Macquarie River

For the river in Tasmania, see Macquarie River (Tasmania).

Macquarie River
Macquarie River flowing under the Evans Bridge in Bathurst
Mouth	Barwon River
Basin countries	Australia
Length	626 km
Source elevation	671 m

The Macquarie River is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales. Its headwaters rise in the central highlands of New South Wales near the town of Oberon. The river travels generally northwest past the towns of Bathurst, Wellington, Dubbo, Narromine, and Warren to the Macquarie Marshes. The Macquarie Marshes then drain into the Darling River via the lower Barwon River.

Burrendong Dam is a large dam (capacity 1,190,000 Megalitres) near Wellington which impounds the waters of the Macquarie River and its tributaries the Cudgegong River and the Turon River for flood control and irrigation. The dam creates Lake Burrendong.

Geography

From its origin the Macquarie River flows for 626 kilometres and drops around 517 metres over its length. Lake Burrendong (346m) is the only dam along the length of the river.

Source

The Macquarie River starts below the locality of White Rock near Bathurst at an elevation of 671m.

It is a combination of three water systems which are Davy's Creek, the overflow from Chifley Dam which fed by the Campbells River, and the Fish River which flows into and out of the Oberon Dam.

Tributaries

Six rivers flow into the Macquarie River they are; Fish River (670m), Turon River (406m), Cudgegong River (342m), Bell River (285m), Little River (271m), and Talbragar River (257m)

Along its course 19 creeks flow into the Macquarie River they are; Winburndale Rivulet (484m), Tambaroora Creek (398m), Pyramul Creek (360m), Curragurra Creek (351m), Triamble Creek (342m), Wuuluman Creek (302m), Wambangalong Creek (265m), Cumboogle Creek (263m), Mogriguy Creek (257m), Whylandra Creek (255m), Coolbaggie Creek (246m), Brummagen Creek (239m), Gin Gin Creek (217m), Greenhide Creek (209m), Bulla Bulla Creek (202m), Five Mile Cowal (187m), Marebone Break (184m), Bulgeraga Creek (179m) and Oxley Break (171m). (descending elevation shown in brackets)

Communities along the river

• Bathurst
• Wellington
• Dubbo
• Narromine
• Warren

Bridge crossings

• Old Rail Bridge - Bathurst (out of use)
• New Rail Bridge - Bathurst
• Evans Bridge - Bathurst
• Denison Bridge - Bathurst (Constructed 1869-1870) replaced a bridge at the same location washed away by floods in 1867
• Rawsonville Bridge - Dubbo The Rawsonville bridge is a Dare type timber truss bridge, and was completed in 1916
• Scabbing Flat Bridge - The Scabbing Flat bridge is a Dare type timber truss bridge, and was completed in 1911
• Dundullimal Rail Bridge

Watershed

The Macquarie system covers an area of more than 74,000 square kilometres. Over 72% of land is flat, with an additional 17% undulating to hilly. The remainder is steep to mountainous, rising progressively to elevations above 900 metres. To the east the boundary is formed by the Great Dividing Range, this boundary extends from near Oberon in the south to Coolah in the north. A well defined ridge extends north-west from the Great Dividing Range for around 400 kilometres, then the boundary turns north.

From Bathurst, near the formation of the river it passes the following geographic areas:

• through Bathurst Plains, undulating country of 700 metres duration surrounded by high tablelands on all sides. This includes an extensive floodplain around Bathurst
• past Hill End Plateau, where it is joined from the east by the Turon river, the river drains a plateau extending from near Portland to Sofala. The elevation is around 1100 metres in the south and 700 metres in the north, this area is predominantly rugged slopes
• Burrendong Dam, the Macquarie River is joined from the east by the Cudgegong River, which rises in the hills around Rylstone with a general elevation around 700 metres
• through Wellington and Dubbo, the river is joined by the Bell and Little Rivers. The Bell River rises in flat to undulating country of the Orange plateau, with a general elevation of 900 metres, the highest point being the extinct volcanic peak of Mount Canobolas at roughly 1,400 metres. Between Wellington and Dubbo extensive flat areas are evident.
• north of Dubbo, the Talbragar River joins the Macquarie, the Talbragar is the most important downstream tributary. This river rises in mountainous country at the junction of the Great Dividing Range and the Liverpool Range. The country through which the Talbragar River runs is broad and flat, bordered by undulating hills that disperse as the river nears Dubbo.
• north of Dubbo, the river passes through flat plains flowing north-west through Narromine and Warren. A complex series of effluent creeks connecting the Macquarie, Darling and Bogan Rivers.
• Macquarie Marshes, lie at the end of the river channel proper. Near Carinda the Macquarie is joined by the Marthaguy Creek which drains an area 6,500 square kilometres and carries spill-over water from the Macquarie and Castlereagh River during floods.

Rainfall varies across the catchment of the Macquarie River, generally the peaks and tablelands receive higher rainfall due to the shadowing effects of the surrounding ranges. The Great Dividing Range area receives between 750 to 900 mm annual median rainfall. This is distributed relatively uniformly throughout the year. Where breaks in the Dividing Range allow the intrusion of moist easterly air streams inland, annual median rainfall of 750 mm or more is experienced further westward. Further north-west in the Castlereagh and middle portions of the Macquarie valleys the annual median rainfall is 300 to 400 mm.

Rainfall can vary dramatically over several years. As an example of this records show a variation from >200% to <50% of the average annual figure. Evaporation varies from less than 1000 mm south-east of Bathurst up to more than 2000 mm at Bourke.

Statistics

River Catchment Statistics (May 2009)

Area Total	12,300 km²
Total storage volume	1,559,620 ML
Total surface water use	406,840 ML/yr
Development Category	over developed
Mean annual run-off	0 ML/yr

Aboriginal history

The Wiradjuri people are the original inhabitants of the area that includes the Macquarie River catchment. The Wiradjuri knew the river as the Wambool. The noted Wiradjuri warrior Windradyne came from the upper Macquarie River region, and was fatally wounded in a tribal battle alongside the river in 1829.

Near Carinda between the Macquarie River and Marra Creek the oldest evidence of bread making in the world (approximately 30,000 years old) was found at an ancient lake known as Cuddie Springs.

European history

The upper reaches of the Macquarie River were first sighted by Europeans in 1813 and the river was named for the then Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie. In 1813 surveyor George Evans wrote in his journal:

Tuesday, 30th November 1813. I have at length reached the Ridge I so much wished to do after walking about 2 Miles, where I had a prospect to the North for a great distance; A Mist arises from a part I suppose to be a River or a large Lagoon about 20 Miles Off;

Thursday, 9th December 1813. I have called the Main Stream "Macquarie River".

• 1817-18 John Oxley traced the Lachlan River and Macquarie River
• 1828 Charles Sturt ascertained that Macquarie River ended in marshes and discovered the Darling River

Irrigation

The Macquarie River catchment is a regulated Water Management Area and includes private irrigation as well as several public irrigation schemes

• Narromine - Trangie
• Buddah Lakes
• Tenandra
• Trangie – Nevertire
• Nevertire
• Marthaguy

Flooding

The Macquarie River has a history of flooding, some significant events are listed below. After major floods water can flow past the Macquarie Marshes and into the Barwon-Darling river system upstream of Brewarrina.

• 1867, devastating floods wash away the first Denison Bridge at Bathurst
• 1955, serious flooding of Macquarie River amoungst other river systems
• 1998, there was a large flood that affected the farming of cotton and vegetables.
• 2010, November/December saw major flooding of the lower Macquarie River following heavy rainfall events throughout Eastern Australia

Recreation

Recreational activities are popular along the length of the river particularly in the communities it passes by.

• Fishing - The following species of fresh water fish can be caught; brown trout, carp, catfish, golden perch, murray cod, rainbow trout, redfin, silver perch, trout cod and yabbies.
• Lake Burrendong - a large dam very popular with water sports enthusiasts activities include skiing, jet skis, sailing, and general boating.
• Parks - in Bathurst along the bank of the river is Bi-Centennial Park, this park is used for recreation purposes, picnics, events, bicycle riding, etc

External links

• [1] - NSW Government - Department of Environment, Macquarie Catchment Map
• [2] - NSW Government - Daily river reports