The highest
peak in
Australia, standing at 2228 metres above
sea level.
It was discovered in 1839 by
Polish explorer Count Strzelecki after he crossed the
Australian Alps. Strzelecki was the first man to climb the mountain and named it after a Polish
democratic political leader, Tadeusz Kosciuszko.
Strzelecki misspelt the Kosciuszko's name as "
Kosciusko" and so the
mountain was spelt the same way. It was not until March 1997 that the Geographical Names Board announced that the mountain and surrounding national park of the same name would now be spelt with a "z" -- Kosciuszko (pronounced kozz-ee-OSS-koe).