The mountain, rising to 632 metres (2,073 ft),[6] is 10.8 kilometres (6.7 mi) east of the town in the locality of Targinnie,[7] but is a dominant feature on the horizon, especially from the town of Gladstone.
The locality of Mount Larcom has the following mountains:
Commander Matthew Flinders named Mount Larcom (the mountain) on 4 August 1802, after a Royal Navy colleague Captain Thomas Larcom.[2] For most of the colonial period the spelling for the name of the region around the mountain was Mount Larcombe. It reverted to the spelling of Mount Larcom in the early 1900s.
Frontier conflict occurred between British colonists and the Aboriginal residents at Mount Larcombe. William Young gave food and clothing to the local Aboriginal people in exchange for their land and their labour shearing his sheep, but also drove them away when they were not needed. He once kicked and pointed a gun at an Aboriginal man for not leaving a hut when told to. Native Police troopers were stationed on the property and in November 1855 they opened fire on a group of Aboriginal people at Mount Larcombe killing one. It was thought that some of the people shot at were involved in an attack a month earlier on the Native Police barracks located at nearby Rannes.[15][16] In late December 1855, those that survived the shooting mounted a revenge attack on Mount Larcombe, taking sheep and supplies, and killing five station-hands including three men, one woman and an Aboriginal servant. William Young was away at Gladstone at the time reporting the drowning death of his superintendent. He was quickly informed of the killings and a punitive expedition was organised under the command of Lieutenant John Murray of the Native Police. Murray's group set out and later surrounded a camp of sleeping Aboriginal people at Hourigan's Creek. They subsequently killed a large number of people there and then tracked down other groups of Indigenous people in the following weeks as far as the northern banks of the Fitzroy River shooting them as they found them.[16][17][18] Mount Larcombe sheep station was subjected to another series of killings in 1858. In October of that year, another three station-hands were killed by Aboriginal people. Second Lieutenant Frederick Wheeler of the Native Police was ordered to investigate the killings. Wheeler together with his troopers and William Young tracked down several camps of Aboriginal people but was only able to take seven female prisoners. Wheeler wrote in his report that they "were not able to shoot any...cannot say whether any of the murderers are amongst the mob, but they must all suffer, for the innocent must be held responsible for the guilt of others...going to Gladstone tomorrow but do not suppose to be able to shoot any." After resupplying at Gladstone, Wheeler set out again along the coastal estuaries where "some firing took place but unluckily no blacks were shot." Lieutenant John Murray with his own detachment of troopers then joined with Wheeler's group at Mount Larcombe and together set out on a large punitive expedition to the upper reaches of the Calliope River. Murray later reported that they came upon a large camp of Aboriginal people in that region and shot dead five of them, expressing disappointment that not more had been killed. Heavy rain interrupted further punitive measures and Wheeler and Murray returned to their barracks. Murray left instructions to Wheeler to conduct further operations to track down Aboriginal people when resupplied and the weather improved.[16]
Mount Larcombe Provisional School opened on 13 November 1882, but closed for some time during the 1890s due to low student numbers. In 1909, it was upgraded to be Mount Larcombe State School and was renamed Mount Larcom State School in 1913. In 1964, a secondary department (Years 8-10) was added to the school.[19][20]
In 1909, township allotments were advertised for sale as 'Mt Larcombe Estate', with the map showing the Gladstone railway station adjacent to the property.[21][22]
Mount Larcom Post Office opened by December 1909 (areceiving office had been open from 1904, first known as Mount Larcombe).[23]
Despite its small population, Mount Larcom has a police station (Gladstone Street), an ambulance station (Raglan Street), a volunteer Rural Fire Service and a volunteer State Emergency Service group. However, the nearest hospitals are in Gladstone and Rockhampton. Being located near the junction of two highways, a common emergency is vehicle crashes.[33]
The Mount Larcom and District Show Society organise an annual agricultural show in June each year. In 2014, in addition to the livestock competitions, there are other activities including a ute muster, woodchopping and fireworks.[50]
^"The late Mr. Wm. Young". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. LIV, no. 12, 575. Queensland, Australia. 2 May 1898. p. 6. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"TRUTH'S TRU TALES". Truth. No. 255. Queensland, Australia. 25 December 1904. p. 3. Retrieved 28 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Spirits and tobacco". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. XXXVII, no. 5548. New South Wales, Australia. 18 February 1856. p. 5. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Along the coast". The Capricornian. Vol. 26, no. 24. Queensland, Australia. 16 June 1900. p. 41. Retrieved 28 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Week. Vol. LXVIII, no. 1, 766. Queensland, Australia. 29 October 1909. p. 26. Retrieved 30 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^Phoenix Options History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
^"NEW STATE SCHOOL". The Telegraph. No. 13970. Queensland, Australia. 1 September 1917. p. 11. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Reserves". The Brisbane Courier. No. 18, 640. Queensland, Australia. 13 October 1917. p. 3. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"THE CHURCHES". Morning Bulletin. No. 17, 503. Queensland, Australia. 12 February 1921. p. 7. Retrieved 3 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"CALLIOPE SHIRE COUNCIL". The Bundaberg Mail. Vol. 51, no. 7, 390. Queensland, Australia. 10 October 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 3 June 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"2013 School Annual Report"(PDF). Mount Larcom State School. Mount Larcom State School. Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
^"Schedules". Mount Larcom and District Show Society. Mount Larcom and District Show Society. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.