Gwydir River

Gwydir River/ɡwaɪdər/(locally[gwɑe̯də]), a major inlandperennial riverof theBarwoncatchment within theMurray–Darling basin,is located in theNorthern Tablelands,North West Slopes,andOranadistricts ofNew South Wales,Australia.

Gwydir River Guida,Big Bundarra River, Bundara River, Big River, Rocky River
Gwydir River, nearBingara
Etymology	In honour of Lord Gwydir
Location
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
IBRA	Northern Tablelands
District	New England,North West Slopes,Orana
Municipalities	Uralla,Gwydir,Moree Plains,Walgett
Physical characteristics
Source	Rocky River
• location	atYarrowyck,nearUralla
• elevation	760 m (2,490 ft)
2nd source	Boorolong Creek
Source confluence	Mehi River
• location	nearMoree
• elevation	202 m (663 ft)
Mouth	confluencewith theBarwon River
• location	north east ofCollarenebri
• elevation	144 m (472 ft)
Length	488 km (303 mi)
Basin size	26,588 km2(10,266 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	26 m3/s (920 cu ft/s)
Basin features
River system	Barwon River,Murray–Darling basin
Tributaries
• left	Horton River
• right	Moredun Creek
Reservoirs	Lake Copeton,Collymongle Lagoon

The river rises at the junction of theRocky Riverand Boorolong Creek, atYarrowyck,northwest ofUrallaand flows generally northwest and west, joined by over thirty-fourtributaries,including theHortonandMehirivers, before reaching itsconfluencewith theBarwon River,north east ofCollarenebri;descending 616 metres (2,021 ft) over its 488-kilometre (303 mi)course.

The flow of the river isimpoundedbyCopeton Dam,with storage used for town water supply, stock, domestic use and irrigation. The Gwydir River below Copeton Dam provides some of the wildest whitewater rafting available in Australia. Before the construction of Copeton Dam and much diversionary work, the Gwydir River flowed into the Gingham and LowerGwydir Wetlands.

TheGwydir Highwaywas named after the river.

Geography

Gwydir River, nearMoree

Gwydir River, downstream from Pallamallawa

Gwydir River, nearMoree

The Gwydir river rises on the southern part of the Northern Tablelands, near the town of Uralla, and flows about 668 km (415 mi) generally north west and then west onto the plains where it branches somewhat, eventually joining the Barwon River, mostly as its main branch the Mehi River, which branches off to the east of Moree, before passing through it. The upper Gwydir River also passes the towns ofBundarra,Bingara,Gravesend,andPallamallawa.Further distributaries above Moree are the Carole which then joins with the GilGil Creek to the north that flow into the Barwon River when during times of high rainfall/runoff or water deliveries.

The Gwydir River further splits into twoanabranchwest of Moree – the Lower Gwydir or "Big Leather Watercourse" is the southern channel, and the "Gingham Channel" is the northern branch. The Gingham Channel flows west and becomes undefined in wetlands and floodplains around west of Moree. Only in larger flood events does it then join with the Ballone Creek before it flows into the Barwon River. The Big Leather Watercourse then also loses definition in wetlands and floodplains to the west and only larger floods joins with the Barwon River to the west. In turn, the Mehi River joins the Barwon River near the town of Collarenebri.

Over its entire distance, the Gwydir River falls around 616 metres (2,021 ft) in elevation from its headwaters, at an elevation of 760 metres (2,490 ft) above sea level to when it joins the Barwon River at an elevation of 144 metres (472 ft) above sea level. The Gwydir River's total length is 488 kilometres (303 mi), in which space and thirty-four tributaries feed into it over its entire length; including the Horton River,Warialda Creek,Laura CreekandMoredun Creek.

History

The traditional custodians of the land surrounding the Gwydir River were theAboriginalKamilaroipeoples.

ExplorerAllan Cunninghamcrossed the river at Gravesend in 1827 and named it after his patron,Peter Burrell, Baron Gwydyr(Welsh pronunciation:[ˈɡwɪdˈiː.ər]), who took his title fromGwydir CastleinWales.The Commonwealth ElectoralDivision of Gwydir,which was created in 1901 and ceased to exist at the2007 federal election,was named for the Gwydir River. In Australia the name is pronounced to rhyme with "wider," whereas the Welsh name is pronounced roughly "Gwidd-eer".

The iron lattice bridges crossing the Gwydir River at Bundarra and Bingara are regarded as significant bridges of the colonial period. Around mid-1838 a war of extirpation, according to local magistrate Edward Denny Day, was waged all along the Gwydir River. Aborigines in the district were repeatedly pursued by parties of mounted and armed stockmen and Day claimed that great numbers of them had been killed at various spots.

See also:Waterloo Creek massacre

Agriculture

A lot of irrigatedcottonis grown near Moree, as well as many other crops, livestock and agricultural enterprises. The cotton industry relies onirrigationand has been affected by recentdroughtwith water allocations to farms severely reduced. In 2006 it was calculated that the cotton industry consumed 87% of the agricultural water taken from the Gwydir River.

Irrigation in the upper Gwydir led to a severe reduction in natural flows downstream.The reduction in water flow has affected landholders who traditionally grazed on wetlands and floodplains and in areas where the waters from the river were used to supplement stock drinking water and for minor watering of pasture and small areas of crops. It also reduced or stopped periodical flushes of water into ephemeral creeks, watercourses and wetlands in the Gingham, Lower Gwydir and Mallowa and other smaller systems. These conflicts resulted in the establishment of the Gwydir Regulated River Management Committee in 1997 and then the Gwydir Environmental Contingency Allowance Operation Advisory Committee when the Gwydir Water Sharing Plan came into effect on 1 July 2004.

Environment

Wetlands

Main article:Gwydir Wetlands

The Gwydir wetlands are an important breeding site forAustralian white ibises

Some 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of the privately ownedGwydir Wetlandswere designated on 14 June 1999 as aRamsar siteas a wetland of international importance.

Some 1,021 square kilometres (394 sq mi) of the Gwydir Wetlands have been identified byBirdLife Internationalas anImportant Bird Areabecause, when they receive adequate water inflows, they support more breedingwaterbirdsthan any other site in the country. At times more than half a million nesting waterbirds have been present, including over 1% of the world populations ofnankeen night herons,intermediate egrets,and ofwhiteandstraw-necked ibises.TheendangeredAustralasian bittern,Black-necked stork and other threatened species have been recorded.

TheNamoi River snapping turtleor Bell's turtle (Elseya belli) is found only in the upper reaches of theNamoi,Gwydir andMacdonald Riverson the NSW North West Slopes.

See also

• List of rivers of Australia
• Rivers of New South Wales

External links

• "Gwydir River catchment"(map).Office of Environment and Heritage.Government of New South Wales.
• Origin of the name "Gwydir"Archived15 April 2008 at theWayback Machine