The May River is a river in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

region of Western Australia. The river is formed when the

Lennard River Lennard River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river was named on 8 June 1879 by the explorer Alexander Forrest, during an expedition in the Kimberley area, after Amy Eliza Barrett-Lennard (1852-1897), who he was to ...

splits into two channels north of Mount Marmion and near the

Kimberley Downs Station Kimberley Downs Station, commonly referred to as Kimberley Downs, is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia. Location Kimberley Downs is situated about east of Derby and northwest of Junjuwa community. It is ...

homestead, the other channel being the

Meda River The Meda River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river is formed when the Lennard River splits into two channels just north of Mount Marmion, the other channel being the May River. Continuing to flow westward the ri ...

. It continues to flow west north-westward through Poulton Pool until it eventually discharges into Stokes Bay, King Sound which is north-east of Derby. The river was named in 1881 by a pioneer of the area,

George Julius Brockman George Julius Brockman (2 January 1850 – 29 August 1912) was a prominent explorer and pastoralist in the Gascoyne and Kimberley regions of Western Australia. Born in 1850 at Guildford, George was the seventh son of Robert Brockman and brother ...

, during an expedition in the Kimberley area looking for grazing land north of the

Fitzroy River Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

. He named the river after the granddaughter of John Septimus Roe, Mary Matilda (May) Thomson. The only tributaries of the May and the

Lennard Lennard may refer to: *Lennard Freeman (born 1995), American basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League *Lennard Pearce (1915–1984), English actor *Dave Lennard (born 1944), English footballer *Henry Lennard (16th–17th century ...

and Camiara Creek. The

northern river shark The northern river shark or New Guinea river shark (''Glyphis garricki'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family (biology), family Requiem shark, Carcharhinidae, found in scattered tidal rivers and associated coastal waters in northern Au ...

is known to inhabit the tidal region of the river and has been found further upstream. Barramundi and cherabin are also caught in the river pools after the wet season.

References

Rivers of the Kimberley region of Western Australia {{WesternAustralia-river-stub