| Coomera | |
|---|---|
 Upper reaches of the Coomera River inLamington National Park | |
  Location of Coomera Riverriver mouth in Queensland | |
| Etymology | Aboriginal wordkumera |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Queensland |
| Region | South East Queensland |
| Local government areas | Scenic Rim Region,City of Gold Coast |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | McPherson Range,Great Dividing Range |
| • location | Binna Burra |
| • coordinates | 28°13′3″S153°11′9″E / 28.21750°S 153.18583°E /-28.21750; 153.18583 (Coomera River (source)) |
| • elevation | 524 m (1,719 ft) |
| Mouth | Gold Coast Broadwater |
• location | Coomera (north branch),Paradise Point (south branch) |
• coordinates | 27°51′58″S153°24′21″E / 27.86611°S 153.40583°E /-27.86611; 153.40583 (Coomera River (mouth)) |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 80 km (50 mi) |
| Basin size | 489 km2 (189 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Guanaba Creek, Wongawallan Creek, Baker Creek (Queensland), Bygon Creek, Yuan Creek, Oakey Creek (Queensland), Coomera River (North Branch) |
| • right | Back Creek (Queensland), Price Creek (Queensland), Saltwater Creek (Gold Coast, Queensland), Coombabah Creek |
| National park | Lamington National Park |
| [1][2] | |
TheCoomera River is a perennial river in theSouth East region ofQueensland, Australia. Itscatchment lies within theGold Coast andScenic Rim Regionlocal government areas and covers an area of 489 square kilometres (189 sq mi).[3]
Rising inLamington National Park below the Lamington plateau in thelocality ofBinna Burra and a few kilometres north of theNew South Wales/Queensland border, the Coomera River descends over the spectacularCoomera Falls in the Coomera Gorge. The river flows generally north through large rural properties in the upper reaches, joined by ten minortributaries before flowing through high density residential and riverside development, particularly in the lower estuary where it flows into theBroadwater near Coomera Island andParadise Point. Prior to reaching the Broadwater the river diverts into two streams to form the North Branch of the river that flows to the west and north of Coomera Island and heads towardsJumpinpin Channel to join thePimpama River. The maincourse of the river flows south of Coomera Island which heads towards theGold Coast Seaway including flowing around theSovereign Islands andHope Island. Further upstream, the river flows around Foxwell Island. This river is one of a number which flow north from theTweed Valleyshield volcano. Downstream the river flows betweenCoomera andOxenford. The Coomera River then enters the northern tip of the Gold Coast Broadwater at Paradise Point. The river descends 524 metres (1,719 ft) over its 80-kilometre (50 mi) course.[1]
The Coomera river catchment covers an area of 489 square kilometres (189 sq mi).[4] The river's length is approximately 80 km.[5] Freshwater parts reach mostly to a maximum of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) but some parts at waterholes and below waterfalls can exceed 2 metres (6 ft 7 in).[5]
The lower estuary area is a fast-growing residential area.Sanctuary Cove andSanta Barbara are all becoming home to increasing numbers of people. A former sand mine near thePacific Motorway is being investigated for development of a rowing course.
The upper tidal areas are popular forwaterskiing andwakeboarding. The upper Coomera River is home 18 regionally significant species including theplatypus.[5]
The river is crossed by the Pacific Motorway and theGold Coast railway line betweenUpper Coomera andOxenford. Further multiple road crossings of the river occur upstream.[1]
As of 2023 The Gold Coast Waterways Authority is improving access and connections to the waterways by dredging the Coomera River navigation channel from Sovereign Island to the Gold Coast Marine Industry Precinct at Coomera. Approximately 70,000 cubic metres of sand will be removed.[6]
In May 1827Patrick Logan was the first non-Indigenous person to discover the river.[7] The waterway was originally named the Arrowsmith after aLondon cartographic firm byRobert Dixon, a government surveyor. HoweverThomas Mitchell, theColonial Surveyor General, overruled this and other names, replacing them with Aboriginal names.[8] It was also known as the Kumera Kumera.[9]
The nameCoomera comes from aBundjalung language (Ngaraangbal dialect) wordkumera referring to a wattle tree, whose bark was used to stupify fish.[3]
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