Ashburton River (Western Australia)

Last updated

Ashburton River
Ashburton River, Western Australia.jpg
Ashburton River at Nanutarra
Ashburton River (Western Australia)
Australia relief map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of river mouth in Australia
Location
Country Australia
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationPilbara region
 • coordinates 21°41′25″S114°54′53″E / 21.69017°S 114.91470°E / -21.69017; 114.91470
 • elevation571 metres (1,873 ft) [1]
Mouth  
 • location
Indian Ocean 20 km (12 mi) SW of Onslow
 • coordinates
 21°44′15″S114°56′22″E / 21.73760°S 114.93941°E / -21.73760; 114.93941
Length680 kilometres (423 mi)
Basin size66,850 square kilometres (25,811 sq mi)
Ashburton River (Western Australia)
Ashburton River near Nanutarra roadhouse Ashburton river near Nanutarra roudhouse 24-4-2004 - panoramio.jpg
Ashburton River near Nanutarra roadhouse

The Ashburton River is located within the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Contents

Geography

The river rises approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Newman and flows in a west-north-westerly direction until discharging into the Indian Ocean approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) south west of Onslow. [2] [3] The North West Coastal Highway crosses the river at Nanutarra. The river has a length of approximately 680 kilometres (420 mi). The river basin covers an area of 66,850 square kilometres (25,810 sq mi) and includes the towns of Paraburdoo and Tom Price. [4]

Tributaries

Some of the larger tributaries of the Ashburton river include Beasley River, Henry River, Hardey River and Ethel river. [5] Some of the smaller tributaries include Duck Creek, Turee Creek, Tunnel Creek, Angelo River, Stockyard Creek, Gorge Creek, Goldfields Creek, Peepingee Creek and Jubricoo Creek.

History

Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht (NLA balanced).jpg
Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht

The Ashburton River is believed to have first been named Willem's River during the voyage of the Dutch East India Company ship Mauritius in 1618, under command of Supercargo Willem Janszoon, and captained by Lenaert Jacobszoon. It was one of the few features named on a nautical chart made in 1627. [6] This area was first visited by Europeans in 1618, when the crew of the ship Mauritius encountered the Western Australian coastline, and mapped a river they named Willem's River. [7]

Janszoon was the captain of the Duyfken in 1605–1606, when part of the Gulf of Carpentaria was mapped, during the earliest documented visit to Australia by a vessel from Europe. [7]

Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht ("Chart of the Land of Eendracht") is a 1627 chart made by Hessel Gerritsz and is one of the earliest charts showing the coastline of Western Australia. [7] The Willem River is located to the extreme left (north) end of the coastline on the chart.

Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht, enlarged detail showing Willem River by Hessel Gerritsz, (reoriented with north to top). Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht (detail showing Willems River).jpg
Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht, enlarged detail showing Willem River by Hessel Gerritsz, (reoriented with north to top).

The chart shows Willems revier, besocht by 't volck van 't Schip Mauritius in Iulius A° 1618 ("Willem's River, visited by the crew of the ship Mauritius in July 1618").

The detail of the river’s position on the chart backs up the claim that this is the Ashburton River, which, being at 21 degrees 40 minutes south and 114 degrees 56 east, is almost exactly the latitude as shown on the chart, and given by Hessel Gerritsz as 21 degrees 45 minutes south latitude. [7] The chart is oriented with north to the left, showing lines of latitude from 20th parallel south to the 35th parallel south at the base of the map. The lines of latitude appear to be very accurate, matching known features through the length of the chart.

Other factors to back up that this is the Ashburton River is that it takes almost a 90 degree turn north-east, once in the mouth, as shown on the chart, and the northern headland of the river mouth matches closely the shape of the headland as shown on the chart.

The township of Onslow was located at the mouth of the Ashburton River where a jetty was used as the town's and region's port, but once the new deep water port facility was completed at Beadon point 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of the old townsite, the townsite was moved. [8]

Fauna

The river supports a wide variety of fish including barramundi and mangrove jack. [9] The occasional salt water crocodile is also spotted in the river. [10] Bird species such as black swans, the striated heron, [11] [ unreliable source? ] Australian bustard and bush stone-curlew can be found along the river's banks.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abel Tasman</span> Dutch seafarer, explorer and merchant (1603–1659)

Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch seafarer and explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European maritime exploration of Australia</span> Overview of the European maritime exploration of Australia

The maritime European exploration of Australia consisted of several waves of European seafarers who sailed the edges of the Australian continent. Dutch navigators were the first Europeans known to have explored and mapped the Australian coastline. The first documented encounter was that of Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, in 1606. Dutch seafarers also visited the west and north coasts of the continent, as did French explorers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exmouth, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Exmouth is a town on the tip of the North West Cape and on Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia, 1,124 kilometres (698 mi) north of the state capital Perth and 2,060 kilometres (1,280 mi) southwest of Darwin.

Willem Janszoon, sometimes abbreviated to Willem Jansz., was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. Janszoon served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 1603–1611 and 1612–1616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of Solor. During his voyage of 1605–1606, he became the first European known to have seen and landed on the coast of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Leeuwin</span> Most south-westerly mainland point of the Australian continent

Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia.

The Eendracht was an early 17th century Dutch wooden-hulled 700 tonne East Indiaman, launched in 1615 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Its Dutch name means "concord", "unity" or "union", and was a common name given to Dutch ships of the period, from the motto of the Republic: Concordia res parvae crescunt . The ship was captained by Dirk Hartog when he made the second recorded landfall by a European on Australian soil, in 1616.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onslow, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

Onslow is a coastal town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 1,386 kilometres (861 mi) north of Perth. It has a population of 848 people and is located within the Shire of Ashburton local government area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennefather River</span> River in Queensland, Australia

The Pennefather River is a river located on the western Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eendrachtsland</span> Early European name for Australia

Eendrachtsland or Eendraghtsland is an obsolete geographical name for an area centred on the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. Between 1616 and 1644, during the European Age of Exploration, Eendraghtsland was also a name for the entire Australian mainland. From 1644, it and the surrounding areas were known as New Holland.

Lenaert Jacobszoon was a captain of the Dutch East India Company who, on 31 July 1618 in the vessel Mauritius, sighted North West Cape in the north-west of Western Australia mistakenly believing it to be a large island. He also named the Willems River and the Jocob Remmessens River in the same voyage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tryal Rocks</span> Uninhabited Australian reef

Tryal Rocks, sometimes spelled Trial Rocks or Tryall Rocks, formerly known as Ritchie's Reef or Greyhound's Shoal, is a reef of rock located in the Indian Ocean off the northwest coast of Australia, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) northwest of the outer edge of the Montebello Islands group. It is named for the Tryall, the first known shipwreck in Australian waters, which sank after striking the then-uncharted rocks in 1622. Described as "the theme and dread of every voyager to the eastern islands", their location was sought for over three centuries before finally being determined in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janszoon voyage of 1605–1606</span> European voyage of discovery to Australia

Willem Janszoon captained the first recorded European landing on the Australian continent in 1606, sailing from Bantam, Java, in the Duyfken. As an employee of the Dutch East India Company, Janszoon had been instructed to explore the coast of New Guinea in search of economic opportunities. He had originally arrived in the Dutch East Indies from the Netherlands in 1598, and became an officer of the VOC on its establishment in 1602.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hessel Gerritsz</span> Dutch engraver, cartographer and publisher

Hessel Gerritsz was a Dutch engraver, cartographer, and publisher. He was one of the notable figures in the Golden Age of Netherlandish cartography. Despite strong competition, he is considered by some "unquestionably the chief Dutch cartographer of the 17th century".

<i>Leeuwin</i> (1621) Dutch galleon

Leeuwin, was a Dutch galleon that discovered and mapped some of the southwest corner of Australia in March 1622. It was captained by Jan Fransz and was the seventh European ship to sight the continent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht</span> Early nautical map of Western Australia

Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht is a 1627 map by Hessel Gerritsz. One of the earliest maps of Australia, it shows what little was then known of the west coast, based on a number of voyages beginning with the 1616 voyage of Dirk Hartog, when he named Eendrachtsland after his ship.

Thirteen ships of the Dutch East India Company and its pre-companies have been named Amsterdam.

Joris Carolus was a Dutch cartographer and explorer who was employed by the Noordsche Compagnie and the Dutch East India Company.

<i>Mauritius</i> (1612) Dutch sailing ship that visited Western Australia in July 1618

The Mauritius was an early 17th century Dutch wooden-hulled sailing ship, documented as being in service to the Dutch East India Company between 1618 and 1622.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willem River</span>

The Willem River or Willem's River was named during the voyage of the Dutch East India Company ship Mauritius in 1618, under the command of Supercargo Willem Janszoon and captained by Lenaert Jacobszoon, and is one of the few features named on a nautical chart made in 1627.

References

  1. ↑ "Bonzle Digital Atlas - Map of Ashburton River, WA". 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  2. ↑ "Wheatstone Project, Coastal Processes Monitoring and Management Plan" (PDF). Chevron Australia Pty Ltd. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Water Resources Inventory 2014, Water Availability, Quality and Trends (PDF) (Report). Perth, Western Australia: Department of Water, Government of Western Australia. May 2014. ISBN   978-1-922124-19-7. ISSN   1834-2620 . Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Waters and Rivers commission - Ashburton River Basin". 2007. Archived from the original on 21 April 2005. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  5. ↑ "History of river names – A". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  6. ↑ Tent, Jan (March 2006). "The importance of bygone placenames". Placenames Australia: Newsletter of the Australian National Placenames Survey: 10–11., cited in Caert van't Landt van d'Eendracht
  7. 1 2 3 4 J. E. Heeres LL. D. Professor at the Dutch Colonial Institute Delft. The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606-1765 (txt) (A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook - Latin-1(ISO-8859-1)--8 bit) (1 ed.). 46 Great Russell Street W. C.: The Royal Dutch Geographical Society in Commemoration of the XXVth Anniversary of its Foundation. 0501231.txt. Retrieved 28 January 2012.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. ↑ "History of country town names – O". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  9. ↑ "EPA - Animals of Walkabout Creek" (PDF). 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
  10. ↑ "ABC News - Croc sighted in Ashburton River". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2007.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ "Bird Forum - Striated Heron". 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.