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Nicholson River (Victoria)

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This article is about the watercourse in Victoria. For the watercourse of the same name in Queensland, see Nicholson River (Queensland). For the watercourse of the same name in Western Australia, see Nicholson River (Western Australia).

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The Nicholson River is a perennial river of the Mitchell River catchment, located in the East Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.[1]

Course and features

The Nicholson River rises below the Angora Range in the lower reaches of the Victorian Alps within the Great Dividing Range, near the small settlement of Marthavale, west of Ensay.[2] The river flows generally southeast passing through the small town of Nicholson before entering Lake King, one of the main lakes in the extensive Gippsland Lakes system.[1] Within the lake, the Nicholson River forms its confluence with the Mitchell River, which joins with the Tambo River; with the Mitchell River draining into Bass Strait southwest of Lakes Entrance, in the Shire of East Gippsland. The river descends 440 metres (1,440 ft) over its 83-kilometre (52 mi) course.[3][4]

The river is impounded by the Nicholson River Dam, that forms a water reservoir used for the supply of town water to Lakes Entrance, until 1995.[5]

In its lower reaches, the river is traversed by the Great Alpine Road, the Princes Highway, and the East Gippsland Rail Trail,[3] a shared purpose rail trail that was formerly the part of the Orbost railway line.

Etymology

There are a number of Australian Aboriginal names for the river including, from the Brabralung language Yowen-burrun[6] and Dart'yung,[7] both meaning "root of water plant";[8] and Geremoot, with no clearly defined meaning;[9] and in the Tatungalung language, Ngarrak walang, meaning "back-stone".[10]

The current name of the river in drawn from the early colonial explorer and pastoralist, Angus McMillan, who named the river in 1839 in honour of Charles Nicholson, who represented the Port Phillip District on the NSW Legislative Council and was later Colonial Secretary.[11]

See also

  • Looking north to the rail trail trestle bridge across the river at Nicholson.
    Looking north to the rail trail trestle bridge across the river at Nicholson.

References

  1. ^ a b Vicroads Country Street Directory of Victoria (4 ed.). Noble Park, Victoria: Royal Automobile Club of Victoria. 2000. ISSN 1329-5284.
  2. ^ 8423 Omeo, Victoria, Topographic Map. National Topographic Map Series (1 ed.). Commonwealth of Australia. 1982. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference bonzle was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Nicholson / Tambo Catchments" (PDF). Official Website. East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority. Archived from the original on 10 February 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Nicholson River Dam decommissioning mooted". ABC News. Australia. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference vicnames1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference vicnames2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference vicnames5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference vicnames3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference vicnames4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Daley, Charles (1960). The Story of Gippsland. Melbourne: Whitcombe and Tombs. p. 213., cited in 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 10 February 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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