Carruthers Peak is one of Australia’s “Top 10” peaks – but it doesn’t really feel like one, and it’s not a destination in its own right. The peak is a few metres off the Main Range Trail between Rawsons Pass (at the base of Mount Kosciuszko) and the junction with the Blue Lake Walk. So thousands of people pass the summit and trig point every year without realising it’s there…
There are some nice views from Carruthers Peak and trig point, although visibility on my visit was restricted by cloudy and misty weather.
The summit was named in the summer of 1906-07, when Mr Anderson (who had been appointed by the Premier Joseph Carruthers to develop tourism to Mt Kosciuszko) joined a Summer Camp Excursion to the Kosciuszko summit. A series of tours were promoted by the NSW Tourist Bureau, which interestingly was a branch of the NSW Intelligence Department: the options included a “12 day First Class trip to Mt Kosciuszko”, with a horse trek to the Australia’s highest peak.
Mr HC Merrett of Dalgety accompanied the Premier, and at his suggestion a point on the range between Kosciusko [sic] and Blue Lake was christened Carruthers’ Peak. This point was previously without a name [in fact it was known locally as ‘the Saddleback’]. A bottle of wine was broken on the boulder at the summit of the peak and the health of the Premier was drunk.
Sydney Morning Herald, 21 January 1907
The trig point at Carruthers Peak is a metal disc embedded in one of the rocks at the highest point.
Carruthers Peak is one of the ten highest peaks in Australia.
Getting to Carruthers Peak and Trig
The peak and trig point is reached via an obvious (but not signposted) track off the Main Range Walk, which is 6.5km from Rawsons Pass and 1.8km from the Blue Lake Lookout. The easiest route is from Eagles Nest at the top of the Thredbo chairlift, while the shortest route would be from Charlotte Pass via the Blue Lake Lookout. I visited Carruthers Peak as part of a Top Ten Peaks loop bushwalk from Charlotte Pass.
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