Keep River

The Keep River is a river, located in Western Australia and the Northern Territory in Australia.

The river rises just south of the Newry Station homestead then flows in a northerly direction crossing the Victoria Highway and then flowing through the Keep River National Park and veering westward across the border into Western Australia then veering east back into the Northern Territory. It then continues north before discharging into the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf and the Timor Sea.

The river catchment occupies an area of 6,003 square kilometres (2,318 sq mi) and is wedged between the Ord River catchment to the west and the Victoria River catchment to the east.

Important wetlands are found in the lower reaches of the river with forming suitable habitat for waterfowl breeding colonies and roosting sites for migratory shorebirds. Large areas of rice-grass floodplain grasslands are also found along the river.

The estuary formed at the river mouth is tidal in nature and in near pristine condition.

The traditional owners of the area are the Kadjerong and Duulngari peoples to the northern end and the Miriwung peoples to the south.

The origin of the name is not known but it is thought to have been named for Henry Francis Keep who was a store keeper in Wyndham. The first written record of the name was in the diary of explorer and pastorlist, Michael Durack, who wrote about a trip to Keep River in 1894.

See also

• List of rivers of Northern Territory