Address & Contact Edit
Mt Etna Caves National Park
Queensland 4702
Phone: N/A
Email: N/A
Web: https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/mount-etna-caves/about
Limestone outcrops and dense, decorated caves are protected in
Mount Etna Caves National Park.
Mount Etna is the roosting site for more than 80 per cent of Australia's breeding
population of little bent-wing bats. The park is also one of the few
places in Australia supporting a colony of vulnerable ghost bats.
The Archer Brothers, who settled in the
Rockhampton area in the 1850s, named
Mount Etna after the volcano in Sicily. From 1914 to 1939,
the caves were mined for guano, a natural fertiliser, and from 1925 for
limestone. During World War II, commandos trained here. The national park was established in 1975 to protect
the caves, and a subsequent campaign to save other caves included the protection of
Mount Etna.
The area was once submerged by a shallow sea and has been alternately shaped by, and then starved of, water.
Limestone from ancient coral reefs formed the rocky karst seen today. As
Mount Etna's landscape has evolved, so too have people's attitudes. Once the focus of Australia's longest conservation dispute,
Mount Etna Caves National Park now protects the mountain for future generations.
Camping is not permitted at
Mount Etna Caves National Park.
A number of walks and
ranger-guided tours available.