Bell River, a
watercourse
A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams a ...
that is part of the
Macquarie catchment within the
Murray–Darling basin
The Murray–Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, encompassing the drainage basin of the tributaries of the Murray River, Australia's longest river, and the Darling River, a right tributary of ...
, is located in the
central west region of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia.
Course
The river rises in the hills north-west of
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
and flows generally north past the town of
Molong
Molong is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, in Cabonne Shire.
History
The name Molong comes from the Aboriginal word for 'all rocks'.
William Lee of Kelso is said to have had cattle in the area by 1819. ...
, joining the
Macquarie River
The Macquarie River - Wambuul is part of the Macquarie– Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia.
The river rises in the central highlands of New South Wales near the ...
at
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
.
[ The course of the river is generally aligned with the ]Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the central and south western regions of Queensland and the northern and central western regions of New South Wales in Australia. The southern part of the Mitchell Highway forms part ...
, with the river dropping over its course.[
]Platypus
The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or mono ...
have often been sighted in the lower reaches of the Bell River.
History
Aboriginal history
The original inhabitants of the land surrounding the Bell River were Australian Aborigines
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isla ...
of the Wiradjuri
The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...
clan.
European history
The area surrounding the Bell River was first explored by John Oxley who named the river in honour of Brevet Major Bell.[
Alluvial gold was discovered in and along the river in 1851, inspiring a minor ]gold rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...
, most notably near the confluence of the Nubrigyn Creek with the Bell River.
Minor flooding of the Bell River occurs sporadically, before its junction with the Macquarie River, including in 1920, 1926, and 1990 at Newrea, where the river reached .
References
External links
*
{{coord, 32, 33, S, 148, 57, E, display=title, region:AU_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki
Rivers of New South Wales
Tributaries of the Macquarie River