Encounter by Europeans Aboriginal Australians are known to have lived in the Mount Disappointment area. Stone weapons have been found near the junction of Drag Hill and Sunday Creeks. The surrounding forest was the land of the
Kulin nation. After making the arduous climb to the summit in 1824, British explorers
Hume and Hovell hoped to view the distant
Port Phillip Bay. Unfortunately, the mountain's dense vegetation prevented them reaching the summit (they got within 5 kilometres), resulting in their immense disappointment. In addition, Hume suffered a painful injury to his groin nearby which caused him much distress and necessitated a five-day rest for their party. Consequently, they recorded their feelings in the name they chose for the mountain. The site resembles a large cleared area of about five acres, with evidence of buildings, the remains of a tennis court and cricket pitch. The site is now used as a picnic ground. On 5 August 1942, a
Bristol Beaufighter IC crashed into the mountain, three hundred yards north of the peak, killing two men from 30 Squadron
RAAF. In 1944, two RAAF Vultee Vengeance Mk1 dive bombers were flying in formation when both crashed into the mountain, killing all five airmen on board. Low cloud was reported at the time.
Recent history A report from the Age newspaper about people falling to their death at Mt. Disappointment referred to an incident in California USA and not the Mt. Disappointment in Victoria. It would be impossible for a group of people to roll to their death on this mountain in Victoria Australia. The Mount Disappointment Forest was hit by a major fire in 1982, In 2004, the police went undercover to follow jihad terrorists who went to the Mount Disappointment Forest to blow up ammonium nitrate bombs as training practice. In April 2017, three tired hikers chose to call the emergency services as they were stranded in the middle of the Mount Disappointment Forest. 30 emergency service workers were mobilized, and the lost hikers were quickly found. The cost of this unusual rescue was estimated to be more than $10,000 per hiker. In June 2020, 14-year-old William Callaghan got lost after being separated from his family while hiking. William has autism and is non-verbal. Three days later, he was found alive and well by local volunteer Ben Gibbs, after surviving freezing conditions alone in the bush. Gibbs gave William clothes and chocolate upon his discovery. William was later taken to hospital for observation, but appeared fine aside from some minor scrapes. In August 2007, the light plane of millionaire Steve Nott crashed on Mount Disappointment where the plane's debris was found. On 31 March 2022, a chartered helicopter crashed into the mountain near Blair's Hut. Victoria Police confirmed later that day that all occupants and the pilot died in the incident. ==Flora and fauna==