Canning River

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Canning River
Nyungar: Djarlgarra
Canning River, Western Australia, Mount Henry.jpg
Canning River from southern shore looking north towards Mount Henry overlooking Aquinas Bay
Canning River
Location
Country Australia
State Western Australia
City Perth
Physical characteristics
Source 
  location Wandering [1]
Mouth Swan River
  location
Melville Water
  coordinates
32°00′11″S115°51′02″E / 32.0031568°S 115.8506084°E / -32.0031568; 115.8506084
Length110 km (68 mi)
Basin features
Tributaries 
  left Bull Creek, Bannister Creek, Lambertia Creek, Southern River, Churchmans Brook
  right Yule Brook, Bickley Brook, Ellis Brook, Stoney Brook, Stinton Creek

The Canning River (Nyungar : Djarlgarra [2] [3] or Nyungar : Dyarlgarro [4] ) is a major tributary of the Swan River in the South West Land Division of Western Australia. It is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species.

Contents

Source and route

With headwaters on the Darling Scarp, the Canning meanders through suburbs of Perth on the Swan Coastal Plain, including Cannington, Thornlie, Riverton, Shelley, Rossmoyne and Mount Pleasant, before joining the Swan at Melville Water just downstream of the Canning Bridge. [5]

Bridges

Points

History

The first European contact was in 1801 [6] when a French exploring party spotted the mouth. The crew subsequently named the mouth Entrée Moreau [6] after Charles Moreau, a midshipman with the party.

The Canning River received its contemporary name in 1827 when Captain James Stirling aboard HMS Success following an examination of the region in March 1827 named the river after George Canning, [6] an eminent British statesman who was Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time and whose government facilitated the funds for the expedition.

In November 1829, just five months after the founding of the Swan River Colony, an exploring party led by now Governor James Stirling chose a site for a new town named Kelmscott [7] on the banks of the Canning River.

Convicts

Part of the Convict Fence in Canning River between Shelley Foreshore Reserve and Salter Point Canning River, Western Australia, Reeds.jpg
Part of the Convict Fence in Canning River between Shelley Foreshore Reserve and Salter Point

Convicts partly constructed and maintained the Canning River Convict Fence. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] This structure is still a notable landmark to this day. It was built primarily for the use of barges carrying timber from Mason's Timber Mill in the Darling Ranges.

Algae bloom

Algal blooms occur naturally in the Canning River system; they are caused by a buildup of nutrients in the river. Human activities including farming, residential gardens and parklands are the major causes of increases in levels; the blooms are potentially toxic to both mammal and marine life. The Swan River Trust monitors the levels of nutrients and growth of the algae, issuing warnings and closing sections of the river to all activities. The Trust also operates cleanup programs to reduce the amount of nutrients reaching the river, as well phosphorus removal and oxygenation in areas were blooms have been identified. [13]

The Trust is encouraged by the appearance of Azolla carpets on sections of the Canning River as this fern is known to reduce the amount of sunlight available to the algae as well as absorbing large amounts of phosphorus and other nutrients from the water. However, it is possible that Azolla carpets can cause deoxygenation and emit a strong sulphur smell. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandurah</span> Coastal city in Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cockburn Sound</span> Body of water south of Fremantle, Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Canning</span> Local government area in Western Australia

The City of Canning is a local government area in the southeastern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about 10 kilometres (6 mi) southeast of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of 64.8 square kilometres (25.0 sq mi) and had a population of approximately 90,000 as at the 2016 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverton, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Riverton is a southeastern suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. Its local government area is the City of Canning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perth Water</span> Body of water of Swan River, Western Australia

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Rossmoyne is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, within the City of Canning. Rossmoyne is located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south of central Perth, and is bounded by Leach Highway to the south, the Bull Creek to the west, the Canning River to the north, and Shelley to the east. The area has a river front and parks.

Shelley is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Canning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crawley, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melville Water</span> Section of river in Perth, Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Henry Peninsula</span> Peninsula in Western Australia

Mount Henry Peninsula is a land feature and reserve located 11 km (6.8 mi) south of Perth, Western Australia, on the north bank of the Canning River near the Mount Henry Bridge in Salter Point, Western Australia. It covers 11.9 hectares, and includes both Banksia attenuata and Banksia menziesii woodland, and a muddy and desert biome. The peninsula features limestone slopes, shoreline vegetation, wetlands, and contains the most inland vegetated knoll of the Spearwood dunes on the Swan-Canning estuary, as well as a significant variety of natural conditions for birds and other fauna. The Mount Henry Peninisula is a designated Bush Forever Site, number 227.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peel-Harvey Estuarine System</span> Estuarine system south of Mandurah, Western Australia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray River (Western Australia)</span> River in Peel region of Western Australia

The Murray River is a river in the southwest of Western Australia. It played a significant part in the expansion of settlement in the area south of Perth after the arrival of British settlers at the Swan River Colony in 1829. It should not be confused with the Murray River in southeastern Australia, which is the longest river in the country.

The Beeliar Wetlands is a wetland located in the southwest portion of Western Australia. It is made up of two chains of lakes and wetlands that run parallel to the west coast of Australia. They are situated on the Swan Coastal Plain between the Darling Escarpment and the Indian Ocean. Beeliar was the name given to the area by the Aboriginal people that lived and hunted in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mounts Bay Road</span> Road in Perth, Western Australia

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References

  1. "About the river system". Parks and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  2. Kinsella, John (2017). Polysituatedness: A Poetics of Displacement. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-1-5261-1337-5.
  3. Broomhall, Susan, ed. (2012). Rivers of emotion : an emotional history of Derbarl Yerrigan and Djarlgarro Beelier: the Swan and Canning rivers. [Crawley, W.A.]: Australian Research Council. Centre of Excellence. ISBN   978-1-74052-260-1. OCLC   820979809.
  4. "Discover the Swan and Canning rivers". Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  5. "Canning Dam". About Australia. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 "History of river names – C". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  7. "European Settlement". Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
  8. Carde, F.G. (1991) [1968]. Along the Canning: A History of the City of Canning, Western Australia, Covering its progress from Roads Board to Shire, to Town, to City (2nd ed.). City of Canning.
  9. McQueen, Jeanette (1963). Pioneers of the Canning District (Thesis). Graylands Teachers' College. p. 13.
  10. Detail from 'Municipal Heritage Inventory', City of Canning
  11. Hutchison, D.; Davidson, Dianne (1979). "The Convict-Built 'Fence' in the Canning River" (PDF). Records of the Western Australian Museum. 8 (1): 147–159. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  12. LePage, J.S.H. (1986). Building A State: The Story of the Public Works Department of Western Australia 1829-1985. Leederville: Water Authority of Western Australia. p. 211. ISBN   978-0-7244-6862-1.
  13. "Algal Bloom - Swan River Trust media statement" (PDF). 16 March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  14. "Native fern on Canning River - Swan River Trust media statement" (PDF). 6 March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2014.

Further reading

32°00′S115°51′E / 32.000°S 115.850°E / -32.000; 115.850