Maribyrnong River
| Maribyrnong River | ||
 Relief map of the Maribyrnong River and its source streams |
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| Data | ||
| location | Victoria , Australia | |
| River system | Yarra River | |
| Drain over | Yarra River → Port Phillip Bay → Bass Strait | |
| source | at Taylors Lakes, West Melbourne 37 ° 40 ′ 10 ″ S , 144 ° 48 ′ 16 ″ E |
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| Source height | 65.8 m | |
| muzzle |
Yarra River Coordinates: 37 ° 49 ′ 0 ″ S , 144 ° 55 ′ 0 ″ E 37 ° 49 ′ 0 ″ S , 144 ° 55 ′ 0 ″ E |
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| Mouth height | 0 m | |
| Height difference | 65.8 m | |
| Bottom slope | 1.7 ‰ | |
| length | 39 km | |
| Catchment area | 1450 km² | |
| Left tributaries | Deep Creek , Steele Creek | |
| Right tributaries | Jackson Creek , Taylors Creek | |
| Big cities | Melbourne | |
 Maribyrnong River in Essendon West (Melbourne) |
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The Maribyrnong River is a river in the south of the Australian state of Victoria .
It rises around 50 kilometers north of Melbourne near Mount Macedon , flows south through the western and northwestern districts of Melbourne and at Footscray into the Yarra River .
The river got its name from the Melbourne district of Maribyrnong and the Local Government Area Maribyrnong City .
etymology
The river was originally called the Saltwater River by early settlers because its lower course is an estuary . The name Maribyrnong comes either from the expression "mirring-gnay-bir-nong" from the Woiwurrung language of the Aborigines of the Wurundjeri tribe (German: I can hear a curly-tailed possum ) or means salt water river . "Gunung" or "Gunnung" means "river" in the Woiwurrung language, which can also be seen in other names, e.g. B. Koonung Creek or Birrarung .
'Marriburnong' occurs as a different spelling, e.g. B. on a map from 1840.
history
The valley of the Maribyrnong River was the home of the Wurundjeri , Aborigines from the Kulin tribe , for up to 40,000 years . 15,000 year old human remains have already been found on the river, although there are also much older signs of human settlement in this area.
The first Europeans to explore the land along the river were a group led by Charles Grimes , deputy surveyor-general of New South Wales , in February 1803. John Batman was probably exploring the upper reaches of the river in early 1835. After the Melbourne Colony was established that same year, Edmund Davis Fergusson and Michael Solomon soon established sheep pastures in the Avondale and Sunshine areas . At Solomon's sheep station, the ford, now near the west end of Canning Street in Avondale Heights , soon became known as 'Solomon's Ford'. This was the most downstream crossing over the Saltwater River (= Maribyrnong River) and at the same time the furthest inland point on the river where the tidal influence was still noticeable. Batman is said to have crossed the river at this point in well-worn Aboriginal shoes. For many years this was the only route from Melbourne to Geelong and the country to the west.
In the second half of the 19th century, much of Melbourne's industry began to settle on this river and its water became very dirty. With the closure of many industrial companies in the 1960s and 1970s, a large part of the banks was cleared for parks and is now a sought-after building plot.
geography
The Maribyrnong River (indicated upstream) has the following tributaries:
- Steele Creek or Rose Creek
- Taylor's Creek
- Bach without a name
- Jackson Creek / Deep Creek
River course
Spring streams and upper reaches
The source of the Maribyrnong River is in the Macedon Mountains in central Victoria, about 60 km northwest of Melbourne. Many small streams on the southern slopes of Mount Macedon collect in Riddels Creek , which in turn flows into Jackson Creek . Jacksons Creek begins its journey northwest of Gisborne , 50 km north of Melbourne. The other major tributary of the Maribyrnong River is Deep Creek , which rises on the north and east slopes of the Macedon Mountains. The brook has carved a deep valley into the basalt plateau on its course to the south , which is particularly noticeable in places like Konagaderra and Bulla .
To the west of Melbourne Airport , Jackson Creek and Deep Creek merge to form the Maribyrnong River. The Organ Pipes National Park can be found on Jackson Creek near the Calder Freeway : a unique picnic area in the face of basalt columns that look like organ pipes - hence the name.
Middle course
The river generally flows in a southwesterly direction. At Keilor, it turns north in a bend in the river, only to flow south again from Brimbank Park . At this point the river bed is 50 m below the Western Plains . The Horseshoe Bend Farm is a mini farm for schools, kindergartens, playgroups and also for the general public.
The Brimbank Park forms a huge amphitheater in the river bend, in which there are picnic areas, footpaths and bike paths and a café that overflows with visitors on weekends and public holidays. There are many birds and other typical Australian animals in this area.
The Maribyrong River Trail begins in Brimbank Park and follows the river almost to its confluence with the Yarra River at Footscray. In Avondale Heights and Essendon West , the residents have a spectacular view over the river valley to the skyscrapers of Melbourne city center.
Lower course
The river flows through Pipemakers Park in Maribyrnong and past the Living Museum of the West , which provides information about the river and the area's early industrial history. Dolphins and many water birds can sometimes be seen in the lower reaches of the Maribyrnong River, especially at Burndap Park .
The Footscray Park opposite the Flemington Racecourse (race track) is only slightly below Pipemakers Park and Bundap Park. From there meanders of the river with its flood plain to the mouth of the Yarra River in Yarraville .
Recreation and leisure
As the second largest river in the greater Melbourne area, the Maribyrnong River plays an important role in the recovery of the city's population. You can go boating, cycle along its banks, z. B. on the Maribyrnong River Trail , fishing or hiking. Cross-country hiking is also possible and nature watchers can enjoy the typical Australian fauna, e.g. B. Echidna , wallabies and also the ubiquitous Fox Cusus and flying foxes .
River crossings
Road and rail bridges, as well as river crossings along the Maribyrnong River include:
- Shepherd Bridge - Expressway
- South Kensington-West Footscray railway line
- Hopetoun Bridge - Expressway
- Sydenham-Footscray suburban railway
- Former cattle bridge - moved here from Punt Road in South Yarra
- Lynchs Bridge - Expressway
- Farnsworth Avenue Bridge - dual carriageway
- Pipemakers Park Footbridge - pedestrian bridge
- Maribyrnong Road Bridge - expressway
- Afton Street Footbridge
- Canning Street Bridge - Expressway
- Medway Golf Club Footbridge - pedestrian bridge
- Solomon's Ford - Historic Ford
- Maribyrnong River Viaduct on the Albion-Jacana railway line
- EJ Whitten Bridge Expressway (Melbourne West Ring Road)
- ford
- ford
- Old Calder Highway Bridge - Expressway
- Historic Calder Bridge (1868)
- Calder Freeway Bridge - dual carriageway
- Flora Street Bridge - residential and private street
- Historic Arundel Road Bridge - (built 1906–1907, closed to road traffic in 1989, closed to pedestrian traffic in 2007)
- Arundel Road Bridge (1989) - residential street
fauna
Native species
Many native species can be found along the Maribyrnong River and just as many in the surrounding area:
Mammals and marsupials
Swamp wallaby , Gray-headed flying foxes or fruit bats, possum , Common pseudocheiridae , rakali or Rakali, echidnas and platypus - only on the upper reaches.
Reptiles
Eastern brown snake , tiger otter , skinks and common snake necked turtle
Birds
Eastern whip bird , cockatoos , rainbow lorikeet , Galah , brown falcon , peregrine falcon , trapezoidal tail hawk , royal spoonbill , Black Swan , Pacific Black Duck , little pied cormorant , moorhen and nose Kakadu
Amphibians
fishes
Short-finned eel ( Anguilla australis , Family eels ), Tupong , mordacia mordax (short-headed lamprey, family lampreys ), Australian Grayling ( Prototroctes maraena , Australian grayling, Family Zealand salmon ), the galaxies Galaxias maculatus (common galaxias) Galaxias brevipinnis ( climbing or broad-finned galaxias) and Galaxias truttaceus (spotted galaxias), the sea bream Acanthopagrus butcheri (southern black bream) etc.
Other kinds
Introduced species
Mammals
Red fox , wild rabbit and feral domestic cat
Birds
Song Thrush , Blackbird , shepherds Star , Star , house sparrow , spotted dove , rock pigeon and mallard
Social dividing line
For a long time the western suburbs of Melbourne suffered from the stigma of poverty. According to Campbell Rose of The Age newspaper , the reputation of these neighborhoods as a "rust belt" forged by social and economic troubles was first established by their inevitable comparison with the east - elegant suburbs with famous schools and institutions - including the Maribyrnong River was considered a limit in physical, mental, social and economic terms.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Map of Maribyrnong River, VIC . Bonzle.com
- ↑ Maribyrnong River Basin 30 . Department of Primary Industries. Government of Victoria
- ^ Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas. Steve Parish Publishing, Archerfield QLD 2007, ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 , p. 41.
- ^ A b Maribyrnong River Visitors Guide . Parks Victoria ( Memento of the original from March 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Australian Places: Maribyrnong, Victoria . Monash University ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2005 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ About the Wurundjeri People . Yarra Healing ( Memento of the original from September 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Melway , Issue 35 (2008)
- ↑ Melway, Issue 36 (2009)
- ^ Trestle Bridge, Arundel Road, Keilor, VIC, Australia . Australian Heritage Database
- ^ Maribyrnong Valley Parklands . Parks Victoria ( Memento of the original from August 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Campbell Rose: A Prosperous Future Lies in Looking West . The Age. April 12, 2009
