| Burdekin | |
|---|---|
 The Burdekin River and theBurdekin Bridge, 2024 | |
  Location of Burdekin Rivermouth in Queensland | |
| Etymology | Thomas Burdekin |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Queensland |
| Region | North Queensland,Far North Queensland |
| Settlements | Charters Towers,Home Hill |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Seaview Range |
| • location | nearIngham |
| • coordinates | 18°42′12″S145°44′23″E / 18.70333°S 145.73972°E /-18.70333; 145.73972 |
| • elevation | 620 m (2,030 ft) |
| Mouth | Coral Sea |
• location | Upstart Bay |
• coordinates | 19°38′49″S147°29′14″E / 19.64694°S 147.48722°E /-19.64694; 147.48722 |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 886 km (551 mi) |
| Basin size | 129,700 km2 (50,100 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 380 m3/s (13,000 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 0 m3/s (0 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 40,000 m3/s (1,400,000 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Running River, Fanning River, Kirk River |
| • right | Dry River (Queensland), Clarke River (Queensland),Basalt River,Broughton River (Queensland),Cape River (Queensland),Suttor River,Bowen River (Queensland), Bogie River |
| Reservoir and lakes | Lake Dalrymple; Lamonds Lagoon |
| [1] | |
TheBurdekin River is a river inNorth andFar North Queensland, Australia. The river rises on the northern slopes of Boulder Mountain atValley of Lagoons, part of the western slope of theSeaview Range, and flows into theCoral Sea atUpstart Bay over 200 kilometres (124 mi) to the southeast of the source, with acatchment area of approximately 130,000 square kilometres (50,000 sq mi).[2] The Burdekin River is Australia's largest river by (peak) discharge volume.[3]: 5
The river was first encountered by Europeans during the expedition led byLudwig Leichhardt in 1845 and named in honour of Thomas Burdekin, one of the sponsors of the expedition.[4]
The Burdekin River rises on the western slopes of the Seaview Range, part of theGreat Dividing Range, west ofIngham. In the river's upper catchment, from itssource the river generally flows west and then south out of theGirringun National Park, part of theUNESCOWet TropicsWorld Heritage Area. This area, now part ofBasalt was the location of one of the earliest inland settlements in northern Australia and was known asDalrymple.[5] The river is joined by Lucy Creek, theRunning River,Star River and Keelbottom Creek, aboveCharters Towers. From the west in the Dry Tropics to the west of the river, the river is joined by theClarke,Basalt andDry rivers. South of Charters Towers, the upper catchment of the Burdekin River is joined by theFanning River,[6] and then continues to flow south throughwetlands before entering Lake Dalrymple, the reservoir created by theBurdekin Falls Dam.
Within Lake Dalrymple, the Burdekin River is joined by theCape,Suttor/Belyando rivers. The source of the Belyando River in central western Queensland is almost 500 kilometres (311 mi) from themouth of the Burdekin River, and extends into the typicalblack-soil grassland of Central Queensland, with the Belyando draining the Drummond andGalilee Basins and flowing north for over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi).[7][8][9]
Below the dam wall, in the river's lower catchment, is northern Australia's largest irrigation area with approximately 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres) under irrigation, predominantly for growing sugarcane. It consists of two broad regions, the earlier establisheddelta region located on the coarse sedimentary deposits of the Burdekin River Delta, a groundwater dominated scheme, and the Burdekin Haughton Water Supply Scheme (BHWSS) – a more recently developed surface water dominated scheme on alluvial floodplains of the Burdekin River.[10] Here the Burdekin is joined by theBowen andBogie rivers.
The Burdekin River descends 620 metres (2,030 ft) over its 886-kilometre (551 mi)course.[1]
FourDIWA wetlands can be found along the course of the river. The first is at the Valley of Lagoons in the upper region of the catchment, the next is a Lake Dalrymple,[11] then at the junction of the Burdekin and Bowen rivers known as the Burdekin-Bowen Junction and Blue Valley Weir Aggregation[12] and the last is at the river delta which forms a 342.5 square kilometres (132 sq mi) wetland.[13]
The Burdekin River is one of the most economically important rivers in Australia,[14] and has the fourth-largest watershed of anyexorheic drainage system in Australia. It is also the fourth-largest river in Australia by volume of flow,[15] but is so erratic that its discharge can reach the mean discharge of theYangtze River (after two severecyclones in 1958) or have as many as seven months withno flow whatsoever (as in 1923). This exceedingly erratic flow is due to the extreme variability ofprecipitation throughout the entire basin. Annual rainfall at most gauges within the basin can range from 200 to 1,600 millimetres (7.9 to 63.0 in) depending on the monsoon and the number of cyclones that cross the coast.[16] On the coast itself, the variability is even higher: atBowen not far from the river's mouth, the annual rainfall has ranged from 216 millimetres (9 in) in 1915 to over 2,200 millimetres (87 in) in 1950. It has the highest mean annual flow for any river adjacent to theGreat Barrier Reef.[17]
Gugu Badhun (also known asKoko-Badun andKokopatun) is anAustralian Aboriginal language ofNorth Queensland. The language region includes areas within the local government area ofCharters Towers Region, particularly the localities ofGreenvale and theValley of Lagoons, and in the Upper Burdekin River area and inAbergowrie.[18]
Yuru (also known asJuru, Euronbba, Juru, Mal Mal, Malmal) is anAustralian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuru country. The Yuru language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of theShire of Burdekin, including the town ofHome Hill.[19]
The river was first discovered by Europeans byJohn Clements Wickham aboardHMS Beagle in 1839 who named it theWickham River. In 1849, Ludwig Leichhardt named the river after Thomas Burdekin, one of the sponsors of Leichhardt's expedition.[4] Because he was inland away from the coast he was not aware it was the same watercourse named by Wickham. The town of Wickham was established on Rita Island at the river mouth but was soon swept away during a flood in the 1860s.[4]
Pastoralists had established runs along the river during the 1860s, with some along the lower reached taken forselection in the 1880s.
In 1899, theBurdekin River Rail Bridge was built over the river about 24 km NE ofCharters Towers to carry theGreat Northern railway. Although replaced by a new bridge in 1964, the old bridge remains and is listed on theQueensland Heritage Register.[20]
The townships ofAyr andBrandon were established in 1882 with many sugarmills being erected. TheNorth Coast railway between Ayr andTownsville had theInkerman Bridge over the Burdekin River fromMcDesme toHome Hill which was built in 1913 followed by bridge for road traffic in 1930. Both were too low and often damaged during flooding and the decision was made to replace them with a higher dual level bridge known as theSilver Link. Construction commenced in 1947 and was not completed until 1957 when the bridge opened.[4]
A weir was constructed in a gorge in theLeichhardt Range for settlement farms nearClare andDalbeg in 1953 for growing tobacco. In 1984 construction of theBurdekin Falls Dam commenced and was completed by 1987 when the dam started to fill forming Lake Dalrymple.[4]
Floods events occur on average from no floods to three per year between December and March.[17]
Heavy flooding occurred in 1875 with the Dawson, Fitzroy, Mary and Burdekin Rivers rising up to 60 feet (18 m) in a few hours. The waters washed away dwellings, fencing and livestock[21] and effects downstream included the loss of the steamerSS Gothenburg which was unable to steer effectively and ran aground on a reef at the entrance of Flinders Channel.[22]
In 1917 more severe flooding occurred with the bridge atInkerman under 11 feet (3 m) of water and the one atAyr over 14 feet (4 m) underwater after a day of flooding.[23] Approximately one third of the Inkerman Bridge was later washed away by the floodwaters.[24]
Further flooding occurred in 1927 with waters running nearly 6 feet (2 m) over the Inkerman Bridge and 3 feet (1 m) over the Burdekin Bridge,[25] the river reached its peak at 66 feet (20 m) above summer levels at Sellheim.[26]
During the 1974 flood event associated withCyclone Wanda, which lasted from 17 December 1973 to 23 April 1974, an estimated mass discharge peak of 25,000 tonnes (25,000 long tons; 28,000 short tons) of water per second was reached, which affected 450 kilometres (280 mi) of coastline and created a plume with widths ranging from 25 to 100 kilometres (16 to 62 mi).[17]
The Burdekin Falls Dam, the largest dam in Queensland was constructed west ofAyr andHome Hill and completed in 1987 to form what is also known as Lake Dalrymple.
As part of the proposedBradfield Scheme the upper Burdekin River was to be used to feed water by gravity westwards to the upper reaches of theFlinders River.[27]
On the lower Burdekin floodplain anirrigation area was established in the early 1950s.[28] At first onlyGorge Weir andBlue Valley Weir provided water to the scheme, until the 1970s whenEungella Dam also provided water. Water is also drawn from theHaughton River.[29] Major pump stations are located at Clare Weir feeding water to both sides of the river. An area of 2,560 square kilometres (990 sq mi) is irrigated.[29]
In the delta around Ayr and Home Hill,groundwater is used extensively to irrigate crops ofsugar cane. This groundwater is recharged artificially during the extreme flood events that occasionally occur, usually due to aLa Niña event. The use of groundwater in the floodplain is carefully managed so that supply can be maintained during the dry season and to preventsaltwater intrusion.[30]
TheNorth Coast railway line crosses the river at Home Hill, via a bridge constructed in 1913. At the same location theBruce Highway traverses the river via theBurdekin Bridge. Further west, the river is crossed by theFlinders Highway.
Although on paper most of the basin of the Burdekin appears perfect for rainfed crops like cotton and maize, in fact the rainfall is so erratic that in almost every year a would-be farmer will experience either too little or too much rain for the crop to mature properly. Thus, most of the basin of the Burdekin can be used only for low-density grazing of sheep and cattle, since grazing is less likely to be damaged economically and ecologically by the extreme risks of an extraordinarily erratic climate.
TheValley of Lagoons Station was established in 1862 after the area in the upper reaches of the Burdekin was opened up by the government.[31] Initially stocked with sheep, the property was later used to raise cattle. In 1864, Inkerman Station was established toward the lower reaches, where the town ofInkerman now stands. The area was plagued by cattle tick, so the government acquired the property in 1910 and sold it off as farmland where sugarcane was later grown.[32]
The natural vegetation away from the coast is a grassland dominated by perennial Mitchell and annual Flinders grasses. Near the coast there are patches of dryeucalypt forest on the typically infertilelaterised soils characteristic of most of Australia.
Few mines exist along the waterway, with the notable exception of the Ben LomondUranium mine which is situated approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Townsville. The mine is currently dormant, but in 1981 the mine discharged toxic waste containing unacceptable levels ofradioactivity,[33] when its tailing dam overflowed into a creek that feeds into the Burdekin.
Neosilurus mollespiculum is a species ofeeltail catfish endemic to the Burdekin.[34] Many other species such as Agassiz's glassfish, Irwin's turtle, banded grunter, barramundi, black catfish, eastern rainbowfish, empire gudgeon, freshwater longtom, mangrove jack, tilapia and yellowbelly are found throughout the catchment.[35]
This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Gugu Badhun".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved28 January 2020. This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Yuru".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved23 January 2020.
Media related toBurdekin River at Wikimedia Commons
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