enormous pythons and, of course, UFOs.
Videos touting theories that the 212m-high mountain contains an inter-dimensional portal have racked up thousands of views online.
“If you go online, there is wacky science using it for their own click bait,” Mr Dear said.
While the geologist was dismissive of the hype, he said he understood people being fascinated with the mountain.
“People want to believe that there has been numerous disappearances and whole herds of cattle have gone missing. Like so many things, they want to believe in something beyond themselves,” Mr Dear said.
Although many disappearances had been debunked, climbing the mountain was definitely treacherous.
“It’s incredibly dangerous; some of the boulders weigh up to 10 tonnes and they are just balancing,” he said.
“If you miss a jump on a boulder and fall to the bottom, you will be lost forever and never found.
“It’s a labyrinth.”
Mr Dear certainly expressed great respect for the mountain that he described as a great amplifier of energy.
“The mountain has an intense energy and we have to live by the terms of the mountain,” he said.
“It’s just this amazing place that you can contemplate and go on your own journey.
“It’s one of those places you can sit back and stare.
“But as for its dark energy, it’s extremely dangerous and we live under its terms.”
According to National Library of Australia archives, in 1882, two cattlemen, Harry Owens and George Hawkins, disappeared while looking for stray cattle.
A police tracker also went missing during the search.
Prospector James Wren vanished while fossicking at
Black Mountain in 1892 and two young explorers in search of answers to the mysterious disappearances went missing around 1920.
Eight years later, a prospector went missing before his body was found with a bullet wound to the head. A rifle was found next to the body.
However, heritage officer and Indigenous guide at Cooktown’s James Cook Museum, Harold Ludwick, said the interpretations behind the disappearances had been debunked by Bev Shay from the Cooktown and District Historical Society after research of historical accounts.