| Georges River Tucoerah River[1] | |
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  NASA satellite view ofGreater Metropolitan Sydney, with the location of themouth of the Georges River, as marked | |
| Etymology | In honour ofKing George III[2] |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| Region | Greater Metropolitan Sydney |
| LGAs | Bayside,Campbelltown,Canterbury-Bankstown,Fairfield,Georges River,Liverpool,Sutherland,Wollondilly |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Upland swamps, O'Hares Creek |
| • location | east ofAppin inMacarthur |
| • coordinates | 34°15′00″S150°49′48″E / 34.25000°S 150.83000°E /-34.25000; 150.83000 |
| • elevation | 350 m (1,150 ft) |
| Mouth | Botany Bay |
• location | Taren Point/Sans Souci |
• coordinates | 34°00′24″S151°08′32″E / 34.0066940°S 151.1421598°E /-34.0066940; 151.1421598 |
| Length | 96 km (60 mi) |
| Basin size | 930.9 km2 (359.4 sq mi) |
| Depth | |
| • average | 5 m (16 ft) |
| • maximum | 10 m (33 ft)[3] |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Bunbury Curran Creek,Cabramatta Creek,Lennox River(proposed),Prospect Creek,Salt Pan Creek,Boggywell Creek |
| Lakes andreservoirs | Chipping Norton Lake |
| [4][5] | |
TheGeorges River, also known asTucoerah River,[1] is an intermediatetide-dominateddrowned valleyestuary,[6] that is located inSydney, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from theSydney central business district, with the mouth of the river being atBotany Bay.
The river travels for approximately 96 kilometres (60 mi) in a north and then easterly direction to itsmouth at Botany Bay, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from theTasman Sea. The Georges River is the maintributary of Botany Bay; with theCooks River being a secondary tributary.
The total catchment area of the river is approximately 930.9 square kilometres (359.4 sq mi) and the area surrounding the river is managed by variouslocal government authorities andGovernment of New South Walesagencies across Sydney.
The land adjacent to the Georges River was occupied for many thousands of years by theTharawal andEora peoples. They used the river as an important source of food and a place for trade.
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From its source east of Appin within theheath habitat of theWollondilly Shire andWollongong Local Government Area, the Georges River flows north through rugged sandstone gorges to the east ofCampbelltown, roughly parallel to theMain Southern railway line, with its eastern bank forming a boundary ofHolsworthy Army Base. AtGlenfield it reaches the urban environment and then travels toLiverpool where the river turns east and flows past the suburbs ofEast Hills,Lugarno, andBlakehurst, before emptying into Botany Bay atTaren Point/San Souci in the southern suburbs of Sydney, where it joins with the estuarine catchment.
Major tributaries include O'Hares Creek, Bunbury Curran Creek,Cabramatta Creek,Lennox River (proposed),Prospect Creek,Salt Pan Creek and theWoronora River. The Georges River is popular for recreational activities such as water skiing and swimming. The banks of the river along the lower reaches are marked by large inlets and indentations overlooked by steep sandstone ridges and scarps, many being home to expensive residential properties.
The Georges River features some artificial lakes in the suburb ofChipping Norton, near Liverpool. These lakes, known as theChipping Norton Lake, are the result of sand mining and quarrying operations in the twentieth century. The Lakes are now a popular watersports and recreational facility for the residents of the south-western suburbs of Sydney.
Liverpool Weir now forms the uppermost tidal limit and presence of salt water on the Georges River.
From Appin to Glenfield, a large corridor has been protected as part of the Georges River Regional Open Space Corridor. Council reserves allow for access to natural sections of the river at Simmo's Beach,[7] Ingleburn Reserve, Keith Longhurst Reserve,[8] and Frere's Crossing.[9]
Botany Bay Community River Health Monitoring Program is a community-based initiative to monitor ecosystem health catchment.[10]
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Georges River was formerly known as Tucoerah (or Toggerai / Tuggerah) River[clarification needed] by thetraditional custodians of the area. It is not known whether this word referred to the whole river or rather just a part of it. Mill Creek, a tributary of Tucoerah was called Guragurang.
To the south of Tocoerah are the traditional lands of theDharawal people. TheDharug/Eora people are the traditional custodians of the land on its northern banks.
The Georges River was given its English name in honour ofKing George III, by GovernorArthur Phillip.[2] It was one of the many sites of theHawkesbury and Nepean Wars, a series of wars between theKingdom of Great Britain and the resisting Indigenous clans in the late 1700s and early 1800s.[11]
One of the earliest contacts between British settlers and Aboriginal people occurred on 20 January 1788.Arthur Phillip andPhilip Gidley King, leading a party of seamen from theFirst Fleet rowing two open boats, explored the 'South-West Arm of Botany Bay' (now Georges River). They are now thought to have gone as far as Lime Kiln Bay, where they landed at two locations there, the first of which they called 'Lance Point'—thought to be modern-day Gertrude Point,Lugarno—where an altercation with local people occurred. Later the same day, there was a peaceful meeting at what is now thought to have been the head of Lime Kiln Bay. They are also now believed to have entered the estuarine mouth of the Georges Rivers' tributary,Woronora River. Not finding enough freshwater, around Botany Bay and its two 'arms', the colonists moved on toPort Jackson, where the settlement of Sydney began six days later.[12][13]
The river was explored byBass andFlinders in 1795 on their first voyage on the Tom Thumb after their arrival in New South Wales. The exploration led to the establishment ofBankstown.
A dam was constructed byDavid Lennox using convict labour at Liverpool in 1836, as a water supply to Liverpool.[14]
Oyster farming on Georges River occurred between around 1870 and 2023, in the part of the river estuary downstream from Salt Pan Creek.
In February 2007, Liverpool and Campbelltown City Council were awarded a $2 million grant from theNSW Environmental Trust under their Urban Sustainability Initiative.[15] The grant was to allow the councils, in conjunction with Wollondilly Shire Council and the Georges River Combined Councils Committee, to develop a Comprehensive Strategic Plan focused on the rehabilitation of the catchment area.[16]
Since the 2010s, theMandaean community in the Greater Sydney region has been using the Georges River for their ritual baptisms, calledmasbuta. Along with theNepean River, it is one of the few ritual rivers (calledyardna inMandaic) that they use for their baptism and ablution rituals.[17][18][19]
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Bridges over the Georges River include from east to west:
The Georges River is a popular area for recreational fishing. Species present in the river include bass, bream, whiting, yellowtail, jewfish and flathead. The river was once host to a number ofcommercial oyster farms. The upper ends of the Georges River are abundant with Bass during the summer months and during the winter months these bass migrate down to the lower ends of the river towards the salt water to breed. Waste water inflows to the river are carefully managed to maintain the estuarine habitat.
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