Hill 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 ...

in the Wheatbelt region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Geography

The headwaters of the Hill River rise near Dinner Hill, approximately east of Badgingarra. It then flows in a westerly direction, crossing the

Brand Highway Brand Highway is a main highway linking the northern outskirts of Perth to Geraldton in Western Australia. Together with North West Coastal Highway, it forms part of the Western Australian coastal link to the Northern Territory. The highway i ...

just north of Badgingarra, passing through the Hill River Nature Reserve and the northern boundary of the Southern Beekeeper's Nature Reserve and finally discharging into the Indian Ocean south of Jurien Bay. The river has 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 ...

; Coomallo Creek, Winjardie Creek, Munbinea Creek and Boothendara Creek.

History

The river was seen and named by the explorer

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

on 14 April 1839 during his second disastrous expedition along the Western Australian coast. It was likely named after

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...

, well known for his inception of the

Uniform Penny Post The Uniform Penny Post was a component of the comprehensive reform of the Royal Mail, the UK's official postal service, that took place in the 19th century. The reforms were a government initiative to eradicate the abuse and corruption of the e ...

, but importantly for Grey, Secretary to the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia (under the

South Australia Act 1834 The ''South Australia Act 1834'', or ''Foundation Act 1834'' and also known as the ''South Australian Colonization Act'', was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provided for the settlement of a province or multiple province ...

). Grey's friend and promoter William Hutt M.P. was also a Commissioner. In the previous week, Grey had also named rivers after Hutt, Hutt's wife Mary Bowes, Hutt's business partner John Chapman and

Charles Buller Charles Buller (6 August 1806 – 29 November 1848) was a British barrister, politician and reformer. Background and education Born in Calcutta, British India, Buller was the son of Charles Buller (1774–1848), a member of a well-known Corn ...

M.P., an active parliamentary proponent of the free colonization of South Australia. In October 1840, at 28 years of age, Grey was appointed

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

Uses

The mouth of the Hill River is a popular camping destination and can be reached in a two-wheel drive vehicle. The river mouth is usually closed to the ocean by a

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body o ...

, which opens up in periods of high river flow.

References

External links

Hill River
Rivers of the Wheatbelt region {{WesternAustralia-river-stub