MILES FRANKLIN'S MOUNTAIN COUNTRY

The landscapes and wildlife of the Brindabellas, west of our national capital, provided inspiration for renowned Australian writer Miles Franklin.

- MATTHEW HIGGINS

THE BIG, BOLD and beautiful Brindabella Range — known affectionately and simply as the Brindabellas” forms the western boundary between the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales. Just beyond it, in NSW, lies the picturesque Brindabella Valley. ve roamed this area’s moist eucalypt forests, lush creekbeds and rugged escarpments for more than three decades, revelling in its beautiful imagery, which is often so vividly recalled in the writings of famed author Miles Franklin.

Miles spent part of her childhood at Brindabella, and the area’s imposing landscapes and distinctively Australian wildlife feature extensively in her fiction, particularly in the novel All That Swagger.

The Brindabella Range is a major feature of the Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves. On its ACT side, to the east, is Namadgi National Park; north, in NSW, is Brindabella National Park, while to the west are Bimberi Nature Reserve Miles Franklin, pictured here and Kosciuszko National Park. At 1913m, Bimberi Peak is the at the age of 23 in 1902 with whip in highest point, although the most distinctive mountain visible from hand, grew up around horses. Canberra is Mt Gingera, whose flat-top summit ridge rises to 1855m and holds snow for long periods in winter. Further north is 1421m Mt Coree hump-shaped from one angle, pyramidal from another. Its cliffs of volcanic rock were known among earlier generations of rockclimbers. The granite you clamber over on peaks such as Gingera and elsewhere in Namadgi is more than 400 million years old.