Mount Meharry, Mountain summit in Karijini National Park, Western Australia, Australia
Mount Meharry is the highest mountain in Western Australia, reaching 1,249 metres in the Hamersley Range, in the southeastern part of Karijini National Park. The summit is approached via a 16-kilometre unsealed road and a 21-kilometre vehicular track; in dry conditions a two-wheel-drive vehicle can reach the park boundary at about 800 metres elevation, leaving a walk of about 7 kilometres and 450 metres of ascent to the top.
The peak was discovered in 1967 by surveyor Trevor Markey and named after William Thomas Meharry, who served as Western Australia's Chief Geodetic Surveyor at that time. This discovery occurred as part of wider mapping efforts across the region.
The Panyjima (Pandjima) people are the traditional owners of the area and call the mountain Wirlbiwirlbi. The name Mount Meharry honours William Thomas Meharry, Western Australia's Chief Geodetic Surveyor from 1959 to 1967, who died on 16 May 1967; the peak was gazetted under his name on 15 September 1967.
Access requires permission from Juna Downs Station and the Department of Parks and Wildlife before you can visit. The weather in this region can be intensely hot and dry, so bring plenty of water and wear appropriate sun protection gear.
Mount Meharry beats Mount Bruce, 62 km to the northwest, by only 15 metres, and Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Range, often mistaken for the state's highest peak, by 150 metres. In 1999 Gina Rinehart asked the Geographic Names Committee to rename it after her father Lang Hancock; the request was refused, as was her 2002 appeal to Premier Geoff Gallop.
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