| Flinders | |
|---|---|
 Looking downstream along the Flinders River while crossing on the Burke Developmental Road, 2019 | |
  Location of Flinders Rivermouth in Queensland | |
| Etymology | In honour ofMatthew Flinders |
| Native name | Candarace (Yirandhali language)[1] |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Queensland |
| Region | North West Queensland,Gulf Country |
| Settlements | McKinlay,Hughenden,Richmond,Julia Creek,Cloncurry, Burke and Wills Junction |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Burra Range,Great Dividing Range |
| • location | Reedy Springs |
| • elevation | 816 m (2,677 ft) |
| Mouth | Gulf of Carpentaria |
• location | west ofKarumba |
• coordinates | 17°35′59″S140°35′44″E / 17.59972°S 140.59556°E /-17.59972; 140.59556 |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 1,004 km (624 mi) |
| Basin size | 109,000 km2 (42,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 122.2 m3/s (4,320 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 570.2 m3/s (20,140 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Cloncurry River, Corella River,Bynoe River |
| • right | Saxby River |
| [2] | |
TheFlinders River is the longest river inQueensland, Australia, at approximately 1,004 kilometres (624 mi).[3] It was named in honour of the explorerMatthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes of theGreat Dividing Range inNorth West Queensland and flows generally north-west through theGulf Country, across a large, flat clay pan, before entering theGulf of Carpentaria.
The River rises in the Burra Range, part of the Great Dividing Range,[4] 110 kilometres (68 mi) north-east ofHughenden and flows in a westerly direction past Hughenden,Richmond andJulia Creek, then north-west to the Gulf of Carpentaria 25 km (16 mi) west ofKarumba. The catchment is bordered to the south by theSelwyn Range.
At 1,004 kilometres (624 mi) in length, it is the eighth-longest river in Australia.[3] The catchment covers 109,000 square kilometres (42,000 sq mi).[5] The primary land use in the catchment is grazing[6] and other agriculture, the catchment covers 1.5% of the continent.[7]
A total of 36tributaries flow into the Flinders,[2] the principal ones being theCloncurry,Saxby and theCorella rivers.[5] Another major tributary is Porcupine Creek, which has carved out a dramatic gorge located in thePorcupine Gorge National Park.[8] While there are no dams on the Flinders River there are several on tributaries including Lake Mary Kathleen, Chinaman Creek Dam, andCorella Dam.[6] Hughenden Irrigation Project Corporation has proposed building a diversion weir on the Flinders River downstream of Hughenden to supply a 161,000 megalitre offstream storage.[9] Other smaller tributaries include: Range Creek, Morepork Creek, Oxley Creek, Canterbury Creek, Dutton River, Back Valley Creek, L-Tree Creek, Gorman Creek, Hazlewood Creek, Nonda Creek, Eurimpy Creek, Yambore Creek,Bynoe River and Armstrong Creek. The river flows through one permanent waterhole, Flagstone waterhole.[2]
Several towns are located within the catchment including:McKinlay, Burke and Wills Junction, Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek andCloncurry.[4]
The river has a mean annual discharge of 3,857 gigalitres (8.48×1011 imp gal; 1.02×1012 US gal).[4] The maximum flow recorded is 18,000 gigalitres (3.96×1012 imp gal; 4.76×1012 US gal).[10]
The riverbed is composed of silt with clay and sand, sand and gravel, and gravel with cobble.[10] A large, flat clay pan is located in the area where the Flinders,Gregory andLeichhardt Rivers enter the Gulf. The mouth of the river lies in theGulf Plains Important Bird Area.[11]
In 2015, the population living within the catchment was 6,600.[12]
Vegetation along the river in the upper catchment includesriparian woodlands composed of paperbarks including;Melaleuca argentea,Melaleuca bracteata andMelaleuca fluviatilis and sub-dominant eucalypts includingriver red gum,coolabah, with minorbauhinia. Other species found include thewattle. Infestations of weeds such asprickly acacia, Noogoora burr, rubber vine andchonky apple are also found.[13] The understorey is dominated by a closed cover of riparian grasses including native couch on the sandy loams adjacent the stream channels.
Thetraditional owners of the area are theKalkadoon,Mitakoodi,Kukatj,Guthaarn,Mayi-Yapi,Mayi-Kulan,Mayi-Thakurti,Ngawun,Wanamara,Mbara,Yirandali andGugu-Badhun peoples, who have inhabited the area for thousands of years.[4]
Jirandali (also known asYirandali,Warungu, andYirandhali) is anAustralian Aboriginal language ofNorth-West Queensland, particularly theHughenden area. The language region includes the local government area of theShire of Flinders, includingDutton River, Flinders River, Mount Sturgeon,Caledonia,Richmond,Corfield,Winton, Torrens, Tower Hill, Landsborough Creek,Lammermoor, Hughenden, andTangorin.[14]
Wanamarra (also known asMaykulan andWunumura) is an Australian Aboriginal language inNorth West Queensland. The language region includes areas within theShire of McKinlay,Shire of Cloncurry andShire of Richmond, including the Flinders River area, and the towns ofKynuna andRichmond.[15]
Dalleburra (also known as Dalebura, Dal-leyburra, Yirandali) is a language ofNorth-West Queensland, particularly Lammermoor Station viaHughenden. The Dalleburra language region includes the local government boundaries of theFlinders Shire Council.[16]
The Flinders River was named in 1841 by Captain Wickham and LieutenantJohn Lort Stokes ofHMS Beagle, in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. Stokes charted and surveyed the estuary of the Flinders andAlbert rivers, and named many other features in the area, including Disaster Inlet, Morning Inlet and the Van Diemen River.[17]
Robert O'Hara Burke,William John Wills, Charles Gray, and John King reached the river delta in 1861, completing the goal of theirexpedition to cross the continent from south to north. Gray died on the journey back toCooper Creek, and both Burke and Wills died after reaching the creek to find their depot abandoned. King survived with the help of the indigenous Yandruwandha people.[17]
The firstpastoralist to stock country along the Flinders was James Gibson who established Prairie Station in 1861. In 1864 morecattle stations were established by Gibson includingMillungera and Taldora Stations.[17]
Massive flooding occurred along the river in July 1870. One station lost over 4,000 sheep and roads were cut. In 1917 even larger floods were recorded, with Hughenden inundated several people drowned. More heavy flooding occurred in 1955, 1960, 1974, 1991 and 2000.[18]
In 2003, licences to take water from the river were first released when a pastoralist, Corbett Tritton, applied for an irrigation licence. He successfully grew crops likesorghum andcotton on his cattle station and soon other graziers were interested. A moratorium on the issuing of licences followed, but was lifted in 2013.[7]
Heavy rainfall in Queensland in early 2019 resulted in major flooding along the Flinders, considered the worst in half a century. The broadflood plain has allowed the Flinders to stretch as wide as 60km. The rising water also caused devastation to farmers with heavy losses tocattle herds.[19]
This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Guugu Yimithirr".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved28 January 2020. This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Wanamarra".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved5 February 2020. This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Indigenous languages map of Queensland".State Library of Queensland.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved5 February 2020.
Media related toFlinders River at Wikimedia Commons
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