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The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate
tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...
-dominated drowned valley
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
, that is located in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from the
Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, 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 ...
, with the mouth of the river being at
Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal language, Dharawal: ''Kamay'') is an open oceanic embayment, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point a ...
. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly direction to its
mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...
at Botany Bay, about from the
Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...
. The Georges River is the main
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 ...
of Botany Bay; with the Cooks River being a secondary tributary. The total catchment area of the river is approximately and the area surrounding the river is managed by various local government authorities and
Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...
agencies across Sydney. The land adjacent to the Georges River was occupied for many thousands of years by the Tharawal and
Eora The Eora (; also ''Yura'') are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales. Eora is the name given by the earliest European settlers to a group of Aboriginal people belonging to the clans along the coastal area of what is now known as ...
peoples. They used the river as an important source of food and a place for trade.


Geography

From its source east of Appin within the
heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
habitat of the
Wollondilly Shire Wollondilly Shire is a Peri-urbanisation, periurban Local government in Australia, local government area that is located on the far southwest fringe of the Sydney, Greater Sydney area in New South Wales, Australia. The local government area is pa ...
and
Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
Local government area, the Georges River flows north through rugged sandstone gorges to the east of Campbelltown, roughly parallel to the Main Southern railway line, with its eastern bank forming a boundary of Holsworthy Army Base. At Glenfield it reaches the urban environment and then travels to
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
where the river turns east and flows past the suburbs of East Hills, Lugarno, and Blakehurst, before emptying into Botany Bay at Taren Point/ Sansouci in the southern suburbs of Sydney, where it joins with the estuarine catchment. Major tributaries include O'Hares Creek, Bunbury Curran Creek, Cabramatta Creek, Lennox River (proposed), Prospect Creek, Salt Pan Creek and the Woronora River. The Georges River is popular for recreational activities such as water skiing and swimming. The banks of the river along the lower reaches are marked by large inlets and indentations overlooked by steep sandstone ridges and scarps, many being home to expensive residential properties. The Georges River features some artificial lakes in the suburb of
Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswolds in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 201 ...
, near Liverpool. These lakes, known as the Chipping Norton Lake, are the result of sand mining and quarrying operations in the twentieth century. The Lakes are now a popular watersports and recreational facility for the residents of the south-western suburbs of Sydney. Liverpool Weir now forms the uppermost tidal limit and presence of salt water on the Georges River. From Appin to Glenfield, a large corridor has been protected as part of the Georges River Regional Open Space Corridor. Council reserves allow for access to natural sections of the river at Simmo's Beach, Ingleburn Reserve, Keith Longhurst Reserve, and Frere's Crossing. Botany Bay Community River Health Monitoring Program is a community-based initiative to monitor ecosystem health catchment.


History


Aboriginal history

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Georges River was formerly known as Tucoerah (or Toggerai / Tuggerah) River by the
traditional custodian The concept of First Nations Australian traditional custodianship derives from Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' strong traditional connection with the lands and seas they reside on, known collectively as "Cou ...
s of the area. It is not known whether this word referred to the whole river or rather just a part of it. Mill Creek, a tributary of Tucoerah was called Guragurang. To the south of Tocoerah are the traditional lands of the Dharawal people. The
Dharug The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...
/Eora people are the traditional custodians of the land on its northern banks.


European history

The Georges River was given its English name in honour of
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
, by Governor
Arthur Phillip Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New South Wales, governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Royal Hospital School, Gree ...
. It was one of the many sites of the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars, a series of wars between the
Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...
and the resisting Indigenous clans in the late 1700s and early 1800s. One of the earliest contacts between British settlers and Aboriginal people occurred on 20 January 1788.
Arthur Phillip Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New South Wales, governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Royal Hospital School, Gree ...
and
Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1800 to 1806. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detai ...
, leading a party of seamen from the
First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
rowing two open boats, explored the 'South-West Arm of Botany Bay' (now Georges River). They are now thought to have gone as far as Lime Kiln Bay, where they landed at two locations there, the first of which they called 'Lance Point'—thought to be modern-day Gertrude Point, Lugarno—where an altercation with local people occurred. Later the same day, there was a peaceful meeting at what is now thought to have been the head of Lime Kiln Bay. They are also now believed to have entered the estuarine mouth of the Georges Rivers' tributary, Woronora River. Not finding enough freshwater, around Botany Bay and its two 'arms', the colonists moved on to
Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...
, where the settlement of Sydney began six days later. The river was explored by
Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
and Flinders in 1795 on their first voyage on the Tom Thumb after their arrival in New South Wales. The exploration led to the establishment of
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 19 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Bankstown is the administrative centre ...
. A dam was constructed by David Lennox using convict labour at Liverpool in 1836, as a water supply to Liverpool. Oyster farming on Georges River occurred between around 1870 and 2023, in the part of the river estuary downstream from Salt Pan Creek. In February 2007, Liverpool and Campbelltown City Council were awarded a $2 million grant from the NSW Environmental Trust under their Urban Sustainability Initiative. The grant was to allow the councils, in conjunction with Wollondilly Shire Council and the Georges River Combined Councils Committee, to develop a Comprehensive Strategic Plan focused on the rehabilitation of the catchment area. Since the 2010s, the Mandaean community in the Greater Sydney region has been using the Georges River for their ritual baptisms, called ''
masbuta Maṣbuta (; pronounced ''maṣwottā'' in Neo-Mandaic) is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaean religion. Overview Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (''masbuta'') as ritual purification, not of initia ...
''. Along with the
Nepean River The Nepean River (Darug language, Darug: Yandhai), is a Perennial stream, major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River, and, continuing by its downstream name, the Hawkesbury ...
, it is one of the few ritual rivers (called ''
yardna In Mandaeism, a yardna () or yardena ([]; ) is a body of flowing fresh water (or in ; pronounced ''meyya heyyi'') that is suitable for ritual use as baptismal water. The masbuta and other Mandaean rituals such as the tamasha (ablution), tamasha ...
'' in Mandaic) that they use for their baptism and ablution rituals.


Crossings

Bridges over the Georges River include from east to west: * Captain Cook Bridge (connecting Sans Souci to Taren Point), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists. * Tom Uglys Bridge (connecting Blakehurst to Sylvania), carries
Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...
. *
Old Como railway bridge The Old Como railway bridge is a heritage-listed former railway bridge and now footbridge and water main carrier over the Georges River between Como and Oatley in the Sutherland Shire Council and Georges River Council local government areas ...
, now for pedestrians and cyclists. *
Como railway bridge The Como railway bridge carries the Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra Line, Illawarra railway line across the Georges River between the Sydney suburbs of Oatley, New South Wales, Oatley and Como, New South Wales, Como. First bridge The original Com ...
on the Illawarra line, connecting Oatley to
Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...
, for trains. * Alfords Point Bridge (connecting Padstow Heights to
Alfords Point Alfords Point is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Alfords Point is 28 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, within the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. Alfords Point shar ...
), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists. * East Hills rail bridge at East Hills, for the East Hills railway line * Voyager Point footbridge, for pedestrians and cyclists. *
M5 Motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
Georges River East Bridge * Milperra Bridge (Newbridge Road connecting Moorebank to Milperra), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists. * Governor Macquarie Drive bridge (connecting Warwick Farm to Chipping Norton), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists. * Liverpool Weir – built 1836 * Liverpool footbridge (now demolished which utilised the footing of the decommissioned railway bridge to Holsworthy). * Newbridge Road (connecting Liverpool to Chipping Norton), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists. * M5 South Western Motorway Georges River West Bridge * East Hills railway line bridge (connecting Holsworthy to Glenfield), for trains. * Cambridge Avenue Causeway (connecting Holsworthy to Glenfield), for cars. * King Falls Bridge


Fish

The Georges River is a popular area for recreational fishing. Species present in the river include bass, bream, whiting, yellowtail, jewfish and flathead. The river was once host to a number of commercial oyster farms. The upper ends of the Georges River are abundant with Bass during the summer months and during the winter months these bass migrate down to the lower ends of the river towards the salt water to breed. Waste water inflows to the river are carefully managed to maintain the estuarine habitat.


See also

* Dharawal National Park *
List of rivers in 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 Although the Murray River forms much of the bor ...
* List of rivers in New South Wales (A-K) *
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 ...
* Geography of Sydney * Oyster farming on Georges River


References


External links

* * CC-By-SA">Creative_Commons_license.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA/nowiki> Series of articles about Georges River history * CC-By-SA">Creative_Commons_license.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA/nowiki> * CC-By-SA">Creative_Commons_license.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA/nowiki>
Guide to Sydney Rivers site
{{Authority control Georges River"> Botany Bay">Georges River"> Botany Bay Rivers of Sydney Rivers in Mandaeism">Botany Bay Rivers of Sydney">Botany Bay">Georges River"> Botany Bay Rivers of Sydney Rivers in Mandaeism