The Loddon River, an inland river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Loddon Mallee regions of the

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 ...

n state of Victoria. The headwaters of the Loddon River rise on the northern slopes 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 ...

east of Daylesford and descend to flow north into the Little Murray River, near Swan Hill. The river is impounded by the

Cairn Curran A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

(147,000 ML) and

Laanecoorie Laanecoorie is a locality situated on the Loddon River in Victoria, Australia. It has a community hall, church, and caravan park. Before the town was established the land was part of a station known as Languycoorie, but the name had various spel ...

(12,000 ML) reservoirs. The Tullaroop Creek tributary which joins just above Laanecoorie Reservoir, is impounded by the Tullaroop Reservoir (72,950ML). An

anabranch An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel or stem of the watercourse and rejoins the main stem downstream. Local anabranches can be the result of small islands in the watercourse. In larger anabranches, th ...

of the Loddon River may be found in the upper reaches of the river.

Location and features

Vaughan river, Vaughan Victoria Australia

The Loddon River is the second longest river in Victoria after the Goulburn and, along with the

Avoca River The Avoca River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The head ...

, drains a substantial part of central Victoria. From source to

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

, the river is joined by nineteen minor tributaries; and 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 river rises below near and from where it heads northward to and on to Loddon Falls. It then flows generally northward through and , west of

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. After Newstead the river flows into the Cairn Curran Reservoir before emerging at

Baringhup Baringhup is a locality in central Victoria, Australia. The locality is in the Shire of Mount Alexander, north west of the state capital, Melbourne. Its most prominent geographical features are the Loddon River and the Cairn Curran Reservoir ...

and continuing north to . The river then flows into Laanecoorie Reservoir at and then to , where it flows due north to

Bridgewater On Loddon Bridgewater On Loddon is a town in north central Victoria, Australia. The town is located on the Calder Highway, north west of Bendigo, astride the Loddon River. At the , Bridgewater On Loddon had a population of 326. The rural area which surr ...

, where waterskiing, swimming and fishing are popular recreational pursuits. The river then passes with high summer flows that commence at the small concrete weir to the Loddon Weir, also known as Fernihurst Weir. After the weir, water is diverted to the Waranga Western Channel. Downstream from Loddon Weir the river averages wide, and up to wide at certain points, with a bank height of around . Approximately south of

Kerang Kerang is a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located north-west of Melbourne on the Murray V ...

water flows are increased due to water entering from the Macorna Channel, and the higher flows are maintained for the next of river up to the Kerang Weir. The final stretch of the river flows through

saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to ''Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...

and Black Box forest. The river ends at its

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 ...

with the Little Murray River at Benjeroop, near Swan Hill.

Recreational pursuits

When reasonable water levels flow, the Mill Rapid downstream of the Calder Hwy bridge provides technical

whitewater kayaking Whitewater kayaking is an adventure sport where a river is navigated in a decked kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles. River running; where the paddler follows a river and paddles rapids as they travel. Creeking usually involving s ...

of Grade 3 standard featuring a short fast run. Access is usually via local roads on the west bank. Upstream of the Calder Hwy bridge kayakers and canoeists will have a pleasant paddling experience but may have to share the river with swimmers, fishers, and waterskiers. At Bridgewater there is a designated general waterskiing area, a slalom and ski jump area. Waterskiing events held in this area include the Australian Masters in January, the pre- Moomba tournament in February and the Bridgewater Ski Club Tournament. Additionally, a swimming area is designated at the Flour Mill Weir. Fish found between Bridgewater to Serpentine include Murray cod and golden perch. The water downstream from the Loddon Weir can range between deep and provides fishing opportunities for

redfin Redfin Corporation, based in Seattle, operates a residential real estate brokerage in 95 markets in the United States and Canada and in other markets via partner/referral agents. Its business model includes charging home sellers below-average fe ...

, golden perch,

silver perch Silver perch is a common name for several fishes and may refer to: *''Bairdiella chrysoura'', native to the east coast of the United States *''Bidyanus bidyanus'', endemic to Australia *''Leiopotherapon plumbeus ''Leiopotherapon plumbeus'', know ...

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

and to a lesser extent Murray cod. A vertical slot fishway was constructed next to the Kerang Weir in 2008. The main fish species in the river's lower reaches are redfin, golden perch and Murray cod. There are

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s in Bridgewater and Kerang to keep water in the towns, but otherwise the river can dry up in summer. There is current work going on to determine and implement suitable environmental flows in the river. The pool upstream of the Bridgewater weir is used for watersports such as waterskiing. Both reservoirs are also used for motor boats and

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

. At the Loddon Weir there is road access which enables boats to be launched from the bank.

River crossings

The river is crossed by the Daylesford-Malmsbury Road at Glenlyon; the Drummond-Vaughan Forest Road crosses the river at three locations and the Porcupine Ridge Road crosses near the Vaughan Springs area. Further river crossings are encountered at Kemps Bridge Road, the Midland Highway south of Guildford, as well as Punt Road and the

Pyrenees Highway Pyrenees Highway is a rural highway in western Victoria, Australia, linking Glenelg Highway in Glenthompson to Calder Highway in Elphinstone. It intersects with the region's major road freight route, Western Highway in Ararat, in addition to ...

in Newstead. The river is crossed by the Baringhup Road, and subsequently by the Baringhup West-Eastville Road, Rumbolds Road, Pickerings Lane, Back Eddington Road and Bendigo-Maryborough Road at Eddington. At Laanecoorie, the river is crossed by the Janevale bridge, a reinforced concrete

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...

built in 1911 which is listed as a Heritage Place in the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

, and then northwards to Newbridge where it is crossed by the

Wimmera Highway Wimmera Highway is a 345 kilometre highway that connects the towns of Marong, Victoria and Naracoorte, South Australia, through the major junctions of Sunraysia Highway, Henty Highway and Western Highway. History The passing of the ''Highwa ...

. At Bridgewater the river is crossed by the Calder Highway and the Eaglehawk-Inglewood railway line. A further road crossing is encountered at Bridgewater-Serpentine Road, to the south of Serpentine. Road crossings between Serpentine and Loddon weirs include Lagoona Road, Borung-Hurstwood Road, Ellerslie Road, Majors Line Road, Boort-Pyramid Road, Boort-Yando Road, Canary Island-Leaghur Road, Appin South Road, Hewitt Road and Wood Lane. In Kerang the river is crossed by the Old Kerang Road,

Murray Valley Highway Murray Valley Highway is a state highway located in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. The popular tourist route mostly follows the southern bank of the Murray River and effectively acts as the northernmost highway in Victoria. For all b ...

and the

Yungera railway line The Piangil railway line is a 5 ft 3 in gauge (1600 mm) railway line in north-western Victoria, Australia. It branches off the Deniliquin line just north of Bendigo, and runs in a north-westerly direction through Pyramid Hill and Kerang ...

. After Kerang the river is crossed by West Road, O'Donoghues Bridge Road, Baulch Road and the Wells Bridge which carries the Lake Charm Road.

Etymology

As the river is relatively long, indigenous peoples from various cultural groups lived near the river course. In an undefined

indigenous language An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...

, the names for the river are ''Yolelerwil-meerin'' and ''Byerr'', both with no defined meaning. In the

Djadjawurrung language Djadjawurrung (also Jaara, Ngurai-illam-wurrung) is an Aboriginal Australian language spoken by the Dja Dja Wurrung people of the Kulin nation of central Victoria. Djadjawurrung was spoken by 16 clans around Murchison, the central highlands r ...

, the names for the river are ''Yarrayn'', ''Minne-minne'' and ''Pullergil-yaluk'', all with no clearly defined meaning. In the

Wembawemba language The Wemba Wemba language is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language once spoken along the Murray River and its tributaries in North Western Victoria and South Central New South Wales. Nari Nari, a dialect of Wemba Wemba, is part of a langu ...

, the name for the river is ''Woppoon'', with no clearly defined meaning. In the Djadjawurrung and the Barababaraba languages, the name for the river is ''Gunbungwerro'', with ''werro'' and ''wurru'' meaning "lips" or "mouth." In the Gannawarra and Barababaraba languages, the names for the river is ''Mudyin gadjin'', meaning " epicked up water". It was named by Thomas Mitchell in 1836 after the River Loddon in the English counties of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

., entry for 8 July 1836

References

External links