Mt. Elliott is situated abou30km south of Townsville and is seen by many thousands of travellers, as the Bruce Highway runs just to the east of it. Virtually all of Mt. Elliott is National Park, but so exactly were the boundaries drawn that virtually all the surrounding flat ground is excluded.

The mountain covers an area about 25km (north-south) by 20km (east-west). The lower north-eastern peaks of Saddle Mountain and Mt. Storth are connected to the main massif only by a low ridge. The main mountain is U-shaped, with the open part facing south, where the large valley of Major Creek dominates.

The eastern ridge and the western ridge are of similar height, but of quite different character. The eastern ridge features Mt. Elliot (1240 metres) and Sharp Elliot (1198 metres) and is clothed by dense notophyll rainforest. If there is any rain or cloud in the Townsville area, it is usually to be found on this eastern ridge of Mt. Elliot. The western ridge is only slightly lower (1115 metres), but it is considerably drier as it lies in the rainshadow of the eastern ridge. The vegetation of the western ridge is wet sclerophyll forest or tall open forest, which is relatively rare in north Queensland. There is no wet rainforest there, but some Araucarian Vine Forest exists on the steeper western slopes. The bulk of the mountain is derived from granite, but there are some small areas of rhyolite.

Vegetation.

It is very interesting (though very strenuous) to scale Mt. Elliot and to observe the changes in vegetation along the way. I have made several forays into Mt. Elliot and the most interesting walk was traversing the western summit. The creeks along the western side, such as Surprise Creek, ase very rocky and feature trees such as Casuarina cunninghamiana, Bursaria tenuifolia, Callistemon viminalis, Lophostemon grandiflorus and Melaleuca leucadendra. Cryptostegia grandiflora (Rubber Vine) is also present, though thankfully not yet in large quantities.

The adjacent lower slopes support open eucalypt woodland with E. drepanophylla, E. platyphylla and E. erythrophloia often present. The shrub layer is generally sparse, but 2-metre tall grasses fill all remaining niches. In more sheltered or less fire-prone areas there are areas of vine thicket, with species such as Austromyrtus bidwillii, Strychnos axillaris, Pleiogynium timorense, Alectryon tomentosus, Drypetes lasiogyna and Mallotus philippensis.

Upon reaching the very steep grade, I made it a point to find an interesting plant to examine about every 20 metres. (This had nothing to do with the fact that my heart and legs were begging me to stop!) Gradually the species change; Eucalyptus platyphylla and E. papuana give way to E. acmenoides and E. intermedia and, on the rocky areas, Lophostemon confertus (the small shrubby form of north Queensland).

Finally, above about 900 metres, the vegetation truly becomes tall open forest with Eucalyptus resinifera, E. acmenoides, E. grandis, Syncarpia glomulifera and Allocasuarina torulosa. This forest is remarkably similar to parts of south-east Queensland, eg. Mapleton State Forest. This is reflected not only in the tree flora, but also in the shrubs and herbs. I feel confident in saying that the open eucalypt communities show greatest affinity with southern Queensland, while the high altitude rainforest shows a great affinity with the wet tropics area of northern Queensland. The shrubs and herbs in the tall open forest include Pomaderris argyrophylla, Bracteantha bracteata, Trachymene montana, Pittosporum revolutum, Lepidosperma laterale, Tetraria capillaris, Galium migrans, Opercularia hispida and Kennedia rubicunda, with the latter being extremely common.

The same type of forest is also common along the eastern ridge, where rainforest is absent, and it extends to much lower altitudes, indicating that its occurrence is governed not only by altitude, but also by rainfall.

Very small areas of lowland riverine rainforest occur within the Park. These are dominated by Castanospermum australe, Dissiliaria laxinervis, Alstonia scholaris and Livistona decipiens. This is also the home of the incredible Matchbox Bean (Entada phaseoloides), with its metre-long pods and huge shiny seeds.

The spectacular clifflines on the eastern side (visible from the highway) are often quite smooth and free of vegetation, but on shelves and ledges where soil can accumulate, small trees of Acacia spirorbis ssp. solandri and Eucalyptus exserta occur. They are accompanied by plants such as Argophyllum lejourdanii, Plectranthus graveolens and Hoya australis ssp. australis. A small area of Lophostemon confertus shrubland occurs in the north-western section of the Park. This windswept community is more widespread on nearby Cape Cleveland. Occurring with the shrubby Brush Box plants are Xanthorrhoea johnsonii, Acacia flavescens and Persoonia falcata.

There is a picnic and camping area on the banks of Alligator Creek at the northern end of the Park and the walking tracks allow the visitor to see a wide range of tropical plants.