Mount Ainslie is a part of Canberra Nature Park. It borders on the inner suburbs of Campbell, Ainslie and Hackett. It is named after James Ainslie, a 19th century settler who was the overseer on Duntroon, a large property in the area.
Mount Ainslie has a lookout area surmounted by a rotating aircraft beacon on the summit which stands 842 metres above sea level and provides scenic views across the city and surrounding country within the Australian Capital Territory and beyond to New South Wales (NSW). The walking trail which leads from the back of the Australian War Memorial is well maintained with steps and is paved, and is often used. The trail has a number of plaques commemorating the battles fought in World War 2 in the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea, with the plaques set out as though it was on the Kokoda Trail. A quarry is located around 200 metres from the peak
Mount Ainslie marks the northernmost point of a land axis, planned by Walter Burley Griffin, that stretches through North and South Canberra. This axis takes in the Australian War Memorial and the two Parliament Houses.
Famous quotes containing the word mount:
“On the 31st of August, 1846, I left Concord in Massachusetts for Bangor and the backwoods of Maine,... I proposed to make excursions to Mount Ktaadn, the second highest mountain in New England, about thirty miles distant, and to some of the lakes of the Penobscot, either alone or with such company as I might pick up there.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)