Manning River

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Manning River
Boolumbahtee River
Manning River above Mount George

Manning River above Mount George

Data
location New South Wales , Australia
River system Manning River
source Barrington tops
31 ° 56 ′ 30 ″  S , 151 ° 27 ′ 3 ″  O
Source height 1500  m
muzzle at Old Bar and Harrington in the Tasman Sea ( Pacific Ocean ) Coordinates: 31 ° 52 ′ 0 ″  S , 152 ° 38 ′ 0 ″  E 31 ° 52 ′ 0 ″  S , 152 ° 38 ′ 0 ″  E
Mouth height m
Height difference 1500 m
Bottom slope 5.7 ‰
length 261 km
Catchment area 8190 km²
Left tributaries Backwater Creek, Pigna Barney River , Barnard River , Nowendoc River , Dingo Creek, Dawson River , Lansdowne River
Right tributaries Gloucester River , Bakers Creek, Burrell Creek, Scotts Creek
Medium-sized cities Wingham, Taree
Small towns Tibbuc, Bretti, Mount George, Tinonee

The Manning River is a river in the east of the Australian state of New South Wales .

Its river system is one of the few in Australia that is not yet regulated and is used to produce drinking water or water for agriculture. The local water supply is fed by Lake Bootawa , but this is an “offline reservoir” equipped with a pumped storage plant. It is only filled when the water level of the river allows it without any negative impact on the environment. There is a small weir at the headwaters of the Barnard River , a tributary of the Manning River, but most of it is out of order until it is needed. It diverted water to the Bayswater power station (south of Muswellbrook ) but was partially dismantled in 2006 because it was used so rarely.

The lower reaches of the river is a delta with various branches of the river that divide the coastal land into large islands, such as B. the Mitchells Islands or the Oxley Islands .

history

1818 crossed John Oxley , the Harrington Inlet and the Farquhar Inlet and gave them their names. He did this on his journey from the Hastings River at Port Macquarie to Port Stephens . The Manning River itself was first explored and measured by Henry Dangar in 1825 and again in 1826 on behalf of the Australian Agricultural Company . The river was entered on the measurement sheet as the Boolumbahtee River . This was the name the Aborigines gave it.

Later in 1826 the river was renamed Manning River after Lieutenant Governor of the Australian Agricultural Company, Sir William Manning . That same year the river was declared the northern boundary of the Nineteen Counties , the area in New South Wales where settlers could easily claim land.

Until 1913, ships that supplied the local coast also brought goods up the river.

geography

Loading wharf in Wingham

The Manning River is fed by the Pigna Barney River , the Barnard River , the Nowendoc River and the Gloucester River . At Taree , the Manning River splits into a southern arm, which flows into the Tasman Sea at Old Bar , and a northern arm, which receives the Dawson River and Lansdowne Rivers and flows into the ocean at Harrington . So the river has two mouths.

Wingham is the furthest upstream point the supply ships could reach, making it the most important port in the region. The old loading dock at Wingham Brush has recently been restored. The small town of Tinonee is also located on the river at Taree.

The Manning River is the only river in the two deltas in the southern hemisphere and the only river with multiple estuaries other than the Nile in Egypt . It is one of the few major rivers in Australia that is fed each year by water from the snowmelt. The meltwater comes from the Barrington River , a tributary of the Gloucester River that has its source in the Barrington Tops .

Tributaries with mouth heights

ecology

Many Australian oysters are grown in the Manning River and there are many fish in it, e.g. B. the Platycephalus fuscus , a fish that is common in Australian estuaries . Dolphins and sharks are also common in the lower reaches of the river, some of which swim as far as Wingham.

Whales are also occasionally found in the river, mostly in the larger Harrington Inlet, but also sometimes in Farquar Inlet, but they usually don't swim far up the river. But on September 16, 1994, a rare tropical Bryde's whale that was nine meters long and people called "Free Willy" swam up to Taree, where there is only fresh water in the river. It became a tourist attraction and environmental activists tried several times to free it from the river. After 92 days he swam out into the open sea again on his own initiative.

Events

Taree has the annual Manning River Summer Festival , which features rowing and sailing. On the long Easter weekend, the Taree Powerboat Club Spectacular is held on the Manning River.

economy

There are many tourist boats on the Manning River.

There is commercial fishing and oyster farming on the river. The main season for oyster farmers is the period from September to March and the mean annual yield is 310,755 dozen oysters. Big Oyster , an open oyster shell building in taree, symbolizes the city's connection with the oyster industry.

See also

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Map of Manning River, NSW . Bonzle.com
  2. ^ Manning River: Assessment of River Condition - New South Wales . Australian Natural Resources Atlas ( Memento from May 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ Eugene Register-Guard: Australians Trying to Free Whale Willy . Associated Press (November 17, 2004)