- Mount Victoria, Papua New Guinea
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Mount Victoria Elevation 4,072 m (13,360 ft) Prominence 2,738 m (8,983 ft) [1] Listing Ultra Location Location Central Province in Papua New Guinea Range Owen Stanley Range Coordinates 8°53′33″S 147°32′00″E / 8.8925°S 147.5333333°E[1] Climbing First ascent 1889 by Sir William MacGregor Mount Victoria is the highest point in the Owen Stanley Ranges in Central Province, Papua New Guinea at 4,072 metres. It lies approximately 75 km north-north-west of Port Moresby and can be seen on a clear day from the city.
History
Originally known as just the Great Mountain there had been several attempts to scale the peak by British colonialists in the 1880s. These attempts had failed after clashes with local villagers.[2]
The first successful recorded ascent was in 1889 by the British New Guinea Administrator, Sir William MacGregor. MacGregor had been in the territory as Administrator for only six months before he was compelled to launch an expedition to climb the mountain for himself.[2]
Starting on 17 May 1889, MacGregor approached the mountain from the west via the Vanapa River. His party included his private secretary J.B Cameron, a Samoan half-caste and thirty-eight Papuans and Polynesians. After ascending two smaller mountains, Mount Musgrave and Mount Knutsford, MacGregor eventually climbed the Great Mountain on 11 June and prompty renamed it Mount Victoria in honour of Queen Victoria.[2]
Notes
- ^ a b "Papua New Guinea Ultras List". peaklist.org. http://www.peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/PNG1500m.html. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
- ^ a b c Souter, Gavin (1963). New Guinea: The Last Unknown. Angus & Robertson. pp. 65–68. ISBN 0207946272.
References
- Nolan, Riall W. (1983). Bushwalking in Papua New Guinea (1 ed.). Lonely Planet. pp. 77–80. ISBN 0908086415.
Categories:- Mountains of Papua New Guinea
- Papua New Guinea geography stubs
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