Ernest Giles was the first European to discover the mountain on the 21st of September 1872 and named it Mount Udor after the Latin 'udus', for moisture or dampness, with reference to the
rock pools that he found in the vicinity.
"I made another search during the morning for more water, but without success, and I can only conclude that this water was permitted by Providence to remain here in this lonely spot for my especial benefit, for no more rain had fallen here than at any of the other hills in the neighbourhood, nor is this one any higher or different from the others which I visited, except that this one had a little water and all the rest none. In gratitude therefore to this
hill I have called it Mount Udor. Mount Udor was the only spot where water was to be found in this abominable region, and when I left it the udor had departed also."
Australia Twice Traversed - Ernest Giles