Macleay River

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Macleay River
Macleay River at Lower Creek

Macleay River at Lower Creek

Data
location New South Wales , Australia
River system Macleay River
source Blue Nobby Mountain in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park
30 ° 53 ′ 32 ″  S , 151 ° 28 ′ 4 ″  E
Source height 388  m
muzzle Tasman Sea at Smoky Cape Coordinates: 30 ° 52 ′ 27 "  S , 153 ° 1 ′ 25"  E 30 ° 52 ′ 27 "  S , 153 ° 1 ′ 25"  E
Mouth height 0  m
Height difference 388 m
Bottom slope 1.3 ‰
length 298 km
Left tributaries Gara River , Bakers Creek, Chandler River , Top Creek, Sunday Creek, Georges Creek, Lagoon Creek, Five Day Creek, Nulla Nulla Creek, Hickeys Creek, Munga Creek, Christmas Creek, Macleay Arm
Right tributaries Salisbury Waters, Blue Mountain Creek, Apsley River , Kunderang Brook, Carrols Creek, Felters Creek, Stockyard Creek, Mackanzie Creek, Wabro Brook, Parabel Creek, Oaky Creek, Dungay Creek
Medium-sized cities Kempsey
Small towns Georges Junction, Lower Creek, Comara, Bellbrook, Willawarrin, Sherwood, Smithtown, South West Rocks
Macleay River at Oven Camp in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

Macleay River at Oven Camp in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

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

geography

It arises below Blue Nobby Mountain in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park from the confluence of the Gara River and Salisbury Waters in the northern table country of New South Wales. From there it flows first to the east and then to the southeast to the city of Kempsey . There it turns its course to the northeast and flows into Trial Bay , a bay of the Tasman Sea , at Smoky Cape .

Tributaries with mouth heights

history

The gorges of the Macleay River and the Apsley River were the settlement area of ​​the Aboriginal tribe of the Dunghutti , whose descendants now mainly live on the lower reaches of the Macleay River. Remains of old deposits of these Aborigines were found on the terraces above the gorges.

John Oxley did not fully understand the potential of this river in 1820 because he did not go up it far enough to see the great forests and fertile land. He casually referred to the river as the New River from Aboriginal descriptions. In 1826 Captain Wright reached the riverbanks overland from Port Macquarie and explored the river to the Belgrave Falls , waterfalls a little west of what is now Kempsey. Until then, the river was navigable from the sea. From then on the river was called the Wrights River . The following year, Archibald Clunes Innes , in command of the Port Macquarie settlement, sent the first official group of loggers to the area to cut red cedar ( Toona ciliata ).

In the 1830s, more logging camps were set up on the Macleay River, where many convicts were also employed. By 1841 about 200 loggers were working in the area; Violent crime and wood theft were not uncommon. The demand and price of the timber fell in 1842, so logging along the Macleay River almost ceased but continued along the upper reaches of its tributaries.

When the Europeans first arrived in the area in the 1820s, the estuary was just south of Grassy Head and was nearly a mile (1.6 km) wide with a sandbar in the middle. The small town of Stuarts Point was founded on the river just before the mouth as a port for the ships to dock.

The area from today's South West Rocks to Grassy Head (today partially Yarriabini National Park ) is a wide delta with several canals that are connected to the river. Around 1885, John Coode recommended improvements to various rivers and ports in Australia, including the Macleay River. The Department of Public Works developed four plans to improve conditions at the estuary; John Coode favored the version of improving the existing estuary. In 1893 a flood widened the estuary at South West Rocks, and so the authorities decided to develop this estuary - called the New Entrance - although Coode thought its size would not be large enough to drain all the water in the area into the sea.

Work on the estuary began in April 1896. The canal was straightened and bank reinforcements were built. In 1902 a new pilot station was built around which the South West Rocks settlement was built. In 1906 the work was completed. The old estuary is now silted up, Stuarts Point is at the sack end of the Macleay Arm .

The river was called the Wrights River, Trial River , New River, or Macleay River, but was then officially named Macleay River in honor of Inne's father-in-law, Alexander Macleay , a Scottish-born scientist and colonial secretary of the New South Wales colony.

Waterways and fishing

The Macleay River floods the Kempsey area more frequently. In doing so, he occasionally causes great damage. During floods it is considered to be the second fastest flowing river in the world. At these times there can be over 200 million m³ of water in the river. Because of its many gorges and waterfalls, the river is considered very dangerous.

The upper reaches of the river are some of the best perch fishing grounds in the country.

See also

Web links

Commons : Macleay River  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Map of Macleay River, NSW . Bonzle.com
  2. ↑ Alec H. Chisholm (editor): The Australian Encyclopedia . Halstead Press. Sydney (1963). Volume 4. p. 444: Macleay River
  3. ^ Marie H. Neil: Valley of the Macleay . (1972). ISBN 0-85587-037-0 . Cape. 1 and 10
  4. ^ Donald J. Kay: Exploring the North Coast and New England . Kangaroo Press. Kenthurst NSW (1978). ISBN 0-864171218
  5. ^ A b Macleay Valley Coast - Pockets in Paradise