| Bogan River | |
|---|---|
 The Bogan River atNyngan | |
  Location of the Bogan Rivermouth in New South Wales | |
| Etymology | 1.Aboriginal: the birthplace of a notable headman of the local tribe;[1][2] |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| Region | Central West,Orana |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Little River (Parkes) |
| • location | Cooks Myalls, nearParkes |
| • coordinates | 33°00′30″S148°02′00″E / 33.00833°S 148.03333°E /-33.00833; 148.03333 |
| • elevation | 305 m (1,001 ft) |
| Mouth | Darling River |
• location | Dry Bogan Weir, nearBourke |
• coordinates | 29°58′30″S146°20′56″E / 29.97500°S 146.34889°E /-29.97500; 146.34889 |
• elevation | 111 m (364 ft) |
| Length | 617 km (383 mi) |
| Basin size | 18,000 km2 (6,900 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Macquarie–Barwon sub-catchment, Darling River catchment, Murray-Darling basin |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Genaren Creek,Sandy Creek, Bulbodney Creek, Little Bogan River |
| • right | Cookopie Creek, Burrill Creek, Gundong Creek, Tomingley Creek, Mulla Mulla Cowal, Moonagee Cowal,Gunningbar Creek, Nyangi Bogan Cowal, Duck Creek, Bywash Billabong, Kellys Cowal |
| Basin area is upstream of Nyngan only[3]: 11 | |
Bogan River, aperennial river that is part of theMacquarie–Barwon catchment within theMurray–Darling basin, is located in thecentral west andOrana regions ofNew South Wales,Australia.
From its origin nearParkes, the Bogan River flows for about 617 kilometres (383 mi) in length andflows into the Little Bogan River[4] to form theDarling River[citation needed], nearBourke.[5]
The name Bogan is supposedly anAustralian Aboriginal (Wiradjuri orNgiyambaa) term meaning 'the birthplace of a notable headman of the local tribe';[6] this may be in reference to the Wiradjuri people of the BulgandramineAboriginal Mission, whose word for "leader" is “Balgabalgar”. The word is also aGaelic term meaningbog.[1][2]
From the foothills of theHerveys Range, the Bogan River rises to the west of the headwaters of the Little River at Cooks Myalls,[7] near Goonumbla, 19 kilometres (12 mi) north-west of Parkes. The river flows in a generally north-north-westerly direction pastTottenham,Peak Hill and throughNyngan. East of Bourke, the Bogan River joins with the Little Bogan River to form the Darling River. The Bogan River has over twenty tributaries. The main tributaries to the west are Bullock, Bulbodney, Pangee and Whitbarrow Creeks. The eastern catchment between the Bogan andMacquarie Rivers is ill-defined and has only one major tributary, Mulla Cowal.[3]: 11 Other sources have claimed that Bugwah Cowal, and Burrill, Duck and Gunningbar Creeks are important tributaries.[7]
Unlike the other main rivers of inland New South Wales, the Bogan does not rise in the well-watered highland areas, so its flow is low and erratic and not much use forirrigation.[8]
Majorweirs along the watercourse are at Muddal Weir, located west of Peak Hill; the Nyngan Weir, located north of Nyngan; andGongolgon Weir,[9] where themean daily flow exceeds 700 megalitres (25×10^6 cu ft).[3]: 16
TheKamilaroi Highway crosses the Bogan River 43 kilometres (27 mi) east of Bourke.[10]
A number of Aboriginal peoples lived in the lands surrounding the Bogan River for many thousands of years. In the area surrounding Peak Hill, the indigenous inhabitants of the area were theWiradjuri clan.[11] In the area surrounding Nyngan, theNgiyambaa Aboriginal people were the principal custodians of the land.[12]
The river was crossed byJohn Oxley in 1817, but was named byCharles Sturt in his 1828-9 expedition as New Years Creek on 1 January 1829. It was also called the Bogan River prior toMajor Sir Thomas Mitchell reaching here in1835.
The Albert Priest Channel was built in 1941 and this assists the water supplies of Nyngan and Cobar with Macquarie River water. It is about 60 km long, extending from Gunningbar Creek near Warren to the Bogan River upstream of Nyngan. A pipeline takes water from Nyngan to Cobar.[13]
In April 1990, major flooding occurred along the river and in Nyngan, and despite a massive effort by local people to build levee walls using sandbags, 2,500 people had to be evacuated from the town.[14] The floods caused A$50 million damage. Other significant flooding of the Bogan River occurred in 1928, 1950, 1989 and other years. In 1989 the significant flooding was downstream of Nyngan.[15]https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63179773[16]
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