The Wollondilly River, an Australian

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 ...

that is part of the

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 ...

Nepean Nepean may refer to: Places Australia *Nepean Bay, a bay in South Australia, **Nepean Bay Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia, **Nepean Bay, South Australia, a locality *Nepean Highway, Victoria *Nepean Island (Norfolk Island) ...

catchment, is located in the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by high, flat country which has generally been extensively cleared and ...

and Southern Highlands regions 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 ...

. The river meanders from its western slopes near

Crookwell Crookwell is a small town located in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Upper Lachlan Shire. At the , Crookwell had a population of 2,641. The town is at a relatively high altitude of 887 metres and there are several sn ...

, flowing south-east through

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

, turning north-east to near Bullio, flowing north-west to Barrallier, before finally heading north-easterly into its mouth at

Lake Burragorang Lake Burragorang is a man-made reservoir in the lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, serving as a major water supply for greater metropolitan Sydney. The dam impounding the lake, the Warragamba Dam, is located approximately sou ...

Course and features

The Wollondilly River was originally a

tributary 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 drai ...

of the

Warragamba River The Warragamba River, a river that is part of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment, is located in the Macarthur region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Formed through the confluence of the Coxs River and two minor tributaries, Wa ...

, and hence of the HawkesburyNepean catchment. Following the construction of the

Warragamba Dam Warragamba Dam is a heritage-listed dam in the outer South Western Sydney suburb of Warragamba, Wollondilly Shire in New South Wales, Australia. It is a concrete gravity dam, which creates Lake Burragorang, the primary reservoir for water supp ...

across the Warragamba River, today the river flows into

, the major water supply for the

Greater 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 Mountains ...

region. The Wollondilly River rises about east of Crookwell and initially flows south, impounded by Pejar Dam, to a point near Pomeroy. It then flows south-east and then east through Goulburn, where it is joined by the

Mulwaree River The Mulwaree River, a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment, is located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The Mulwaree River rises east of the Lake George Escarpment, ...

. At Towrang the river turns north-east to a point near Bullio, where it is joined by the

Wingecarribee River The Wingecarribee River ( Aboriginal Dharawal: ''Winge Karrabee''), a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury– Nepean catchment, is located in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Wingecar ...

. From here the Wollondilly River takes a wide detour to the north-west to Barrallier, where it turn east before eventually regaining its north-easterly course into Lake Burragorang. The river has a total length of approximately . The subcatchment area is , and the largest in the HawkesburyNepean Catchment.

Wollondilly Shire Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollo ...

is a local government area that is named after the Wollondilly River. The name Wollondilly is said to be derived from ''wallandillii'', an Aboriginal word for 'water trickling over rocks'. However, there is no evidence for this in

Tharawal language The Dharawal language, also spelt Tharawal and Thurawal, and also known as Wodiwodi and other variants, is an Australian Aboriginal language of New South Wales. Phonology Consonants Vowels Vowels are phonemically /a i u/. See also * ...

References

External links

* * {{Rivers of New South Wales , state=autocollapse Rivers of New South Wales Southern Highlands (New South Wales)