Major river in Australia
Darling River
|
---|
Aerial view of the Darling River near
Menindee
|
The Darling is a major tributary of the Murray-Darling system
|
Native name
| Barka
(
Paakantyi
)
|
---|
|
Country
| Australia
|
---|
State
| New South Wales
|
---|
Cities
| Bourke
,
Wilcannia
,
Menindee
,
Wentworth
|
---|
|
|
Source
| confluence of
Barwon
and
Culgoa
Rivers
|
---|
• location
| near
Brewarrina
,
NSW
|
---|
• coordinates
| 29°57′31″S
146°18′28″E
/
29.95861°S 146.30778°E
/
-29.95861; 146.30778
|
---|
• elevation
| 119 m (390 ft)
|
---|
|
Mouth
| confluence with
Murray River
|
---|
• location
| Wentworth
,
NSW
|
---|
• coordinates
| 34°6′47″S
141°54′43″E
/
34.11306°S 141.91194°E
/
-34.11306; 141.91194
|
---|
• elevation
| 35 m (115 ft)
|
---|
Length
| 1,472 km (915 mi)
|
---|
Basin size
| 609,283 km
2
(235,245 sq mi)
|
---|
|
Discharge
|
|
---|
• average
| 100 m
3
/s (3,500 cu ft/s) approx.
|
---|
|
|
River system
| Murray River
,
Murray-Darling basin
|
---|
Tributaries
|
|
---|
• left
| Barwon River
,
Little Bogan River
|
---|
• right
| Culgoa River
,
Warrego River
,
Paroo River
|
---|
The
Darling River
(
Paakantyi
:
Baaka
or
Barka
) is the third-longest river in
Australia
, measuring 1,472 kilometres (915 mi) from its source in northern
New South Wales
to its confluence with the
Murray River
at
Wentworth
. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is 2,844 km (1,767 mi) long, making it the longest river system in Australia.
[1]
The Darling River is the
outback
's most famous waterway.
[2]
The Darling is in poor
health
,
[3]
suffering from over-allocation of its waters to
irrigation
,
[4]
[5]
pollution
from
pesticide
runoff,
[6]
[7]
and prolonged
drought
. During drought periods in 2019 it barely flowed at all. The river has a high salt content and declining
water quality
. Increased rainfall in its catchment in 2010 improved its flow, but the health of the river will depend on long-term management.
[8]
The
Division of Darling
,
Division of Riverina-Darling
,
Electoral district of Darling
and
Electoral district of Lachlan and Lower Darling
were named after the river.
History
[
edit
]
Aboriginal peoples have lived along the Darling River for tens of thousands of years. The
Barkindji
people called it
Baaka
[9]
or
Barka
, "Barkindji" meaning "people of the Barka".
The
Queensland
headwaters of the Darling (the area now known as the
Darling Downs
) were gradually colonized from 1815 onward. In 1828 the explorers
Charles Sturt
and
Hamilton Hume
were sent by the Governor of New South Wales,
Sir Ralph Darling
, to investigate the course of the
Macquarie River
. He visited the Bogan River and then, early in 1829, the upper Darling, which he named after the Governor. In 1835, Major
Thomas Mitchell
travelled a 483-kilometre (300 mi) portion of the Darling River.
[10]
Although his party never reached the junction with the Murray River he correctly assumed the rivers joined.
In 1856, the
Blandowski Expedition
set off for the junction of the Darling and Murray Rivers to discover and collect fish species for the National Museum.
[11]
The expedition was a success with 17,400 specimens arriving in Adelaide the next year.
Although its flow is extraordinarily irregular (the river dried up forty-five times between 1885 and 1960), in the later 19th century the Darling became a major transportation route, the
pastoralists
of western New South Wales using it to send their wool by shallow-draft
paddle steamer
from busy river ports such as
Bourke
and
Wilcannia
to the South Australian railheads at
Morgan
and
Murray Bridge
. But over the past century the river's importance as a transportation route has declined.
In 1992, the Darling River suffered from a severe
cyanobacterial bloom
that stretched the length of the river.
[12]
The presence of phosphorus was essential for the toxic algae to flourish. Flow rates, turbulence, turbidity and temperature were other contributing factors.
In 2008, the Federal government purchased
Toorale Station
in northern New South Wales for $23 million. The purchase allowed the government to return eleven
gigalitres
(2.4
×
10
^
9
imp gal
; 2.9
×
10
^
9
US gal
) of
environmental flows
back into the Darling.
[13]
In 2019, a crisis on the Lower Darling saw up to 1 million fish die. A report by the
Australia Institute
said this was largely due to the decisions by the
Murray-Darling Basin Authority
on instructions from the New South Wales government. It said the reasons for those decisions appeared to be about building the case for the new
Broken Hill
pipeline and the
Menindee Lakes
project. Maryanne Slattery, senior water researcher with the Australia Institute; "To blame the fish kill on the drought is a cop-out, it is because water releases were made from the lakes when this simply shouldn't have happened.
[14]
A worse fish kill occurred in 2023. Millions of dead bony bream, golden perch and silver perch, and Murray cod flowed down the river at
Menindee
.
[15]
The cause was low oxygen levels and high temperatures.
[15]
Course
[
edit
]
The whole
Murray?Darling river system
, one of the largest in the world, drains all of New South Wales west of the
Great Dividing Range
, much of northern
Victoria
and southern Queensland and parts of
South Australia
. Its meandering course is three times longer than the direct distance it traverses.
[16]
Much of the land that the Darling flows through are plains and is therefore relatively flat, having an average gradient of just 16 mm per kilometre.
[17]
Officially the Darling begins between
Brewarrina
and
Bourke
at the
confluence
of the
Culgoa
and
Barwon
rivers; streams whose tributaries rise in the ranges of southern Queensland and northern
New South Wales
west of the
Great Dividing Range
. These tributaries include the
Balonne River
(of which the Culgoa is one of three main branches) and its tributaries; the Condamine [which rises in the Main Range about 100 km inland from Pt. Danger, on the Queensland/New South Wales border], the
Macintyre River
and its tributaries such as the
Dumaresq River
and the
Severn Rivers
(there are two ? one on either side of the state border); the
Gwydir River
; the
Namoi River
; the
Castlereagh River
; and the
Macquarie River
. Other rivers join the Darling near Bourke or below ? the
Bogan River
, the
Warrego River
and
Paroo River
.
South east of
Broken Hill
, the
Menindee Lakes
are a series of lakes that were once connected to the Darling River by short creeks.
[18]
The Menindee Lake Scheme has reduced the frequency of flooding in the Menindee Lakes. As a result, about 13,800 hectares of
lignum
and 8,700 hectares of
Black box
have been destroyed.
[18]
Weirs and constant low flows have fragmented the river system and blocked fish passage.
The Darling River runs south-south-west, leaving the
Far West
region of New South Wales, to join the
Murray River
on the New South Wales ? Victoria border at
Wentworth, New South Wales
.
The
Barrier Highway
at Wilcannia, the
Silver City Highway
at Wentworth and the
Broken Hill railway line
at Menindee, all cross the Darling River. Part of the river north of Menindee marks the border of
Kinchega National Park
. In response to the
1956 Murray River flood
, a weir was constructed at
Menindee
to mitigate flows from the Darling River.
The north of the Darling River is in the
Southeast Australia temperate savanna
ecoregion
and the southwest of the Darling is part of the
Murray Darling Depression
ecoregion.
Population centres
[
edit
]
Major settlements along the river include Brewarrina,
Bourke
,
Louth
,
Tilpa
,
Wilcannia
,
Menindee
,
Pooncarie
and
Wentworth
. Wentworth was Australia's busiest inland port in the late 1880s.
[2]
Navigation by
steamboat
to Brewarrina was first achieved in 1859.
[17]
Brewarrina was also the location of intertribal meetings for
Indigenous Australians
who speak
Darling
and live in the river basin. Ancient
fish traps
in the river provided food for feasts. These
heritage listed rock formations
have been estimated at more than 40,000 years old making them the oldest man-made structure on the planet.
[2]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
Australian poet
Henry Lawson
wrote a well-known ironic tribute to the Darling River.
[19]
To quote another Henry Lawson poem:
The skies are brass and the plains are bare,
Death and ruin are everywhere;
And all that is left of the last year's flood
Is a sickly stream on the grey-black mud;
The salt-springs bubble and the quagmires quiver,
And this is the dirge of the Darling River.
?
Henry Lawson
He also wrote about the river in
The Union Buries Its Dead
and "Andy's Gone With Cattle". Other
bush poets
who have written about the river include Scots-Australian
Will H. Ogilvie
(1869?1963) and
Breaker Morant
(1864?1902).
[20]
The Australian band
Midnight Oil
wrote a song called "The Barka-Darling River" for their album
Resist
, drawing attention to the negative effects of cotton farming on the environment and people connected to the river.
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
The Darling River from Bourke wharf (2010)
-
Old North Bourke Bridge, opened in 1883 (2014)
-
Lifting span of the old North Bourke Bridge
-
Old North Bourke bridge, in flood, northern side, North Bourke (2021)
-
Old North Bourke bridge, in flood, southern side, North Bourke (2021)
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"(Australia's) Longest Rivers"
.
Geoscience Australia
. 16 October 2008
. Retrieved
16 February
2009
.
- ^
a
b
c
Sally Macmillan (24 January 2009).
"Darling River townships offer historic route"
.
The Courier-Mail
. Queensland Newspapers. Archived from
the original
on 12 June 2012
. Retrieved
30 October
2010
.
- ^
"Challenges facing the Murray?Darling Basin"
.
Murray-Darling Basin Authority
. 24 September 2020
. Retrieved
8 September
2021
.
- ^
DAVIES, Anne (3 August 2021).
"NSW exceeds Barwon-Darling water allocations in first year of compliance after regime overhaul"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
8 September
2021
.
- ^
McCORMICK, Bill.
"Murray-Darling Basin water issues"
.
Parliamentary Library
. Commonwealth of Australia
. Retrieved
8 September
2021
.
- ^
"Two thirds of farmland at risk of pesticide pollution"
.
University of Sydney
. 30 March 2021
. Retrieved
8 September
2021
.
- ^
Nearmy, Tracey (24 October 2019).
"Thirst turns to anger as Australia's mighty river runs dry"
.
Reuters
. Retrieved
15 April
2020
.
- ^
"Anger grows in Australia as the Darling River dries up"
.
mercurynews.com
. 23 October 2019.
- ^
Volkofsky, Aimee (13 May 2020).
"Indigenous community sets up camp on Darling River to avoid coronavirus risk in overcrowded homes"
.
ABC News
.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
. Retrieved
9 July
2020
.
The Darling River, known locally as the Baaka, is central to Barkindji culture
- ^
Baker, D. W. A. (1967).
"Mitchell, Sir Thomas Livingstone (1792?1855)"
.
Australian Dictionary of Biography
. National Centre of Biography,
Australian National University
.
ISSN
1833-7538
. Retrieved
17 March
2011
.
- ^
"Blandowski, William (1822?1878)"
.
Australian Dictionary of Biography
. National Centre of Biography,
Australian National University
.
ISSN
1833-7538
. Retrieved
31 January
2011
.
- ^
"Algal Blooms"
. CSIRO Land and Water. 28 January 2011. Archived from
the original
on 2 April 2011
. Retrieved
15 March
2011
.
- ^
Franklin, Matthew (9 January 2010).
"Wong slaps down critics of $23m Darling River water purchase"
.
The Australian
. News Limited
. Retrieved
30 October
2010
.
- ^
"New South Wales government largely culpable for fish kill, report finds"
.
The Guardian
. 18 January 2019.
Archived
from the original on 28 March 2023.
- ^
a
b
Ormonde, Bill; Stonehouse, Greta (18 March 2023).
"Millions of fish dead in the worst mass kill ever to hit Menindee region, in NSW's far west"
.
ABC News
. Retrieved
23 December
2023
.
- ^
"Surface Water Resources"
. Murray Darling Basin Commission. 29 October 2006. Archived from
the original
on 19 February 2011
. Retrieved
31 January
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"The Darling River"
. Central Darling Shire Council. Archived from
the original
on 15 February 2011
. Retrieved
30 October
2010
.
- ^
a
b
"Menindee Lakes"
.
Discovering the Darling
. Murray Darling Environmental Foundation. Archived from
the original
on 3 April 2011
. Retrieved
16 January
2012
.
- ^
Lawson, Henry.
"The Darling River"
. Classic Reader
. Retrieved
28 May
2008
.
- ^
"The Darling River"
. Bourke Shire Council. Archived from
the original
on 16 February 2011
. Retrieved
31 January
2011
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
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Murray
catchment
|
- Back (Edward)
- Back (Billabong 1)
- Back (Billabong 2)
- Billabong
- Box
- Cootnite
- Estuary
- Forest
- Four Mile
- Jerra Jerra
- Kangaroo
- Little Billabong
- Lunts
- Mahonga
- Mountain
- Nowranie
- Piccaninny
- Sawyers
- Sheep Wash
- Simmons
- Ten Mile
- Tumudgery
- Tuppal
- Yarra Yarra
Darling
catchment
|
- Bulbodney
- Burrill
- Bywash Billabong
- Cookopie
- Coonalhugga
- Genaren
- Glue Pot
- Gundong
- Gunningbar
- Kellys Cowal
- Moonagee Cowal
- Mulla Mulla Cowal
- Nyangi Bogan Cowal
- Popiltah
- Redbank
- Sandy (Bogan)
- Stony (Darling Anabranch)
- Tomingley
Barwon
/
Macquarie
sub-catchment
|
- Abington
- Attunga
- Bakers
- Bald
- Berrygil
- Boiling Down (Goonoo Goonoo)
- Bowman
- Brigalow
- Bundock
- Carole
- Cheshire
- Clay
- Coolibar
- Crossing
- Duncans
- Dungowan
- Emu Swamp
- Evans Plains
- Ewenmar
- Frazers (Coonamble)
- Goonoo Goonoo
- Halls (Gwydir)
- Halls (Mehi)
- Halls (Namoi)
- Horsearm
- Jamiesons
- Lambruk
- Limestone
- Menedebri
- Middlebrook (Goonoo Goonoo)
- Mountain (Sandy (Peel 2))
- Moonbi
- Moore
- Moredun
- Mulla Mulla
- Oakey (Peel)
- Oakey (Jamiesons)
- Queen Charlottes
- Quegobla
- Quirindi
- Reedy (Peel)
- Sandy (Bogan)
- Sandy (Bohena)
- Sandy (Gwydir)
- Sandy (Jamiesons)
- Sandy (Peel 1)
- Sandy (Peel 2)
- Sandy (Talbragar)
- Spring (Goonoo Goonoo)
- Swamp Oak
- Tangaratta
- Timbumburi
- Tycannah
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Murrumbidgee
catchment
|
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