perennial stream
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 abse ...
that is part of the Macquarie catchment within 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 ...
New South Wales
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, 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. Partly situated in the Turon National Park, the river is host to numerous recreational and tourist activities such as horse riding, gold panning, canoeing, camping, and seasonal fishing.
Capertee Valley
The Capertee Valley (pronounced Kay-per-tee) is a large canyon in New South Wales, Australia, north-west of Sydney that is noted to be the second widest of any canyon in the world, exceeding The Grand Canyon. It is located kilometres north-we ...
, west of Ben Bullen, and flows generally to the north west and then west, joined by the Crudine River, and then forms its confluence with the
Macquarie River
The Macquarie River - Wambuul is part of the Macquarie– Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia.
The river rises in the central highlands of New South Wales near the ...
south west of Hill End; dropping over the course of its length.
The upper reaches of the Turon River are partly bound by Turon National Park, established in 2002, while the lower reaches open onto private grazing property.
The river is crossed by the Wallaby Rocks Bridge that carries the Hill End Road, located at Wallaby Rocks.
Gold rush
The Turon River is well renowned because it was the site of one of Australia's first
alluvial
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. All ...
gold rushes
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Ze ...
. During the gold rush Chinese migrant workers built a water
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
to bring water to mining operations along sections of the Turon River. Many parts of the race can still be seen today, such as at Turon Gates. The Turon River was the site of violence between miners and licensing authorities during the gold rush.