The Namoi River, a major

perennial river A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the abs ...

that is part of the Barwon catchment of the

Murray–Darling basin The Murray–Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, encompassing the drainage basin of the tributaries of the Murray River, Australia's longest river, and the Darling River, a right tributary of ...

, is located in the

Northern Tablelands The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...

and

North West Slopes The North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, refers generally to the area west of the Northern Tablelands, to the north of the Central West region and to the east of the Far West region. Despite its name, the region is in north- ...

districts of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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 ...

. The Namoi River rises on the western slopes of the

Moonbi Range The Moonbi Range, a mountain range that is part of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. The range is located roughly north east of the city of Tamworth situated at the bottom of the W ...

and

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 ...

, near Niangala, at the convergence of the Macdonald River and Boundary Creek, and flows generally west, joined by twenty-seven

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 drainage b ...

, including the Peel, Manilla and Mooki rivers, before reaching its confluence with the Barwon River, near

Walgett Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2016, Walgett had a population of 2,145. In the 2 ...

. The Namoi River descends over its course; passing near the towns of

Gunnedah Gunnedah is a town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 9,726. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricultur ...

Boggabri Boggabri ( ) is a small town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Narrabri Shire and lies between Gunnedah and Narrabri on the Kamilaroi Highway. At the , the town had a population of 856 people. The original town site ...

Narrabri Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highw ...

Wee Waa Wee Waa () is a town located on the north-western slopes of the New England region in New South Wales, Australia. The town is within the Narrabri Shire local government area and is on the Namoi River. Wee Waa is north-west of Narrabri and n ...

and Walgett. The flow of the river is impounded by Lake Keepit and Baraneal Lagoon.

Course

The headwaters of the Namoi, including the Macdonald River, the Peel River, the

Cockburn River Cockburn River ( ) is a perennial river that is part of the Namoi catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, located in the Northern Tablelands district of New South Wales, Australia. The river rises in the west slopes of Moonbi Range, near ...

and the Manilla River, rise on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range on the Northern Tablelands. Other smaller tributaries include Cobrabald River, Coxs Creek, Maules Creek, Mooki River and Bundock Creek. It rises east of Niangala and flows generally north west after its confluence with its major tributary, the Cobrabald River, then passes through the villages of Woolbrook and Bendemeer. It continues to flow westward to where it changes name to the Namoi River at Boundary Creek just east of where the river enters Warrabah National Park. The Namoi flows past Manilla, where it is joined by the Manilla River. After passing into Keepit Dam it is joined by the Peel River before passing by Carroll, then joined by the Mooki River near Gunnedah on the

Liverpool Plains The Liverpool Plains are an extensive agricultural area covering about of the north-western slopes of New South Wales in Australia. These plains are a region of prime agricultural land bounded to the east by the Great Dividing Range, to the s ...

. From here it flows north-westwards past Boggabri, Narrabri, Wee Waa and

Burren Junction Burren Junction is a New South Wales village 51 km west of Wee Waa, on the Kamilaroi Highway to Walgett. The name is from the local Aboriginal word for boomerang or 'big creek'. Burren Junction grew from a railway encampment which came fro ...

and eventually joins the Barwon River, near the town of Walgett. Keepit Dam near Gunnedah is an important

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 ...

for flood control and irrigation. The floodplains of the lower Namoi around Wee Waa are an important area for growing

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

which is irrigated using water from the dam.

History

The traditional custodians of the land surrounding the Namoi River are the Aboriginal people of the

Kamilaroi The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

nation. The word ''namoi'' or ''nammoy'' is believed to be the native name for a species of

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

; and ''ngamu'' is a

Gamilaraay The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

word for "breast". Alternative meanings of the name include Aboriginal words for "forked stick" and "meeting of the waters". Allan Cunningham, a botanist-explorer, in 1827 became the first European to explore the Namoi River. Cunningham named this river "Mitchell" in honour of a surgeon in Sydney who was dismissed from Government Service because he refused to attend the flogging of a convict at Hyde Park barracks. The Namoi River Road Bridge, which was built at Manilla in 1886, has been placed on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

. This bridge has eleven metal lattice truss spans and is one of the longest six or seven metal truss bridges completed in Australia by that time.

Fauna

The Namoi supports a wide range of fish and crustaceans, which include Murray cod, yellowbelly, silver perch, catfish (''

Tandanus tandanus The eel-tailed catfish, ''Tandanus tandanus'', is a species of catfish ( order Siluriformes) of the family Plotosidae. This fish is also known as dewfish, freshwater catfish, jewfish, and tandan. This species is a freshwater fish native to ...

'') as well as yabbies (''

Cherax destructor The common yabby (''Cherax destructor'') is an Australian freshwater crustacean in the Parastacidae family. It is listed as a vulnerable species of crayfish by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though wild yabby popul ...

''). "Crawbob" is a regional name and may be called a " yabby" elsewhere in the state. Murray cod in the Namoi grow to a very large size, with fish of forty kilograms or larger being not uncommon.

European carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

and extensive irrigation practices have had adverse impact on the native fish population over the last forty years, and restocking programs have been undertaken, mainly by volunteers, to ensure the survival of the native fish population. The

Namoi River snapping turtle The Namoi River snapping turtle (''Myuchelys bellii'' ), also commonly known as Bell's turtle, the Namoi River elseya, or Bell's saw-shelled turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Chelidae. The species is endemic to New South Wales ) ...

or Bell's turtle (''Elseya belli'') is a species of turtle found only in the upper reaches of the Namoi River, Gwydir and Macdonald rivers on the North West Slopes. The

platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or mono ...

(''Ornithorhynchus anatinus'') is found in this river and can often be seen around Warrabah National Park, east of Manilla.

References

External links

*
Namoi region State of environment report 2008 - 2009
{{Coord, 30, 00, S, 148, 07, E, display=title, region:AU_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Tributaries of the Darling River North West Slopes

Course

History

Fauna

See also

References

External links