The Burnett River is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...
located in the
Wide Bay–Burnett and
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...
regions of
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
, establishe ...
, Australia.
Course and features
![Australia bundaberg aerial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Australia_bundaberg_aerial.jpg)
The Burnett River rises in the Burnett Range, part 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 ...
, close to Mount Gaeta and east of
Monto. It drains a basin covering 33,210 km² which is 1.9% of the total area of Queensland.
The river flows generally south past
Eidsvold and
Mundubbera
Mundubbera ( ) is a town and a locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mundubbera had a population of 1261 people.
Mundubbera is the self-proclaimed "Citrus Capital of Queensland", although this is disputed by the ...
before heading east, adjacent to the townships of
Gayndah and
Wallaville
Wallaville is a rural town and locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It is north of the state capital, Brisbane and south west of the regional centre of Bundaberg. In the , Wallaville had a population of 410 people.
Geograph ...
before entering the city of
Bundaberg
Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The B ...
. The river flows 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 ...
at
Burnett Heads
Burnett Heads is a coastal town and locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Burnett Heads had a population of 2,656 people.
Geography
The locality of Burnett Heads is on the southern side of the Burnet ...
, roughly from Bundaberg. The river descends over its
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 ...
.
The Burnett River region is largely given over to growing
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
and small crops. The river is part of the
Brigalow Belt
The Brigalow Belt is a wide band of acacia-wooded grassland that runs between tropical rainforest of the coast and the semi-arid interior of Queensland, Australia. The
Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) divides the Br ...
and
South East Queensland
South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. Th ...
bioregions.
Major tributaries
Three Moon Creek
Three Moon Creek rises near
Kroombit Tops National Park
Kroombit Tops is a national park in Central Queensland, Australia. It is between Monto and Calliope. It is two parts. The largest part is within the localities of Tablelands, Valentine Plains, Cania and Boyne Valley, while the smaller part i ...
north of Monto and flows south through Monto and
Mulgildie, is dammed near Cania Gorge to form Lake Cania, before emptying into the Burnett River south-east of
Abercorn.
Nogo River
The
Nogo River rises in the hills north-west of Monto, is dammed west of Abercorn to form Wuruma Lake, and flows south-east to join the Burnett near
Ceratodus
''Ceratodus'' (from el, κέρας , 'horn' and el, ὀδούς 'tooth') was a wide-ranging genus of extinct lungfish. Fossil evidence dates back to the Early Triassic. A wide range of fossil species from different time periods have been found ...
.
Auburn River
The
Auburn River rises in the hills about west of
Cracow, flows south before swinging to the north-east at its confluence with Johnson Creek, passing through the
Auburn River National Park
Auburn River National Park is a protected area in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It is in the north-east of the locality of Hawkwood extending into southern Dykehead.
Geography
The park is 277 km northwest of Brisbane. ...
, a little-known and untouched piece of pristine
bush including Auburn Waterfall, and flows into the Burnett River west of Mundubbera.
Boyne River
The
Boyne River rises in the
Bunya Mountains National Park
Bunya Mountains is a national park in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia.
Geography
The park includes much of the mountain range called the Bunya Mountains. The park are encompasses the most westerly area of subtropical rainfore ...
south-west of
Kingaroy
Kingaroy is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the junction of the D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highways, north-west of the state capital Brisbane and south west of Gympie. As a ...
and flows in a general northerly direction, is dammed near
Proston
Proston is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia.
Geography
The town is located north-west of the state capital, Brisbane northwest of the South Burnett regions commercial centre, Kingaroy and south ...
to form
Lake Boondooma, emptying into the Burnett River near Mundubbera, only from the Burnett River-Auburn River confluence.
Barambah Creek
Barambah Creek rises in the hills between Kingaroy and the
Sunshine Coast, north of
Jimna and flows in a general northerly direction, it flows just below the dam wall of Lake Barambah, also known as
Bjelke-Petersen Dam
The Bjelke-Petersen Dam is a dam in Moffatdale near Cherbourg in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The dam impounds Barker Creek and creates Lake Barambah. It is named after the Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. It is opera ...
, before meeting the Burnett River north-east of Gayndah near Ban Ban Springs.
[
]
History
Prehistory
The Burnett River area was historically inhabited by the Taribelang
The Taribelang are an Aboriginal Australian people of central Queensland.
Country
The Taribelang lived on of territory around Bundaberg, and inland to near Walla, and north as far as Baffle Creek. Their territory also extended along the lower ...
Aboriginal tribe.
European exploration
The river is named after James Charles Burnett
James Charles Burnett (1815—1854) a.k.a. "John" was a surveyor and explorer in New South Wales (including Queensland), Australia. He was the head of the first Survey Office established at Brisbane in 1844.
Note, the separation of Queensland fr ...
, the first European explorer to visit the river in 1847.
Dam construction
Construction of the Paradise Dam on the Burnett River, upstream from Bundaberg, was completed in November 2005. The dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
has a capacity of . Named after the old gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
mining township of Paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...
, which is now submerged under the waters of the reservoir, all of the structures and artefacts found at the site were transferred to the nearby town of Biggenden
Biggenden is a rural town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Biggenden had a population of 845 people.
Geography
Biggenden is on the Isis Highway north-west of the state capital Brisbane, and west of ...
. The design of the dam complies with environmental guidelines and includes a fish ladder
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movemen ...
that allows fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
such as the Queensland lungfish to travel upstream as well as downstream from the dam wall.
Fish
The Burnett River, together with the nearby Mary River, is home to the Queensland lungfish
The Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri''), also known as the Queensland lungfish, Burnett salmon and barramunda, is the only surviving member of the family Neoceratodontidae. It is one of only six extant lungfish species in the world. ...
, one of the most ancient of the extant vertebrate species.
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 ...
*Auburn River Dam
The Auburn River Dam is a possible future reservoir located on the Auburn River near Mundubbera, Queensland. The site was recommended for a new dam site after a recent soil test declared the area's topography and clay based soil ideal for a larg ...
References
External links
Map of Burnett and its tributaries from the Bureau of Meteorology Australia
{{Rivers of Queensland
Rivers of Queensland
Bundaberg
Central Queensland
Wide Bay–Burnett