The Bunyip River is a

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 abse ...

of the

Western Port Western Port, ( Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it is ...

catchment, located in the

West Gippsland West Gippsland, a region of Gippsland in Victoria, Australia, extends from the southeastern limits of metropolitan Melbourne and Western Port Bay in the west to the Latrobe Valley in the east, and is bounded by the Strzelecki Ranges to the south ...

region of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Location and features

The Bunyip River rises below

Mount Beenak Mount Beenak is a mountain in Victoria, Australia 65 km from Melbourne. The summit is 745m and is most easily accessed by following a fire access vehicle track from the Mount Beenak Road. There are good views across to the Yarra Valley, ...

, part of the southern portion of the Yarra Ranges within the

Bunyip State Park Bunyip State Park is a state park east of Melbourne, near the town of Gembrook, in the southern slopes of the Great Dividing Range within the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features The area was used for logging from 1898 until 19 ...

, near Tomahawk Gap, and flows generally south by east then south, at times via an aqueduct, joined by four 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 drain ...

, before reaching its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the Tarago River to form the Main Drain. From there the river used to flow into the

Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp The Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp was a large freshwater swamp located to the south east of Melbourne, Victoria. It drained an area of West Gippsland, with several waterways including Cardinia Creek and the Bunyip River. The Koo-Wee-Rup swamp originally c ...

, the largest wetland in Victoria, covering an area of , before flowing into Western Port. The river descends approximately 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 ...

. At the confluence of the Bunyip and Tarago Rivers, the rivers are traversed by the

Princes Freeway Princes Freeway is a Australian freeway, divided into two sections, both located in Victoria, Australia. The freeway links Melbourne to Geelong in the west, and to Morwell in the east. It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes ...

, north of the locality of .

Etymology

In the

Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...

Boonwurrung language The Boonwurrung language, also anglicised as Bunurong, Bun wurrung, and other variant spellings, is an Aboriginal Australian language traditionally spoken by the Boonwurrung people of the Kulin nation of central Victoria prior to European s ...

the name for the river is ''Banib'', meaning "a fabulous, large, black amphibious monster". The river is named after the

bunyip The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. Name The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...

, an Aboriginal mythological and legendary character from lakes and swamps.

References

Rivers of Victoria (Australia) Port Phillip and Western Port catchment Rivers of Greater Melbourne (region) Rivers of Gippsland (region) Western Port {{VictoriaAU-river-stub

Location and features

Etymology

See also

References