Apsley River (Macleay River)

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Apsley River
Apsley River in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

Apsley River in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

Data
location New South Wales , Australia
River system Macleay River
Drain over Macleay River  → Tasman Sea
source Tia Range ( Great Dividing Range )
31 ° 10 ′ 56 ″  S , 151 ° 42 ′ 7 ″  E
Source height 1260  m
muzzle Macleay River in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park Coordinates: 30 ° 51 ′ 33 ″  S , 152 ° 3 ′ 25 ″  E 30 ° 51 ′ 33 ″  S , 152 ° 3 ′ 25 ″  E
Mouth height 191  m
Height difference 1069 m
Bottom slope 6.4 ‰
length 168 km
Left tributaries Ohio Creek, Emu Creek, Rowleys Creek, Reedy Creek
Right tributaries Double Hut Creek, Tia River , Yarrowitch River
Medium-sized cities Walcha
Middle Street Bridge in Walcha (background) and river dikes on the Apsley River

Middle Street Bridge in Walcha (background) and river dikes on the Apsley River

Apsley Falls at high tide

Apsley Falls at high tide

The Apsley River is a river in the northeast of the Australian state of New South Wales .

geography

The river has its source in the northern tableland of New South Wales, about 11 km west of Tia and 29 km south of Walcha .

From its source the river first flows north to the town of Walcha. There it turns its course to the southeast and enters the southwest corner of the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park . Its waters pour over the Apsley Falls into a gorge, the Apsley Gorge . Now the river continues its course to the north, where it flows into the Macleay River 24 km southwest of Lower Creek , in the middle of the national park . The Apsley River and the Macleay River have carved deep river valleys into the Ordovician semi-sedimentary rock, which is comprised of greywacke , slate , phyllite , mica slate , chert and clay slate . This created a series of spectacular gorges and waterfalls on or near the Apsley River in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park.

At the Apsley Gorge and Macleay Gorge, the vegetation of the moister east coast and the drier western areas meet. 950 native plant species have been found there, 36 of which are rare or threatened. The gorge acacia is a rare species that is mainly found in these two river valleys. Epiphytic orchids can also be seen on the trees there.

The entire length of the Apsley River is in the Local Government Area of Walcha and Vernon County .

Tributaries with mouth heights

history

Before the settlement by the Europeans, this was the area of ​​the Aboriginal tribes of the Ngayaywana and the Dyangadi . On the upper reaches of the Apsley River and Macleay River, archaeological evidence of camp sites for these indigenous people was found.

In 1818 the explorer John Oxley set up camp on the banks of the Apsley River near today's town of Walcha on his way to the coast. His records say: "We settled in a beautiful, wide valley (...) through which a stream flowed, and about 1 mile away we saw various bonfires at which many indigenous people appeared." A stone man shows today where Oxley settled on the Apsley River, which Oxley named after Lord Apsley , then Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Red cedar ( Toona ciliata ) loggers were active in the area's rainforests prior to 1860. Red cedar may still be found in some of the hidden tributaries of the Apsley River.

In 1862, the doctor William Vint Aspinall (1828-1862) from Walcha drowned in the Apsley River while he was taking a bath there.

The Apsley River flooded Walcha in 1893, 1935, 1941 and 1952. The greatest distance between two floods until 1962 was ten years. The worst flood in Walcha occurred on January 12, 1962, when 40 commercial buildings and 39 residential buildings were flooded. The damage was AU $ 250,000. A public call for donations raised AU $ 11,000 and the Mayor's Fund of Armidale added AU $ 8,650. The LGA Walcha had to pay AU $ 2,000 to repair the flood damage in the city, but the work of the volunteers was worth at least twice as much.

In September 1967 the LGA Walcha decided to continue with the flood protection if this did not cost more than AU $ 140,000. In September 1971, all the required land was in the hands of the LGA. The project was almost completed in October 1973 and the flood warning system on Somerset became superfluous. The city has not been flooded since the river dykes were built.

The Apsley River flooded again on November 28, 2008, causing significant damage to farms and the loss of livestock. The river dikes saved Walcha from flooding.

The deep Mill Hole in the Apsley River, above the bridge on Fitzroy Street, was used as a natural swimming pool for Walcha until the Walcha and District War Memorial Bath was completed in October 1970.

In 1981, the NSW Electricity Commission proposed a large pumped storage power plant on the Apsley River to cope with peak load times. At the end of 1981 ELCOM renovated the Cicolini Trail to the Apsley River and built a river regulation station. But after a study of the country's development that called for a larger national park, the project was discontinued. In 1986, the park was established to protect nature, cultural heritage and promote tourism in the northern table country of New South Wales.

In 1993 the Lower Apsley River Landcare Group was founded to improve the condition of the riparian forest on the Apsley River. The group fenced an area of ​​about 300 km² between Walcha and the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. The 12 active members tirelessly pursued their goal. Over the years they have planted 320,000 trees in 140 places. Most of them are now thriving.

In 2007, the two-lane Middle Street bridge and footpath replaced the old single-lane wooden bridge over the Apsley River in Walcha.

fauna

Dingoes , brumbies , diamond pythons , monitor lizards and wild boars inhabit parts of the warmer lower reaches of the Apsley River.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Map of Apsley River, NSW . Bonzle.com
  2. ↑ Historical Towns Directory ( Memento of July 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ J. Kay Donald: Exploring the North Coast and New England . Kangaroo Press. Kenthurst NSW (1978). ISBN 0864171218
  4. ↑ William Aspinall . Familypedia
  5. ^ EL Hogan: Walcha, 100 Years of Local Government . Walcha Shire Council. Walcha NSW (1989)
  6. ↑ NSW WILDERNESS RED INDEX: Macleay Gorges. Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd, accessed March 4, 2013 .
  7. ↑ http://www.landcareheroes.com/profile/lower-apsley-river-landcare-group/17/16/ (link not available)