The Barron River (
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
: ''Bibhoora'') is located on the
Atherton Tablelands
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia.
The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tinar ...
inland from
Cairns
Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
in
northern Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia. With its
headwater
The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source.
Definition
The ...
s below Mount Hypipamee, the -long river with a
catchment area
In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of approximately forms through run off from the
Mount Hypipamee National Park
Mount Hypipamee is a national park in Far North Queensland, Australia, 1,358 km northwest of Brisbane.
See also
* Protected areas of Queensland
Queensland is the second largest state in Australia. It contains around 500 separate pro ...
, flows through
Lake Tinaroo
Lake Tinaroo is a rural locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivis ...
, and eventually empties into the
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
near .
Geography
Over time, some of the
Mitchell River's former headwaters were diverted by natural forces into the Barron. These include the Clohesy River and other tributaries that used to flow northwest to the
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...
. With the extra water now flowing over the -high
Barron Falls
Barron Falls ( Aboriginal: ''Din Din'') is a steep tiered cascade waterfall on the Barron River located where the river descends from the Atherton Tablelands to the Cairns coastal plain, in Queensland, Australia.
In 2009 as part of the Q150 ...
, the steep, narrow
Barron Gorge was formed. Much of the water that used to flow over the falls has now been diverted in upstream dams and used to generate electricity at the
Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station.
The Barron's headwaters start in the
Mount Hypipamee National Park
Mount Hypipamee is a national park in Far North Queensland, Australia, 1,358 km northwest of Brisbane.
See also
* Protected areas of Queensland
Queensland is the second largest state in Australia. It contains around 500 separate pro ...
near Mount Hypipamee at an elevation of . The river then flows north across the Atherton Tablelands before finally turning east after
Mareeba
Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the waters'' ...
towards
Kuranda. After passing under the
Kuranda Range Highway
The Kuranda Range road is an informally named section of the Kennedy Highway in Queensland, Australia. The road traverses the Macalister Range near Cairns (). The section of road connects Smithfield, a suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region w ...
's bridge and through Kuranda proper, it descends down the -high Barron Falls and reaches the Cairns floodplains near Smithfield. The
Dinner Falls
The Dinner Falls is a mix of three waterfalls that display plunge, segmented and cascade characteristics on the upper Barron River located in the Far North region of Queensland, Australia.
Location and features
The waterfall is located ap ...
are located along the upper Barron River.
The river's catchment area includes the major tributaries flowing into Lake Tinaroo including Kauri, Mazlin, McLean, Maroobi, Peterson and Severin Creeks. It also absorbs most of the major tributaries on the Atherton Tableland, including Emerald Creek, Granite Creek, the Clohesy River and
Stoney Creek.
This also includes Thomatis Creek, which has only been connected to the Barron since 1932 and has been responsible for diverting part of the flow from the river. Freshwater Creek joins the Barron River below the Gorge and drains
Lake Morris and the Lamb and Whitfield Ranges.
Before entering the
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
, the
river's delta splits into three
distributaries
A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...
, the main river channel, Thomatis/Richters Creek and Redden Creek. During times of flooding two other distributaries also operate – Barr Creek and Half Moon Creek.
The river is the sole source of sand for the beaches to the north of Cairns.
Sand and gravel extraction from the river bed has supplied growing demand in the Cairns area. In the 1970s and 80s extraction rates reached per year, which was twice the replenishment rate at the mouth.
This has resulted in considerable
beach erosion to the north.
History
The river's original Aboriginal name is ''Bibhoora''. The river gained its current name in 1875 when two police sub-inspectors,
Robert Arthur Johnstone
Robert Arthur Johnstone (1843 – 16 January 1905) was an officer in the Native Police paramilitary force which operated in the British imperial colony of Queensland. He was stationed at various locations in central and northern Queensland betw ...
and
Alexander Douglas-Douglas
Alexander Douglas Douglas (7 February 1843– 5 February 1914) was a naval officer, an inspector in the Native Police and a chief inspector of police in Queensland.
Early life
Douglas was born on 7 February 1843 at St Helier, Channel Islands, so ...
, named it after Thomas Henry Bowman Barron (''circa'' 1835 – 24 June 1882), chief clerk of police in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
.
The European discovery of the river was by
James Venture Mulligan
James Venture Mulligan (13 February 1837 – 24 August 1907) was an Ireland-born Australian prospector and explorer.
Early life
Mulligan was born in Drumgooland, County Down and emigrated to Australia at the age of 21 in 1860. He settled a ...
in 1874. Barron River gives its name to the
electoral district of Barron River
Barron River is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland.
Created at the 1971 redistribution, it currently covers the northern suburbs of Cairns, as well as Kuranda. The Barron River from whic ...
, a
division of the Queensland Legislative Assembly formed in 1971.
Flooding
The lower reaches of the Barron River have a well-documented history of flooding dating from early last century.
Tinaroo Falls Dams has little effect on the mitigation of floods. Both agricultural and residential areas can be affected. A network of rainfall and river height field stations was established in 1995 to provide a flood warning system for the
Cairns City Council
The City of Cairns was a local government area centred on the Far North Queensland city of Cairns. Established in 1885, for most of its existence it consisted of approximately around Cairns itself, with much of the metropolitan area being l ...
.
Heavy rain associated with a cyclone early in 1939 caused substantial flooding on the Barron River and resulted in the river changing its course. The mouth of the Barron moved about north from Casuarina Point on the northern Cairns esplanade to Ellie Point.
Some of the river's worst flooding occurred in
1950. This was due to a major tropical cyclone following the contour of the Queensland coast for over a week.
Fauna
The stocking of exotic sports fish into the river has led to a serious decline in the diversity and abundance of native fish.
A total of 63 species of fish have been found in the river, including the glassfish,
barred grunter, Snub-nosed Garfish, Fly-specked hardyhead, Mouth almighty, Bigeye Trevally,
Goby
Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. Traditionally most of the species called gobies have b ...
, Jungle Perch, oxeye herring, eastern rainbowfish, Bony bream,
Spotted scat
''Scatophagus argus'', the spotted scat, butterfish, mia mia, spotted butterfish or tiger scat, is a species of fish in the scat family Scatophagidae. It occurs in two basic color morphs which are called green scat and ruby or red scat. This fis ...
, Giant gudgeon, Freshwater Longtom and
Seven-spot Archerfish
''Toxotes chatareus'', sometimes known by the common names common archerfish, seven-spot archerfish or largescale archerfish, is a species of perciform fish in the archerfish genus ''Toxotes''.Martin F. Gomon & Dianne J. Bray (2011Sevenspot Arc ...
.
See also
*
List of rivers of Queensland
This is a list of rivers of Australia. Rivers are ordered alphabetically, by state. The same river may be found in more than one state as many rivers cross state borders.
Longest rivers nationally
Longest river by state or territory
Althoug ...
*
William Walter Mason Bridge
References
{{Rivers of Queensland
Rivers of Far North Queensland
Cairns, Queensland
Bodies of water of the Coral Sea