Macalister River

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Macalister
Macalister River 1 Stevage.jpg
Australia Victoria relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Mouth of the Macalister River in Victoria
EtymologyCaptain Lachlan Macalister [1] [2]
Native nameWirnwirndook'yeerung (Kurnai) [3] [4]
Location
Country Australia
State Victoria
Region Victorian Alps (IBRA), South East Coastal Plain (IBRA), West Gippsland
Local government area Shire of Wellington
Settlements Maffra
Physical characteristics
Source Great Dividing Range
 • locationbelow Mount Howitt
 • coordinates 37°10′18″S146°39′37″E / 37.17167°S 146.66028°E / -37.17167; 146.66028
 • elevation1,550 m (5,090 ft)
Mouth confluence with the Thomson River
 • location
south of Maffra
 • coordinates
 38°2′18″S146°58′52″E / 38.03833°S 146.98111°E / -38.03833; 146.98111
 • elevation
14 m (46 ft)
Length177 km (110 mi)
Discharge 
 • location mouth
Basin features
River system West Gippsland catchment
Tributaries 
 • left Caledonia River, Wellington River, Stony Creek 2 (Macalister River, Victoria), Main Northern Channel
 • rightPeters Creek (Victoria), Coleman Creek (Victoria), Grimme Creek, Barkly River, Target Creek, Serpentine Creek, Mount Useful Creek, Cheyne Creek, Stony Creek 1 (Macalister River, Victoria), Glenmaggie Creek, Main Serpentine Drain
National park Alpine NP, Avon Wilderness Park
[5]

The Macalister River, a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, is located in the Alpine and Gippsland regions of the Australian state of Victoria.

Contents

Location and features

The Macalister River rises below Mount Howitt, part of the Great Dividing Range in the southern portion of the Alpine National Park; and flows generally south by east in a highly meandering course. The river is joined by fifteen tributaries including the Caledonia, Wellington, and Barkly rivers, impounded by the Glenmaggie Dam that creates Lake Glenmaggie, before reaching its confluence with the Thomson River, south of Maffra. The river descends 1,530 metres (5,020 ft) over its 177-kilometre (110 mi) course. [5] The fertile flats and valley floor of the Macalister River support agriculture around the town of Licola.

Etymology

In the Aboriginal Braiakaulung language the river was named Wirnwirndook'yeerun, meaning the "song of some bird", [3] purportedly an emu wren. [4]

The river was later named the Macalister River by explorer Angus McMillan, after his employer, Captain Lachlan Macalister. [1] [2]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Blake, Les (1977). Place names of Victoria. Adelaide: Rigby. p. 294. ISBN   0-7270-0250-3., cited in Bird (2006)
  2. 1 2 Bird, Eric (12 October 2006). "Place Names on the Coast of Victoria" (PDF). The Australian National Placename Survey (ANPS). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Macalister River: 20119: Traditional Name: Wirnwirndook'yeerung". Vicnames. Government of Victoria. 12 May 2011. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Macalister River: 20119: Traditional name: Wirnwirndook'yeerung". Vicnames. Government of Victoria. 12 August 2011. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Map of Macalister River, VIC". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
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