The Avon River is a
perennial river of the
West Gippsland catchment, located in the West Gippsland region, of the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n state of
Victoria. The Avon, forms an important part of the
Latrobe sub-catchment, draining the south eastern slopes of the
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
, to form the
Gippsland Lakes.
Location and features
The Avon River rises on the south eastern slopes of
Mount Wellington, below Miller Spur, part of the Great Dividing Range within the
Avon Wilderness Park.
The rivers flows in a highly meandering
course
Course may refer to:
Directions or navigation
* Course (navigation), the path of travel
* Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...
generally south, then east, then south by southeast, joined by ten
tributaries including the
Turton River and the
Perry River, before reaching its
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
to form
Lake Wellington east of and southeast of . Within Lake Wellington, the Avon forms its
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
with the
Latrobe River
The Latrobe River (or sometimes La Trobe or LaTrobe) is a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. The Latrobe River and its associated sub-catchment is an import ...
, empties into
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
via the
Mitchell River Mitchell River may refer to:
Australia
*Mitchell River (Queensland)
*Mitchell River (Victoria)
*Mitchell River (Western Australia)
Canada
*Mitchell River (Cross River)
*Mitchell River (Quesnel River tributary)
United States
*Mitchell River (Mass ...
south of . The river descends over its course.
[
The upper reaches are contained in the rugged, heavily forested and largely inaccessible, Avon Wilderness Park. The river passes through forested hillsides, then cleared agricultural land. Around the river has dug a wide channel up to across, composed mainly of sand banks and pebble banks. The river then forms a boundary for the Macallister Irrigation District, with Nuntin Creek joining downstream of Stratford contributing a large amount of irrigation drainage to the river.
Considerable demand is placed on the Latrobe and Thomson Rivers for supply of Melbourne's water, industrial use in Australia's largest pulp and paper mill and the power industry in the Latrobe Valley, and for irrigation. The Avon escapes any major impoundment or diversion.
The river was important to the indigenous Gunai/Kurnai people, highlighted by Knob Reserve, south of Stratford, being part of the Gunai/Kurnai ''Bataluk Cultural Trail''. The trail highlights the places of cultural significance to the first inhabitants across East Gippsland.
]
Etymology
In the Brataualung language
The Gunaikurnai or Gunai/Kurnai ( ) language, also spelt Gunnai, Kurnai, Ganai, Gaanay, or Kurnay ) is an Australian Aboriginal dialect cluster of the Gunaikurnai people in Gippsland in south-east Victoria. Bidawal was either a divergent dia ...
, two names have been recorded for the river, , with no defined meaning;[ and , referring to a section of the clan meaning "fire carriers" who lived on the upper Avon River, and , meaning "land" or "country".][
]
See also
* List of rivers of Victoria
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Rivers of Victoria (Australia)
West Gippsland catchment
Rivers of Gippsland (region)