The Tully 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 ...
located in
Far North Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia.
Course and features
The Tully River rises in the Cardwell Range, part 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 ...
on the northern boundary of the Kirrama State Forest. The river flows generally north through
Lake Koombooloomba and flows over the
Tully Falls
The Tully Falls, a horsetail chute waterfall on the Tully River, is located in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Wet Tropics in the Far North region of Queensland, Australia. It formed the eastern boundary of the Dyirbal.
Location and features ...
near and descends through the Tully Gorge within the
Tully Gorge National Park
Tully Gorge is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,338 km northwest of Brisbane. The park forms part of the Wooroonooran Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range o ...
, part of the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
listed
Wet Tropics
The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all f ...
site. Below the
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, a ...
wall, the river is joined by five minor
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 ...
before emptying into the
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
at Tully Heads. The river 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 ...
.
[
]
People and land use
The Tully, together with the Herbert and the Burdekin rivers, were part of the proposed Bradfield Scheme
The Bradfield Scheme, a proposed Australian water diversion scheme, is an inland irrigation project that was designed to irrigate and drought-proof much of the western Queensland interior, as well as large areas of South Australia. It was devis ...
to divert the upper reaches of the three rivers west of the Great Dividing Range and into the Thomson River designed to irrigate and drought-proof much of the western Queensland interior, as well as large areas of South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. The Scheme was proposed in 1938 and abandoned in 1947.Koombooloomba Hydro Power Station
Koombooloomba Hydro Power Station is a hydroelectric power station at Koombooloomba Dam, Queensland, Australia. Koombooloomba has one turbo generator, with a generating capacity of of electricity. The power station is owned by Stanwell Corpora ...
and a little further downriver, the Kareeya Hydro Power Station
The Kareeya Hydro Power Station near Tully in Queensland, Australia in a hydroelectric power station that began generating power in 1957. It has a capacity of which is fed into the National Electricity Market. The power station is owned by ...
, generate hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
power from the flow of the river.
In 2007 there was a white water rafting accident which took the life of 22-year-old Townsville woman at Tully Gorge.inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...
into five deaths on the river due to rafting incidents that occurred between July 2007 and February 2009 recommended that each rapid
Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence.
Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...
be risk assessed and that a code of practice be adopted for the industry.
Etymology
The river was named in honour of William Alcock Tully
William Alcock Tully (14 March 1830 – 26 April 1905) was a Surveyor General of Queensland, (then a colony, now a state of Australia).
Early life
Tully was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of William Tully, a captain in the Royal Navy, and hi ...
, Surveyor General of Queensland from 1875 to 1889.
See also
*List of rivers of Queensland
This is a list of rivers of Australia. Rivers are ordered alphabetically, by state. The same river may be found in more than one state as many rivers cross state borders.
Longest rivers nationally
Longest river by state or territory
Althoug ...
References
{{Rivers of Queensland
Rivers of Far North Queensland
Wet Tropics of Queensland
Bodies of water of the Coral Sea