Junction of the Richmond and Wilson rivers at Coraki, 2007The lift span bridge in Wardell, NSW, which crosses the Richmond RiverRichmond River at Ballina, with the Burns Point Ferry in the middle distance crossing from the West to South Ballina river banks, July 2025Yacht racing on the Richmond River at Ballina, October 2023The Richmond River entrance from the Southern Breakwater, April 2019.Mouth of the Richmond River, New South Wales, Australia (aerial montage)
On its journey it passes through the towns of Kyogle, Casino, Coraki and Woodburn. Summerland Way is situated adjacent to much of the middle reaches of the course of Richmond River. The Pacific Highway crosses the river near Broadwater. The lowest permanent vehicular crossing (closest to the river mouth) is the lift-section bridge at Wardell, while closer to Ballina, the Burns Point Ferry provides an additional manually operated, daytime vehicle and passenger crossing service, operating between the shores of South and West Ballina. Upstream from Wardell, the next regular (non motorway) road crossings are provided by road bridges at Broadwater (Broadwater Bridge) and Woodburn.
There are several small islands in the river as it approaches the sea, named instances being Pelican Island near Broadwater, Goat Island and Cabbage Tree Island south of Wardell, and Pimlico Island (plus Little Pimlico Island) between Pimlico and Empire Vale. Of these, Cabbage Tree Island is inhabitated, having an Aboriginal community and a school (although the community was relocated from the Island following damage to their properties during the 2022 eastern Australia floods), while Little Pimlico Island is a nature reserve.[4]
The catchment area of the river is estimated at 6,862 square kilometres (2,649sqmi), which makes it the sixth largest catchment in New South Wales; and its floodplain has an area of over 1,000 square kilometres (390sqmi).[5]
History
Aboriginal history
The traditional custodians of the land surrounding the Richmond River are the Aboriginal people of the Githabul,[6] whose territory reached north to the current city of Toowoomba and included the current towns of Tenterfield and Warwick. One of the annual rituals of the Githabul people was the movement from the mountain ranges to the coast during the winter months, when the mullet were plentiful. The inland peoples from around brought black bean seeds with them to trade for the fish.[7]
European history
Omitted by Captain James Cook when he sailed up the east coast of the Australian mainland in 1770, it wasn't until Captain Henry John Rous identified the mouth of the river in 1828 that it was discovered by Europeans. Rous entered the river and sailed about 20 miles (32km) up river. He subsequently named the river Richmond after the fifth Duke of Richmond.[1] Later that year the explorer Allan Cunningham reached the river by land.[7]
The river was a major transportation route from the 1840s until well into the 20th century. Soon after the first white settlers arrived they discovered the abundant supply of Australian Red Cedar in the Richmond Valley and immediately began logging. The river was vital in the transportation of this resource.
At the time of its discovery in 1828 and until the late 1890s the river had a treacherous mouth of shifting sand bars, and many ships and people died on it. Understandably, a decision was made to construct two breakwaters to channel the river's flow and these were completed in the early 1900s. The construction of the breakwaters also led to the formation of Shaw's Bay (after sand built up behind what is now called Lighthouse or Main Beach).
With the decline of shipping as a transport mode, owing to better roads and rail, and the closing of the North Coast Steam Navigation Company (the major shipping firm of the area) in 1954, the river became less important as a transportation route.
Originally, the arm of the river running through Lismore was known as the North Arm of the Richmond (hence, Lismore was also considered to lie on the Richmond River). In 1976 its name was changed to the Wilsons River, the name change reflecting that of the European owners of the original land holding that later became the City of Lismore.[8]
Current usage
For boats, the river is navigable for a short way up its length, possibly as far as Casino. Wilsons River, which flows through the city of Lismore and is a major tributary of the Richmond, is navigable at least as far as Boatharbour, approximately 12 kilometres (7.5mi) upstream from Lismore.
The Richmond River is heavily used for irrigation along its length. Several weirs have been constructed in order to mitigate the effects of flooding, most notably at Casino.
Near its entrance to the Pacific Ocean, the sheltered estuary of the river provides several sandy beaches and opportunities for recreational activities including swimming, sun bathing, yachting, fishing and dog walking.[9] It is also home to the Richmond River Sailing & Rowing Club,[10] and provides access to the Ballina trawler harbour which is situated just off the river estuary, where the river is joined by Fishery Creek.[11] One small area of residential canal estate development, the Ballina Quays, extends the available river frontage for housing so that each can then have individual moorings as desired, set back from the remainder of the river frontage.[12]
Fauna
The freshwater reaches of the Richmond River once supported the endemic Richmond River Cod, similar to Murray Cod and possibly a subspecies of Eastern Freshwater Cod. Unfortunately this unique native fish became extinct between the 1930s and 1950s due to habitat degradation and gross overfishing, including with dynamite during the building of the local railway line. The endangeredOxleyan Pygmy Perch has been recorded from the river.
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.
