The Woronora 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

Sydney Basin The Sydney Basin is an interim Australian bioregion and is both a structural entity and a depositional area, now preserved on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia and with some of its eastern side now subsided beneath the Tasman Sea ...

, located in the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire comprises an area of and as at the had an estimated population of . Sutherland Shire is colloquially ...

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 Greater Metropolitan Sydney, approximately south of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often referr ...

, in

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 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 ...

. 'Woronora' is an Aboriginal place name. Records show the spelling of the name has varied since it first appeared in the 19th century, the earliest being Wooloonora (Dixon, 1827, quoted in Walker 1974:66, followed by Wolonora (Dixon, 1837, and Woronora Mitchell, 1835). The name was first applied to the Woronora River, a tributary of the Georges River, before being given to an electoral district, a local road east of the river, and finally the suburb itself. The Woronora River rises on the northwestern slopes of the Illawarra escarpment and has its origin from Waratah Rivulet, near Darkes Forest, and flows generally north for approximately 36 kilometres (22 mi), joined by three minor tributaries, before reaching its confluence with the Georges River, between Como and Illawong.

Location and features

It has its origin from Waratah Rivulet, near Darkes Forest, and flows generally north for approximately , joined by three minor tributaries, 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

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...

, between

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps ...

and

Illawong Illawong is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Illawong is located 27 kilometres south of the Sydney Central Business District, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire in the area commonly ca ...

. The total catchment area of the river is approximately and the area is generally administered by the

Sydney Catchment Authority The Sydney Catchment Authority was a statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales created in 1999 to manage and protect drinking water catchments and catchment infrastructure, and supplies bulk water to its customers, including Sydn ...

in its upper reaches and the Sutherland Shire Council in its lower reaches. Much of the

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 ...

of the river is through the Dharawal State Conservation Area,

Heathcote National Park Heathcote National Park is a protected national park that is located in the southern region of Sydney, New South Wales in eastern Australia, and is situated on Dharawal country. The national park is situated approximately southwest of the Sy ...

and the

Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a protected national park that is located in Sutherland Shire in the Australian state of New South Wales, just south of Sydney. The national park is about south of the Sydney central business district near the loca ...

as it descends from source to mouth. The river is impounded by the Woronora Dam, opened in 1941. The impoundment is Lake Woronora, formed to augment

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

for southern Sydney and the northern

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollong ...

region. The Woronora River is traversed by high level and low level road bridges and a footbridge in the suburb of

Woronora Woronora is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woronora is located 27 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. Woronora Heights is a s ...

. A road bridge on Heathcote Road, linking Heathcote and Holsworthy also provides a crossing over the river. At the area known as "The Needles", near Woronora Road in , a footbridge links the suburb to Barden Ridge. Comment from an ex resident: "The Needles" were considered the "head of navigation" where there was relatively deep water with pointed vertical rocks, mostly just below the surface, hence the name. There was a causeway there which was part of "The Old Illawarra Rd". This area is below the Heathcote Rd bridge by about 3/4 km. Just above this road bridge was "Woronora Wier" which was demolished in the mid 1900s for safety reasons.

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 ...

Dharug language The Dharug language, also spelt Darug, Dharuk, and other variants, and also known as the Sydney language, Gadigal language ( Sydney city area), is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Yuin–Kuric group that was traditionally spoken in th ...

the river draws its name, meaning "black rocks". 'Woronora' is an Aboriginal place name. Records show the spelling of the name has varied since it first appeared in the 19th century, the earliest being Wooloonora (Dixon, 1827, quoted in Walker 1974:66, followed by Wolonora (Dixon, 1837, and Woronora Mitchell, 1835). The name was first applied to the Woronora River, a tributary of the Georges River, before being given to an electoral district, a local road east of the river, and finally the suburb itself.

Gallery

Image:Woronora Bridge 2.JPG,

Woronora River Bridge The Woronora River Bridge, also known as Woronora Bridge, is a four-lane road bridge that carries River Road across the Woronora River at Woronora, in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge, at the time of its completion in 20 ...

, view towards Sutherland Image:2007 0810klklk0003.JPG,

walkway. Image:2007 0810klklk0011.JPG Image:2007 0810klklk0007.JPG

References

External links

*
Woronora River Stormwater Management Plan
commissioned by Sutherland Shire Council, September 2000.
Woronora River Floodplain Management Study
commissioned by Sutherland Shire Council, September 1995.
The Woronora River at "The Great Kai'mia Way"

Map of Woronora River, NSW
at Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. *

CC-By-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work".A "work" is any creative material made by a person. A painting, a graphic, a book, a song/lyric ...

]
Guide to Sydney Rivers site
{{Rivers of New South Wales , state=autocollapse Rivers of Sydney Sutherland Shire Georges River

Location and features

Etymology

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links