Description:
Mount Kosciuszko (nicknamed "Kozzy" by the notoriously informal Ozzies) is the highest mountain on the flattest and smallest continent. A thoroughly uninspiring peak, Kosciuszko gets a lot of abuse, particularly from those who claim that the Australia/Oceania continent's rightful contribution to the "Seven Summits" is Puncak Jaya on New Guinea.
Actually, Australia does have some interesting mountainous terrain, including the escarpament areas of the Blue Mountains, the crags of Tasmania, and even Mount Townshend, a craggier peak about 1 km north of Kosciuszko and the second highest of the continent. If any one of these places held Australia's apex, people might not object to the low elevation of the continent high point. Unfortuantely, though, Australia is stuck with Mt. Kosciuszko, a laughably easy dome with a auto-passable road right to the summit.
However, cars are not allowed on the road past the Charlotte's Pass area, so gaining the summit involves a very easy hike of about an hour or so, depending on your fitness. Elevation gain is minimal, and the wide-open terrain is scenic. You can also hike to the summit from the Thredbo ski area to the south, another pretty easy stroll. In the winter, there can be deep snow in the area.
The peak was named in 1840 by Polish-Australian explorer Paul Strzelecki for Tadeusz Kosciuszko (1746-1817), the Polish military hero who fought in both the American and Polish wars of independence. To Strzelecki, the peak resembled the tomb of Kosciuszko in Krakow, Poland. Some think he had climbed Mount Townshend and thought it was the highest.
There is some recent controversy over the spelling of this peak. Until the late 1990s, it was spelled Kosciusko, the long-standing English-language spelling of the Polish patriot's name. However, there has been a movement lately to add the extra "z" to his name to more accurately reflect the Polish spelling, not just in Australia, but in the USA as well (for example, the "Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial" in Philadelphia). Note that a true rendition of the Polish name would have an acute accent over the first "s". And he was born Tadevush Kastsyushka in Belarus, and a true rendition of that name would, I believe, require the Cyrillic alphabet.
An editorial: Even though the governments in Australia are firmly behind the new spelling, to me it seems kind of silly. Like speakers of any other language, English speakers should have the right to make subtle changes to proper names to fit their linguistic and orthographic conventions. In English, the capital of Poland is Warsaw, not Warszawa; the explorer is named Columbus, not Colombo or Colón. I personally don't see much need to add a "z" to Koscuiszko's name, since it will have no effect on the usual English pronounciation. |