Clarence River, New South Wales
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The Clarence River ( Bundjalung: ''Boorimbah'', Yaygir: ''Ngunitiji'') 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 ...
situated in the
Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most north-easterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. ...
district 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 river rises on the eastern slopes 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 ...
, in the Border Ranges west of
Bonalbo Bonalbo, a rural village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, is located north of Sydney central business district, Sydney. In the , Bonalbo and the surrounding area had a population of 371. The town's name derives from ...
, near Rivertree at the junction of Koreelah Creek and Maryland River, on the watershed that marks the border between New South Wales and
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_ ...
. The river flows generally south, south east and north east, joined by twenty-four
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
Tooloom Creek The Tooloom Creek, a perennial stream of the Clarence River catchment, is located in the Northern Rivers region in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Location and features Formed by the confluence of the Lindsay and Grahams creeks, the Too ...
and the Mann, Nymboida,
Cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...
, Orara,
Coldstream Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army. Description Coldstream l ...
,
Timbarra Berwick () is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Casey local government area. Berwick recorded a population of 50,298 at the 2021 census. It was named ...
, and Esk rivers. The river reaches its
mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
at 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
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 ...
in the
South Pacific Ocean South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
, between Iluka and Yamba; descending over the course of its length. On its journey it passes through the towns of
Tabulam Tabulam is a rural village in the far north-east of New South Wales, Australia, 800 kilometres from the state capital, Sydney. Tabulam is located on the Bruxner Highway (Highway 44) between Tenterfield and Casino and on the Clarence River. Ac ...
and Copmanhurst, the city of Grafton, and the towns of
Ulmarra Ulmarra is a small town on the south bank of the Clarence River in New South Wales, Australia in the Clarence Valley district. At the , Ulmarra had a population of 446 people. The town had the distinction of being the smallest local government ...
, and
Maclean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathai ...
. The river features many large river islands, including
Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...
, Chatsworth, Ashby, Warregah and Harwood islands; and Susan Island Nature Reserve. The river supports a large prawn trawling and fishing industry. The Clarence River system is an extensive east coast drainage with many tributaries of differing size. Apart from the
Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...
, it is the largest river in mainland Australia south of the
Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...
. Its basin is, together with the very similarly-sized
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to: People *Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman Places ;Geography *Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada * Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
, Australia's largest Pacific watershed south of
Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...
. The extremely intense rainfalls that typify the North Coast mean, however, that major floods can temporarily raise the flow of the Clarence to 24 feet, as happened in 1890.


Rainfall and climate

The climate of most of the basin is subtropical (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
Cfa), though the highest areas with cooler weather are of the temperate Cfb type. Annual rainfall ranges from on the coast at Yamba down to in the shielded valley at Grafton (BOM Grafton Olympic Pool). At higher altitudes, rainfall may reach on exposed slopes but data are very poor. Most of the high areas actually receive no more rain than Grafton though variability from year to year is less. Temperatures are generally very warm, with maxima in lower area ranging from in January to in July. In the highlands, however, temperatures are much cooler and in July range from lows of around to maxima around - though in January days remain very warm at around . Rainfall per month on the coast typically ranges from around in February and March to around in September; it can average as low as between May and September inland, where exposed areas sometimes suffer
bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
after
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
s, as occurred in 1915 and 2000.


Flooding

During
Cyclone Oswald Tropical Cyclone Oswald in 2013 was a tropical cyclone that passed over parts of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia over a number of days, causing widespread impact including severe storms, flooding, and water spouts. Coastal regions ...
, the Clarence was subject to minor flooding, brought about due to the storm's residual effects and associated
monsoon trough The monsoon trough is a portion of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the Western Pacific,Bin WangThe Asian Monsoon.Retrieved 2008-05-03. as depicted by a line on a weather map showing the locations of minimum sea level pressure, and as such, ...
that passed over parts of Queensland and New South Wales. At Grafton, the river peaked at a new record height of . Two years earlier, the river peaked , forcing the evacuation of 3000 people from their homes. On both occasions, the city's
levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...
was credited with preventing more severe flooding. The local historical society has published an account of newspaper reports documenting flooding of the river from the late 1800s to 2011.


Catchment land use and industry

Tourism is also a significant industry in the Clarence Valley generating around A$457million per annum and employing around 2500 people. Most of the Clarence basin is heavily forested, with important areas of remnant subtropical and temperate rainforest occurring all along the course. Only in alluvial areas where
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
s are less leached is there major agricultural development: in these areas the chief industries are
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
rearing and the growing of
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...
in lower-lying areas. Of particular interest is the small island town of Harwood, where a Sperry New Holland factory and a quaint Bush Pub overlook the Clarence delta. Harwood is also the location of the local sugar mill, the Harwood Sugar Mill built in 1873 and is the oldest Australian mill still operational. The sugar mill is situated on the river due to its importance in transporting sugar cane from farms in the surrounding area in previous times. Harwood is just after the Harwood Bridge on part of
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 ...
's National Highway from
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...
,
Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...
to
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
. The freshwater reaches of the Clarence River support important populations of native freshwater fish including
Eastern freshwater cod The eastern freshwater cod (''Maccullochella ikei''), also known as the eastern cod or Clarence River cod, is a large predatory freshwater fish of the genus ''Maccullochella'' and the family Percichthyidae, that occur in the coastal Clarence Rive ...
, an endangered fish species unique to the Clarence River system, and
Australian bass The Australian bass (''Macquaria novemaculeata'') is a small- to medium-sized species of primarily freshwater (but estuarine spawning) fish found in coastal rivers and streams along the east coast of Australia. A member of the genus '' Macqua ...
.


Etymology

The Indigenous
Bundjalung people The Bundjalung people, also spelt Bunjalung, Badjalang and Bandjalang, are Aboriginal Australians who are the original custodians of the northern coastal area of New South Wales, Australia, located approximately northeast of Sydney, an area th ...
call the river ''Boorimbah'', while the coastal Yaygir people call it the ''Ngunitiji''. The Aboriginal people from the
Tenterfield Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia. At the , Tenterfield had a population of 4,066. Tenterfield's proximity to many regional centres and its position on the route between Sydney and Brisbane led to its development as a ...
district used the word ''neyand'', meaning "top" as the name for the headwaters of the river. The river remained unknown to British authorities until the mid 1830s when escaped convict Richard Craig, who had been living with Aboriginals in the area, reported its existence. It was initially called the ''Big River'', but this caused confusion as the
Gwydir River Gwydir River (locally wɑe̯də, a major inland perennial river of the Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands, North West Slopes, and Orana districts of New South Wales, Australia. Th ...
in northern
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 ...
was also colloquially known by this name. In November 1839 the
Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...
,
George Gipps Sir George Gipps (23 December 1790 – 28 February 1847) was the Governor of the British colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw a tumultuous period where the rights to land were bitterly conte ...
, officially changed the name to the Clarence River in honour of the previous King of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, William IV, 1st Duke of Clarence and St Andrews. The
local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
of the
Clarence Valley Council Clarence Valley Council is a local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The council services an area of and draws its name from the Clarence River, which flows through most of the council area. The area ...
draws its name from the river and covers the lower half of the river valley.


Crossings

There are very few fixed crossings of the Clarence River. Going downstream, these include: * Bridge over Hootens Rd Bonalbo * Bridge at
Tabulam Tabulam is a rural village in the far north-east of New South Wales, Australia, 800 kilometres from the state capital, Sydney. Tabulam is located on the Bruxner Highway (Highway 44) between Tenterfield and Casino and on the Clarence River. Ac ...
, on the
Bruxner Highway Bruxner Highway, and its former alignment as Bruxner Way, are a state highway and rural road respectively, located in New South Wales, Australia. The route forms an east–west link from the Northern Rivers coast, across the Northern Tablelands ...
* Ernie Baldwin Bridge, at Yates Crossing (Plain Stations Road, Clarence Way) * Bridge at Lilydale near Copmanhurst * Rogan Bridge, a bridge that carries the Rogan Bridge Rd *
Grafton Bridge Grafton Bridge is a road bridge spanning Grafton Gully in Auckland, New Zealand. Built of reinforced concrete in 1910, it connects the Auckland CBD and Karangahape Road with Grafton. It spans about 97.6 metres (320 feet), rises 25.6 metr ...
at Grafton *
New Grafton Bridge The New Grafton Bridge, located east of the Grafton Bridge and initially consisting of two lanes, opened to traffic on 12 December 2019. History In 2002, the NSW Government commissioned a study into an additional crossing over Clarence Rive ...
at Grafton *Ulmarra-Southgate Ferry at
Ulmarra Ulmarra is a small town on the south bank of the Clarence River in New South Wales, Australia in the Clarence Valley district. At the , Ulmarra had a population of 446 people. The town had the distinction of being the smallest local government ...
*
Harwood Bridge The Harwood Bridge is a two-lane steel truss bridge which carried the Pacific Highway over the Clarence River in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia from 1966 until 2019, when it was replaced by a four-lane concrete bri ...
at Harwood * Bluff Point Ferry at Lawrence Crossings over the south arm of the Clarence River are: *Wingfield Bridge at Cowper * McFarlane Bridge at
Maclean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathai ...
Crossings over the north arm of the Clarence River are: *Mororo Bridge at Mororo, New South Wales *Warregah Island Bridge, Chatsworth Island, New South Wales * Sepentine Channel Bridge at Harwood


See also

*
Rivers of New South Wales This page discusses the rivers and hydrography of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The principal topographic feature of New South Wales is the series of low highlands and plateaus called the Great Dividing Range, which extend from nor ...
*
List of rivers of Australia 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


Further reading

*


External links


Northern Rivers Geology Blog - Clarence RiverNorthern Rivers Catchment Management Authority
{{Northern Rivers region , state=autocollapse Rivers of New South Wales Northern Rivers Kyogle Council