The Bass River, a
perennial river
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
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 ...
catchment, is located in the
West Gippsland
West Gippsland is a region of Gippsland in Victoria, Australia. It covers an area of around the eastern shores of the Western Port Bay, extending from San Remo in the west to the Strzelecki Ranges in the east, up to Mount Howitt in the north. ...
region of the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
.
Location and features
The Bass River rises below the locale of Woodleigh, west of the
South Gippsland Highway
South Gippsland Highway is a partially divided highway connecting the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne through the South Gippsland region of in Victoria, Australia to the town of Sale. The highway serves as a gateway from Melbourne to man ...
, with its headwaters drawn from the
Strzelecki Ranges
The Strzelecki Ranges ( ) is a set of low mountain ridges located in the West Gippsland and South Gippsland regions of the Australian state of Victoria.
The Ranges are named after Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, a Polish explorer, who with the ass ...
, north of the town of . The river flows generally south by west, joined by one minor
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...
, before reaching its
river mouth
A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current, reducing the carryin ...
and emptying into the Western Port, west of the town of within the
Bass Coast Shire
The Bass Coast Shire is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the southeastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 35,327. It includes the towns of Bass, Cape Paterson, Cape Woolam ...
. The river descends over its combined
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 ...
.
[
The river is traversed by the Bass Highway near the town of Bass.][
]
Etymology
In the Aboriginal Boonwurrung language
The Boonwurrung, also spelt Bunurong or Bun wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Prom, Wilsons Promontory in the Australian s ...
the river is given two names, ''Weandon yallock'', with ''yallock'' meaning "river" or creek",[ and ''Tullungurn'', with no defined meeting.][
The river is now named in honour of ]George Bass
George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.
Early life
Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George B ...
, who came to the river and surrounding area in January 1798 on his "whaleboat" expedition of the southeast coast of Australia.[
]
See also
*
References
External links
* website
*
Melbourne Water catchment
Rivers of Gippsland (region)
Western Port
{{VictoriaAU-river-stub