 Mt Gravatt Lookout
185 Shire Rd
Mt Gravatt
Brisbane
Since 1893 Mt Gravatt has attracted climbers, after the colonial government of the time deemed the hill’s 132 acres a recreational reserve. Local residents, drawing on voluntary labour then went about constructing roads and a walking track up its slopes, with a resultant three hand built roads to the summit.
In 1914 a large picnic shelter was built up the top and Mt Gravatt promptly became the local in-spot for picnics. It also became a hot spot for car rallies and by 1930, motorbike events. One local champ won the climb three times, in a four cylinder Indian bike with sidecar.
The current road which leads to the mountaintop was built during the Depression years by unemployed labourers and a small kiosk that had been established there burnt down in 1938.
Today the Echidna Magic Café, owned and run by Indigenous group First Contact, is an excellent spot to enjoy the view and has a little playground to the rear as well as an educational walk-though garden of native plants.
The lookout can be accessed by car or by hiking through the bush from the Griffith University Campus and Toohey Mountain Reserve.
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