The Brockman River is a
perennial river
A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the abs ...
located in the
Wheatbelt region of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
.
Course and features
The river rises north of Bindoon Hill and then flows generally in a southerly direction. The river is crossed by the
Great Northern Highway
Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...
near the Bindoon-Moora Road turnoff and flows parallel with the highway as it continues southward. Passing the town of and through Lake Needoonga and Lake Chittering, the highway crosses the river as the river veers eastward. The river then passes and finally discharges into the
Avon River near Jumperkine Hill just north of
Walyunga National Park
Walyunga National Park is a national park in Western Australia, 35 km northeast of Perth along the Great Northern Highway.
The park is situated just behind the Darling Scarp in the Darling Range spread over a steeply sided valley. The Swan- ...
. The river has many smaller
tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...
including Wootra Brook, Spice Brook, Longbridge Gully, Marbling Brook, and Marda Brook. The river descends over its
course.
[
The Brockman has the largest ]catchment
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...
in the Lower Avon and Upper Swan River catchments. The natural resource base of the river is deteriorating as a result of clearing of natural vegetation which in turn has led to erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
and salinity
Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...
.
The first European to pass by the river was the surveyor Francis Thomas Gregory
Francis Thomas "Frank" Gregory (19 October 1821 – 23 October 1888) was an Australian explorer and politician.
Born in England, he emigrated with his family to Australia as a boy. He was the younger brother of the explorer and politician Augu ...
who named the river in 1853. The river is named after William Locke Brockman
William Locke Brockman (1802 – 28 November 1872) was an early settler in Western Australia, who became a leading pastoralist and stock breeder, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council.
Biography
Born in Kent, England in 1 ...
who was a pastoralist in the region with large land holdings and a Member
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the Western Australian Legislative Council
The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...
.
See also
* List of watercourses in Western Australia
Western Australia has many watercourses with gazetted names, including rivers, streams, brooks, creeks, gullies, anabranches and backwaters.
This lis is complete with respect to the 1996 Gazetteer of Australia. Gazetteer of Australia (1996). ...
References
Avon River (Western Australia)
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