The Hay 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 w ...

in the Great Southern 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 ...

. The

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have right ...

of the area are the

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

people, who know the river as Genulup. The river was given its English name in December 1829 by naval ship's surgeon

Thomas Braidwood Wilson Thomas Braidwood Wilson FRGS (bapt. 29 April 1792 – 11 November 1843) was an Australian surgeon and explorer. He was baptised in Kirknewton, West Lothian, Scotland, the son of James, and Catherine Boak. Sea voyages Wilson studied at Edinbur ...

after Sir Robert William Hay,

Permanent Under-secretary of State for the Colonies Permanent may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film * ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album) * "Permanent" (song), by David Cook Other uses *Permanent (mathematics), a concept in linear algebra *Permanent (cycl ...

from 1825 to 1836. Wilson saw the river while exploring the area in company with the native Mokare, John Kent (officer in charge of the Commissariat at

King George Sound King George Sound ( nys , Menang Koort) is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use ...

), two convicts and Private William Gough of the 39th Regiment, while his ship was being repaired at King George Sound. The Hay River is part of the

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

catchment, which comprises

Wilson Inlet Wilson Inlet is a shallow, seasonally open estuary located on the coast of the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Description The inlet receives water from the two main rivers: the Denmark River and the Hay River and some smaller ...

Torbay Inlet Torbay Inlet is an estuarine inlet in the Great Southern region of Western Australia situated approximately east of the town of Denmark, Western Australia. Torbay Inlet is a wave-dominated estuary that functions primarily as a result of wave e ...

and Lake Powell, together with the catchments of the

, Hay and Sleeman-Cuppup Rivers and their tributaries. The river rises west of Mount Barker near Wilpuna Park and flows south east as far as Ungerup then flows in a south-south-westerly direction through the Mount Lindesay National Park then crosses the

South Coast Highway South Coast Highway is a Western Australian highway. It is a part of the Highway 1 network. With a length of , it runs from Esperance to Walpole roughly in parallel to Western Australia's south coast. Even then the journey is pretty much in ...

and discharges into Wilson Inlet. The

tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

influence is upstream from where the river flows into the inlet. The Hay River flows all year and the

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

is marginally saline to

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

. It is estimated that 70% of the

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, t ...

area has been cleared for agricultural purposes but 42% of the

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

zone was pristine.

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 drainag ...

of the river include Sleeman Creek and Mitchell River.

References

Rivers of the Great Southern region {{WesternAustralia-river-stub