| King of the Mountain | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Foot race up Mount Cooroora |
| Date(s) | Third week in July |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Venue | Stan Topper Park |
| Location(s) | Pomona |
| Coordinates | 26°21′59″S 152°51′15″E / 26.3663°S 152.8543°E |
| Country | Australia |
| Years active | 1 September 1979 (Revived) |
| Inaugurated | 27 June 1959 (First race) |
| Founder | Bruce Samuels Barry Webb |
| Previous event | 24 July 2022 |
| Next event | 23 July 2023 |
| Website | kingofthemountain |
The King of the Mountain is an annual mountain climb race held in Pomona, in the Australian state of Queensland and organised by the Cooroy-Pomona Lions Club. Since its first formal race in 1959 following a bet in the Railway Hotel in 1958, the race has become a local holiday involving the district schools and a carnival like atmosphere.[1]
Course
The original course was from the Railway Hotel (now demolished) to the top of Mount Cooroora and back. The 1979-2021 course went from the ANZ Bank to the top and back. The 2022-Present course is 1km longer but still starts from the old ANZ Bank building.[1][2]
Established
In 1958, Bruce Samuels, a local footballer and railway porter in the town ran to the top of Mount Cooroora as a hangover cure.[2] After being called out, a timed run was held on 22 March 1958 with Samuels completing the run in 40 minutes. In 1959, Brisbane local Barry Webb took up the challenge and completed it in 35:00. On 27 June 1959, the first formal race was held with Frank Mainwaring taking the title with a time of 31:51.[1]
Inter-school challenge
As part of the festival, the inter-school relay is held on the morning of the race on the road surrounding Stan Topper Park. Some schools also partake in the inter-school tug-o-war competition.[3]
The following schools participate:
- Cooran State School
- Cooroy State School
- Gympie South State School[4]
- Pomona State School
- St Andrew's Anglican College[5]
Main race winners
Bruce Samuels completed a timed run in 1958 to prove it was possible with a time of 35:00. Barry Webb was the first to take up the challenge in 1959 with a time of 40:00, shortly after that on 27 June 1959, Frank Mainwaring took the title in the first formal race involving 5 competitors.[1]
| Year | Name (male) | Time | Name (female) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Bruce Samuels | 35:00 | ||
| 1959 | Barry Webb | 40:00 | ||
| 1959 | Frank Mainwaring | 31:51 | ||
| 1960 | Ken Fullerton | 29:44 | ||
| 1979 | George Fewtrell | 26:14 | Anne Daly | (not recorded) |
| 1980 | George Fewtrell | 26:25 | ||
| 1981 | George Fewtrell | 26:03 | Bernadette Evans | 45:25 |
| 1982 | George Fewtrell | 26:13 | Anne Daly | 33:11 |
| 1983 | George Fewtrell | 24:51 | Bernadette Evans | 38:43 |
| 1984 | George Fewtrell | 25:42 | Anne Daly | 31:32 |
| 1985 | Graham Barralet | 23:27 | Rosalie Hyland | 31:37 |
| 1986 | Barry Posser | 23:48 | Maureen Lawson | 30:48 |
| 1987 | Graham Barralet | 22:50 | Suzy Walsham | 30:04 |
| 1988 | Barry Posser | 22:53 | Sue Malaxos | 27:48 |
| 1989 | Graham Barralet | 22:55 | Maureen Lawson | 29:53 |
| 1990 | Graham Barralet | 23:20 | Lynette Gordon | 32:07 |
| 1991 | Graham Barralet | 23:13 | Lynette Gordon | 31:13 |
| 1992 | Barry Posser | 24:32 | Lynette Gordon | 31:34 |
| 1993 | Barry Posser | 25:14 | Kim Beckinsale | 30:53 |
| 1994 | Barry Posser | 24:04 | Meagan Burton | 28:55 |
| 1995 | Matthew Kaluder | 24:45 | Meagan Burton | 29:09 |
| 1996 | Aaron Strong | 28:18 | Meagan Burton | 34:37 |
| 1997 | Aaron Strong | 23:27 | Meagan Burton | 29:30 |
| 1998 | Matthew Kaluder | 24:45 | Corallea Edwards | 31:14 |
| 1999 | Barry Posser | 24:46 | Terri Kolb | 33:40 |
| 2000 | Anthony Smith | 24:36 | Corallea Edwards | 31:43 |
| 2001 | Aaron Strong | 25:02 | Meagan Edhouse | 30:34 |
| 2002 | Michael Wakelin | 24:13 | Corallea Edwards | 31:04 |
| 2003 | Chris Morrissey | 24:25 | Kim Beckinsale | 31:01 |
| 2004 | Michael Wakelin | 24:13 | Kim Beckinsale | 31:10 |
| 2005 | Chris Morrissey | 24:39 | Hubertien Wichers | 31:04 |
| 2006 | Neil Labinsky | 24:25 | Hubertien Wichers | 30:45 |
| 2007 | Neil Labinsky | 23:54 | Hubertien Wichers | 31:36 |
| 2008 | Neil Labinsky | 22:56 | Hubertien Wichers | 30:37 |
| 2009 | Neil Labinsky | 22:43 | Maree Stephensen | 29:05 |
| 2010 | Neil Labinsky | 23:38 | Maree Stephensen | 28:17 |
| 2011 | Neil Labinsky | 24:16 | Hubertien Wichers | 32:38 |
| 2012 | Neil Labinsky | 24:20 | Demelsa Murrihy | 32:56 |
| 2013 | Ben Duffus | 24:22 | Helen Roundtree | 28:55 |
| 2014 | Ben Duffus | 23:47 | Kim Beckinsale | 31:11 |
| 2015 | Hayden Wilde | 25:42 | Leslie Saunders | 33:14 |
| 2016 | Mark Bourne | 23:53 | Leslie Saunders | 31:19 |
| 2017 | Mark Bourne | 24:36 | Ruby Muir | 27:49 |
| 2018 | Ben Duffus | 23:30 | Meg Reeves | 30:47 |
| 2019 | Boaz Clark | 26:30 | Reesha Lewis | 29:49 |
| 2020 | Race cancelled due to COVID-19 | |||
| 2021 | Jorge Hernaez Navarro | 27:11 | Leslie Saunders | 33:04 |
| 2022 | Mark Bourne | 31:24 | Lee Cleary | 40:39 |
| 2023 | Jorge Hernaez Navarro | 31:15 | Ange Harries | 40:22 |
Popular culture
Australian band, Midnight Oil, created a theme song for the event when in 1990 they released a single about the race by the same name, King of the Mountain. Although many people think the song is a reference to Peter Brock and the Bathurst 1000 held at Mount Panorama, drummer Rob Hirst confirmed the song is actually inspired by the footrace up Mount Cooroora and the surrounding natural beauty and unique history of the Noosa hinterland.[6][7]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Mountain Race History". kingofthemountain.com.au.
- 1 2 "King of the Mountain reset". Noosatoday.com.au. 20 July 2022.
- ↑ "PRIMARY SCHOOL RELAY NEWSLETTER 2019" (PDF). kingofthemountain.com.au.
- ↑ "Kids relay for mountain festival". Couriermail.com.au.
- ↑ "Pomona King of the Mountain". www.saac.qld.edu.au/.
- ↑ "kingofthemountain.com.au". kingofthemountain.com.au.
- ↑ "Western Advocate". www.westernadvocate.com.au. 12 February 2018.