Glenelg River (Western Australia)

Last updated

Glenelg River
Location
Country Australia
Physical characteristics
Source 
  locationElizabeth and Catherine Range
  elevation227 metres (745  ft) [1]
Mouth  
  location
Maitland Bay, Indian Ocean
  elevation
sea level
Length89 kilometres (55  mi)

The Glenelg River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The headwaters of the river rise in the Elizabeth and Catherine Range. The river flows in a north-westerly direction past the Whately Range and discharges into Maitland Bay then through George Water, into Doubtful Bay and finally the Indian Ocean.

The McRae River is a tributary of the Glenelg River.

The first recorded exploration of the river was made in 1838, by a party led by George Grey, but they were poorly prepared and ill-equipped. Grey named the river on 2 March 1838 after Lord Glenelg who was Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1835 to 1839 and under whose auspices Grey undertook his explorations. [2] [3]

On 31 March 1929, en route from Sydney to England, the Southern Cross with Charles Kingsford Smith at the helm made an emergency landing on a mudflat near the mouth of the river. The Southern Cross was found and rescued after a fortnight's searching, with George Innes Beard, Albert Barunga and Wally from Kunmunya Mission the first overland party to reach the downed aircraft. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Phillip</span> Bay in Australia

Port Phillip or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is completely surrounded by localities of Victoria's two largest cities — metropolitan Greater Melbourne in the bay's main eastern portion north of the Mornington Peninsula, and the city of Greater Geelong in the much smaller western portion north of the Bellarine Peninsula. Geographically, the bay covers 1,930 km2 (750 sq mi) and the shore stretches roughly 264 km (164 mi), with the volume of water around 25 km3 (6.0 cu mi). Most of the bay is navigable, although it is extremely shallow for its size — the deepest portion is only 24 m (79 ft) and half the bay is shallower than 8 m (26 ft). Its waters and coast are home to seals, whales, dolphins, corals and many kinds of seabirds and migratory waders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Grey</span> British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer (1812–1898)

Sir George Grey, KCB was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony, and the 11th premier of New Zealand. He played a key role in the colonisation of New Zealand, and both the purchase and annexation of Māori land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Septimus Roe</span> Australian politician

John Septimus Roe was the first Surveyor-General of Western Australia. He was a renowned explorer, a member of Western Australia's legislative and executive councils for nearly 40 years, but also a participant in the Pinjarra massacre on 28 October 1834.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Forrest</span> Australian politician

Alexander Forrest CMG was an explorer and surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberley (Western Australia)</span> Region in Western Australia

The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, and on the east by the Northern Territory.

The Kaurna people are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurna culture and language were almost completely destroyed within a few decades of the British colonisation of South Australia in 1836. However, extensive documentation by early missionaries and other researchers has enabled a modern revival of both language and culture. The phrase Kaurna meyunna means "Kaurna people".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Adelaide</span> Aspect of history

This article details the history of Adelaide from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century. Adelaide is a planned city founded in 1836 and the capital of South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Egerton-Warburton</span> English army major & police officer

Colonel Peter Egerton-Warburton, often referred to as Major Warburton, was a British military officer, Commissioner of Police for South Australia, and an Australian explorer. In 1872 he sealed his legacy through a particularly epic expedition from Adelaide crossing the arid centre of Australia to the coast of Western Australia via Alice Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenelg River (Victoria)</span> River in South Australia, Australia

The Glenelg River, a perennial river of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Australian states of Victoria and South Australia.

Hill River is a river in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lennard River</span> River in Kimberley region of Western Australia

Lennard River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river was named on 8 June 1879 by the explorer Alexander Forrest, during an expedition in the Kimberley area, after Amy Eliza Barrett-Lennard (1852-1897), who he was to marry on 15 January 1880.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irwin River</span> River in Western Australia

The Irwin River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was named on 9 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey, while on his second disastrous exploration expedition along the Western Australian coast, after his friend Major Frederick Irwin, the Commandant of the Swan River settlement, and later acting Governor of Western Australia from 1847 to 1848.

The Bowes River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was named on 6 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey while on his second exploration expedition along the Western Australian coast. It was named for Mary Bowes, Dowager Countess of Strathmore, the wife of Sir William Hutt. Hutt was a British Liberal politician who was heavily involved in the colonization of New Zealand and South Australia, and the brother of John Hutt, the second governor of Western Australia. Sir William Hutt was a member of the 1836 select committee on Disposal of Lands in the British Colonies. Grey named the nearby Hutt River after Hutt.

The Fitzroy River, a perennial river of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Inman (police officer)</span>

Henry Inman (1816–1895) was an English cavalry officer, pioneer of South Australia, founder and first commander of the South Australia Police, overlander and Anglican clergyman.

The McRae River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The Gairdner River is located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river is located in the west Kimberley, and is a 42 km long tributary of the Glenelg River.

John Hill was an English explorer of South Australia and part of the European exploration of Australia. Hill was the first European to see and traverse the Clare Valley.

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

European land exploration of Australia deals with the opening up of the interior of Australia to European settlement which occurred gradually throughout the colonial period, 1788–1900. A number of these explorers are very well known, such as Burke and Wills who are well known for their failed attempt to cross the interior of Australia, as well as Hamilton Hume and Charles Sturt.

References

  1. "Bonzle Digital Atlas – Map of Glenelg River". 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  2. "History of river names – G". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  3. Grey, George (1841). Journals of two expeditions of discovery in North-West and Western Australia, during the years 1837, 38, and 39, describing many newly discovered, important, and fertile districts, with observations on the moral and physical condition of the aboriginal inhabitants, etc. etc. Vol. 1. London: T. and W. Boone. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  4. McKenzie, Maisie (1969). The Road to Mowanjum. Angus & Robertson.

Coordinates: 15°49′15″S124°44′15″E / 15.82083°S 124.73750°E / -15.82083; 124.73750