Hutt River (Western Australia)
| Hutt River | |
|---|---|
| Origin | 10 kilometres (6 mi) East of Hutt |
| Mouth | Broken Anchor Bay Indian Ocean |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Length | 60 kilometres (37 mi) |
| Source elevation | 284 metres (932 ft) |
| Basin area | 1,254 square kilometres (484 sq mi) [1] |
Hutt River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
The river rises near the North West Coastal Highway between the towns of Northampton and Binnu and east of Hutt. It then flows in a westerly direction until reaching the Broken Anchor Bay on the Indian Ocean just south of Port Gregory.[2]
Hutt Lagoon, about 2 km north of the river mouth, was probably once the Hutt River's estuary, but became a deadwater and was eventually sealed off from the river by a sandbar. Under normal flow the river still runs to the north for a time before breaking through the final dune and flowing to the sea, but under heavy flow it breaks straight through.[3]
The first European to discover the river was probably Francisco Pelsaert, who hovered offshore in Broken Anchor Bay at the mouth of the Hutt River on 9 June 1629, following the sinking of the Batavia on the Houtman Abrolhos. He probably returned to the mouth of the Hutt River in the Sardam on 16 November 1629. His crew explored the area and two mutineers, Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye, appear to have been abandoned here, becoming Australia's first European residents.[4] The first British explorer to encounter Hutt River was Lieutenant (later Sir) George Grey on 5 April 1839,[5] and he named the river after his friend William Hutt.[6]
The Principality of Hutt River is located midway along the river. The Principality covers an area of 18,500 acres (75 km2) and claims to be an independent sovereign state that seceded from Australia in 1970[7] but is not officially recognised by Australia or any other country.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Ribbons of Blue - Mid West Region". 2007. http://www.ribbonsofblue.wa.gov.au/mid-west-region/background-information.html. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
- ^ "Rivers of Western Australia - The Hutt River". 2008. http://www.rowa.org.au/huttriver.php. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
- ^ Brearley, Anne (2005). Ernest Hodgkin's Swanland: Estuaries and coastal lagoons of Southwestern Australia. University of Western Australia Press. pp. 272–274. ISBN 1-920694-38-2.
- ^ Gerritsen 2007,2009
- ^ Grey vol. 2, p.19.
- ^ Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of river names". http://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/corporate.nsf/web/History+of+river+names. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
- ^ "Principality of Hutt River - Official website". 2008. http://www.principality-hutt-river.com/. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
Coordinates: 28°18′42″S 114°18′1″E / 28.31167°S 114.30028°E
[edit] References
- Rupert Gerritsen 2007 ‘The debate over where Australia’s first European residents were marooned in 1629 – Part 1', Hydrographic Journal 126:20-25.
- Rupert Gerritsen 2009 ‘The debate over where Australia’s first European residents were marooned in 1629 – Part 2', Hydrographic Journal 128-129(2009):35-41.
- G. Grey 1841 A Journal of Two Expedition in North-West and Western Australia During the Years 1837-39, 2 vols. London: T. and W. Boone.
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