Barwon River, a perennial river that is part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the north-west slopes and Orana regions of New South Wales,

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 ...

. The name "barwon" is derived from the Australian Aboriginal words of ''barwum'' or ''bawon'', meaning great, wide, awful river of muddy water; and also ''baawan'', a Ngiyambaa name for both the Barwon and Darling rivers. The history, culture and livelihoods of the local Aboriginal people are closely intertwined with the Barwon River and its associated tributaries and downstream flows.

Course

The river is formed through the

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 ...

of the Macintyre River and Weir River (part of the

Border Rivers Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

system), north of Mungindi, in the

Southern Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was general ...

region of Queensland. The Barwon River generally flows south and west, joined by 36 tributaries, including major inflows from the Boomi,

Moonie The Unification Church of the United States is a religious movement in the United States of America. It began in the 1950s and 1960s when missionaries from Japan and South Korea were sent to the United States by the international Unification Ch ...

, Gwydir,

Mehi Maharshi Mehi Paramhans is a saint in the tradition of Sant Mat. He is usually known as 'Gurumaharaj'. He was the guru of 'Akhil Bhartiye Santmat Satsang'. He studied Vedas, main Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, different sutras of ...

, Namoi,

Macquarie Macquarie may refer to: People * Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of the British colony of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. * Elizabeth Macquarie Campbell, Lachlan Macquarie's second wife Locations * Division of Macquarie, an electoral district in th ...

, Bokhara and Bogan rivers. During major flooding, overflow from the

Narran Lakes The Narran Wetlands, also known as the Narran Lakes, contained within the Narran Lake Nature Reserve, comprise a series of protected ephemeral lakes and swamps fed by the Narran River in the north-west of New South Wales, Australia. The reser ...

and the

Narran River Narran River, a watercourse of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Southern Downs district of Queensland and Orana district of New South Wales, Australia. The river rises south west of Dirranbandi, as a ...

also flows into the Barwon. The confluence of the Barwon and Culgoa rivers, between Brewarrina and Bourke, marks the start of the Darling River. Towns on the Barwon River, from its source towards its mouth include Mungindi, Collarenebri, Walgett, and Brewarrina. The catchment and water flows of the Barwon River are generally administered by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority and together with the Darling River, the catchment covers about 13% of the Murray-Darling Basin. In December 2018 midst drought, the Barwon River at Walgett ceased flowing, reduced to a series of stagnant pools.

History

Aboriginal history

Aboriginal people from six language groups originally occupied the area of the Barwon River

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

. These were the Ngemba, the Baranbinja, the Murrawarri, the

Yuwaalaraay The Yuwaalaraay, also spelt Euahlayi, Euayelai, Eualeyai, Ualarai, Yuwaaliyaay and Yuwallarai, are an Aboriginal Australian people of north-western New South Wales. Name and language The ethnonym derives from their word for "no" () to which ...

, the Weilwan, and the Kamilaroi peoples. The Aboriginal people generally used the wetlands for hunting, fishing, and gathering uses, and for cultural association. Aboriginal people built a complex series of fish traps on the Barwon River at Brewarrina. These traps are a large, well-preserved example of this type of prehistoric site. The traps were built of rocks placed in the river bed to form a large number of V-shaped or diamond-shaped channels. The Brewarrina fish traps have now been listed on the Australian National Heritage List owing to the rarity of these works. They are of importance to modern Aboriginal people and are still in use. There are rocky rapids above and below Collarenebri as well as weirs and other structures for irrigation which impede normal navigation of the river.

European history

In 1846 Roderick Mitchell, Commissioner of Crown Lands and the son of explorer, Sir Thomas Mitchell, proved that the Barwon and MacIntyre Rivers were the same river under different names. Regular steamer services ran from Walgett to Bourke during 1880 to 1912. During the floods of 1879 and 1886 the steamers were able to travel into Collarenebri and even as far as Mungindi in 1890. The Brewarrina Lift Bridge which was built in 1888 over the Barwon River on the Kamilaroi Highway has also been assessed as being of State significance. The Boonanga bridge completed in 1928 to cross the Barwon River near Boomi, is an early example of Allan timber truss road bridges. This bridge has been recorded with the NSW State agency heritage register.

References

External links

* * * *
Longitudinal profile of the Barwon River
sourced from Murray–Darling Basin Authority
Barwon-Darling catchment
at Commonwealth Environmental Water Office, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 19 December 2012. {{Authority control Tributaries of the Darling River