Annan | |
---|---|
![]() A waterfall in the Upper Annan River catchment | |
Location of Annan River mouth in Queensland | |
Etymology | River Annan, Scotland [1] |
Native name | Yuku Baja (Kuku Nyungkal) |
Location | |
Country | Australia |
State | Queensland |
Region | Far North Queensland, Wet Tropics of Queensland |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Yorkey Range |
• location | below Mount Romeo |
• coordinates | 15°50′13″S145°17′26″E / 15.83694°S 145.29056°E |
• elevation | 568 m (1,864 ft) |
Mouth | Walker Bay, Coral Sea |
• location | south of Cooktown |
• coordinates | 15°31′49″S145°16′25″E / 15.53028°S 145.27361°E |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Length | 66 km (41 mi) |
Basin size | 750 km2 (290 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• location | Near mouth |
• average | 26.6 m3/s (840 GL/a) [2] |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Scrubby Creek, Oaky Creek (Queensland) |
• right | Trevethan Creek |
National parks | Kalkajaka National Park; Annan River (Yuku Baja-Muliku) National Park |
[3] [4] [5] [6] |
The Annan River (Kuku Nyungkal: Yuku Baja [7] ) is a river in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia.
The river rises in the Yorkey Range below Mount Romeo near Rossville, north-northwest of Wujal Wujal. The river flows generally in a north-westerly direction, joined by three minor tributaries that drain waters from the Trevethan Range before finally heading eastwards to Walker Bay. At its river mouth, the Annan River is joined by the Esk River and together the two rivers empty into the Coral Sea south of Cooktown. [6] [8] The river descends 568 metres (1,864 ft) over its 66-kilometre (41 mi) course and flows through the Kalkajaka National Park and the Annan River (Yuku Baja-Muliku) National Park. [3] [4] The river has a catchment area of 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi). [9]
Being in a wet-dry tropical climate the river receives the majority of its approximately 1,800-millimetre (71 in) rainfall per year between the months of December and April, a period known as the wet season. [6]
The river is crossed by the Mulligan Highway near Rossville and again closer to its mouth.
The river was given its gazetted name by an early Australian pastoralist and magistrate, John Jardine, who, on 11 November 1865, named it after the River Annan in Scotland, while on passage in HMS Salamander. [1]
Many of the river's waterfalls, waterholes, and waters have indigenous names, inspired by local indigenous religious beliefs, and have been a primary source of life, sustenance, foods, and water for many thousands of generations of predecessors to the Kuku Nyungkal people (also known as the Annan River Tribe). [10] [11]
Towards the end of the 19th century non-Aboriginal peoples had started to colonize the Far North Queensland region, and with the shift from predominantly gold mining activity (especially at Palmer River) to tin, lead, silver and copper mining, they started to move into the Annan River catchment and Kuku Nyungkal country. [12]
By 1885 Charles Ross had discovered tin in the upper Annan River area (firstly Mount Amos, then Mounts Hartley, Leswell and Romeo). Sluicing began that year, leading to a small-scale tin mining rush into Kuku Nyungkal country during 1886. Following this rush, for a number of years, a small but vibrant tin mining industry was able to mine lucrative tin deposits directly from underground lodes, creek beds and banks. Later, the industry had to adapt to exhausted supplies by consolidating and building water channels (races) through the Upper Annan River ranges to access higher, more difficult to reach deposits. [12]
One such 11-kilometre (6.8 mi)-long race, known as the Annan River Company Water Race, was first built at the cost of an Adelaide based company in 1902 and is now cultural heritage listed and protected as Queensland heritage. [12] The tin mining and other "disturbance" history of the otherwise more pristine Annan River catchment can be briefly summarized as follows: [6]
"This catchment has been quite extensively mined for tin since the late 19th century. Some small alluvial tin mining leases may still ... contribute significant sediment loads to the river. Other disturbances in the Annan catchment include unsealed roads and fords, grazing, and a number of small residential developments."
The heritage-listed Annan River Bridge, located on Development Road, Cooktown, is a rare example of a plate girder and screw pile bridge. It is also an uncommon example of a low-level bridge. [13] [14]
The Department of the Environment Natural Resource Atlas categorized the Annan River catchment as "Low Development", with less than 30% of its total catchment area being developed. [5] The catchment as a whole has been described as being "...at the pristine end of the disturbance spectrum...", extensively forested as follows: [6]
"...the southern and eastern portions [are] predominantly rainforest and open eucalypt forest. The western and northern parts are more sparsely vegetated consisting of open eucalypt forest and woodland with pockets of rainforest along Oaky Creek. The alluvial plains are covered by tall shrubland. The estuarine portion of the river comprises large areas of ephemeral and tidal wetlands..."
Daintree is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Daintree had a population of 129 people.
The Endeavour River, inclusive of the Endeavour River Right Branch, the Endeavour River South Branch, and the Endeavour River North Branch, is a river system located on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.
Wujal Wujal, sometimes spelt Wudjil Wudjil, is a rural town and locality in the Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire, Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2021 census, the locality of Wujal Wujal had a population of 276 people.
The Daintree River is a river that rises in the Daintree Rainforest near Cape Tribulation in Far North Queensland, Australia. The river is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Cairns in the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Wet Tropics of Queensland. The area is now primarily a tourist attraction.
Cape Tribulation is a headland and coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas in northern Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Cape Tribulation had a population of 123 people.
Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. The waters of Torres Strait include the only international border in the area contiguous with the Australian mainland, between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
The Palmer River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873.
The Shire of Douglas is a local government area in Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mossman, covers an area of 2,428 square kilometres (937.5 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1880 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the City of Cairns to become the Cairns Region. Following a poll in 2013, the Shire of Douglas was re-established on 1 January 2014.
The Shire of Cook is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland.
The Normanby River, comprising the East Normanby River, the West Normanby River, the East Normanby River North Branch, the East Normanby River South Branch and the Granite Normanby River, is a river system in Far North Queensland, Australia.
The Bloomfield River is a river in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia, noted for its Bloomfield River cod fish species, found only in the river.
The Kuku Nyungkal people are a group of Aboriginal Australians who are the original custodians of the coastal mountain slopes, wet tropical forests, waters, and waterfalls of the Upper Annan River, south of Cooktown, Queensland
Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. Both the town and Mount Cook which rises up behind the town were named after James Cook.
The Kuku Nyungkal dialect is an Australian Aboriginal language and the language of the Kuku Nyungkal people of Far North Queensland. It is a variety of Kuku Yalanji still being spoken. Most of the speakers today live in the communities of Wujal Wujal and Mossman.
Bloomfield is a town in the Shire of Cook and a coastal locality which is split between the Shire of Cook and the Shire of Douglas in Queensland, Australia. The neighbourhood of Ayton is within the locality. In the 2016 census, Bloomfield had a population of 204 people.
Palmer is a rural locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Palmer had a population of 46 people.
The Mossman River is a river in lower Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.
The Esk River is a river in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia.
Collingwood Water Race is a heritage-listed aqueduct at Monkhouse Timber Reserve, Rossville, Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1902 to 1906. It is also known as Annan River Company Water Race. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 April 2006.
The Kuku Buyunji (Kokobujundji), alternatively known as the Kuku Nyungkal or Annan River tribe are an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland.
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