Mary 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 wate ...

in the Kimberley 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 headwaters of the river rise south of Mount Angelo, approximately 25 km south of

Halls Creek Halls is a plural of the word hall. Halls may also refer to: People * Walter Halls (1871–1953), British trade unionist and politician * Ethel May Halls (1882–1967), American actress * Julian Halls (born 1967), British field hockey player * ...

. The river then flows in a westerly direction through Oollumarra Soak and discharges into

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment of just 40 square kilometres in the Whicher Range. The ...

, of which it is a

tributary 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 ...

. Mary River has nine tributaries, including Laura River, Willy Willy Creek, Garden Creek, Hangman Creek and Janet Creek. The river was named in 1884 when the area was explored by a government survey party led by

Harry Johnston Sir Henry Hamilton Johnston (12 June 1858 – 31 July 1927), known as Harry Johnston, was a British explorer, botanist, artist, colonial administrator, and linguist who travelled widely in Africa and spoke many African languages. He publishe ...

, who named it after his mother, Mary Johnston (1822–1893), the daughter of

Marshall Waller Clifton Marshall Waller Clifton (1 November 1787 – 10 April 1861), commonly referred to as Waller Clifton, was an English civil servant, coloniser and politician in Western Australia. History Clifton was born 1 November 1787 at Alverstoke, near ...

and Elinor Bell. 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 rights ...

of the areas around the river are the

Djaru The Djaru people are an Aboriginal Australian people of the southern Kimberley region of Western Australia. Language Djaru is a member of the Ngumbin language family, and is related to Walmajarri. Country The Djaru people ranged along Margar ...

and

Konejandi The Gooniyandi, also known as the Konejandi, are an indigenous Australian people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Language Gooniyandi with Bunuba is one of the two languages of the Bunuban language family. Country Gooniyandi trad ...

peoples.

References

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