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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

The Dutchmans Stern

mountain in Australia

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 16, 2026
Entity authorityQ21893178 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Dutchmans Stern is a mountain in South Australia located in the Flinders Ranges about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) north-west of the town of Quorn and 25 kilometres (16 miles) north east of the city of Port Augusta.

The mountain was named due to its "supposed resemblance to the stern of a Dutch vessel" with one source attributing the naming to early settlers in the vicinity while another source gives attribution to the British navigator, Matthew Flinders. The mountain has a height of 820 metres (2,690 feet). Since 1987, it has been located within the boundaries of the protected area known as The Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park where its "prominent bluff" is considered to be "the main feature" of the conservation park.

The mountain's summit can be reached via a walking trail known as "The Dutchmans Stern Hike" which starts in the carpark at the entrance of the conservation park to the north east of the summit and which is reported by the conservation park's managing authority as consisting of a loop which allows two choices of route - one being a walk of the full loop with a distance of 10.5 kilometres (6.5 miles) and a return time of 5 hours while the other is the most direct path to the summit with a total distance of 8.2 kilometres (5.1 miles) and a return time of 4 hours.

See also

List of mountains in Australia

Citations and references

Citations

References

"The Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park Management Plan 1999" (PDF). Department for Environment Heritage and Aboriginal Affairs. 1999. Retrieved 13 September 2015.

"The Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park (brochure)" (PDF).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “The Dutchmans Stern” as mountain in Australia. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dutchmans, Stern and mountain.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1987, 1999, 2015—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Dutchmans, Stern and mountain providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Dutchmans Stern”, the useful work is to connect “mountain in Australia” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q21893178. Authority coordinates are -32.306, 137.971. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1987, 1999 and 2015.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Dutchmans Stern”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Dutchmans Stern primary sources, The Dutchmans Stern archive and Dutchmans research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Dutchmans Stern”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “The Dutchmans Stern” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.