Murrumbidgee
The Murrumbidgee at Gundagai
Origin	Australian Alps
Mouth	confluence with the Murray River
Length	900 km (mainstream)
Source elevation	1600 m
Basin area	80,000 km²

The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory. It is a major tributary of the Murray River. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 632 KB) Summary Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia Picture taken by AYArktos December 2005 Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Murrumbidgee River... [[ == Headline text == This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Looking across everlastings on Mt Hotham to Mt Feathertop; during winter these mountains are blanketed in snow The Australian Alps The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. ... The Murray River, or River Murray, is Australias second-longest river in its own right (the longest being its tributary the Darling). ... [[ == Headline text == This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Capital Sydney Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Professor Marie Bashir Premier Morris Iemma (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 50  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $305,437 (1st)  - Product per capita  $45,153/person (4th) Population (End of March 2006)  - Population  6,817,100 (1st)  - Density  8. ... Capital Canberra Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator none Chief Minister Jon Stanhope (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2006)  - Product ($m)  $19,167 (6th)  - Product per capita  $57,303/person (1st) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  333,667 (7th)  - Density  137. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Murray River, or River Murray, is Australias second-longest river in its own right (the longest being its tributary the Darling). ...

The word Murrumbidgee means "big water" or possibly "track goes down here" or "a very good place" in the Wiradjuri language, the local Aboriginal language.^[1] Wiradjuri (many other spellings; see Wiradjuri) is a Pama-Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup. ... Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. ...

Flow

The Murrumbidgee is a major tributary of the Murray River

Seasonally, this river system used to have large flows but now that it is a regulated stream, flows are only high when releases are made from upstream storages to supply downstream irrigators. Image File history File links Murray_darling_murrumbidgee_map. ... Image File history File links Murray_darling_murrumbidgee_map. ...

It is generally not appreciated that the ACT reaches of the Murrumbidgee is now affected by the complete elimination of large spring snow melt flows and a reduction of average annual flows of almost 50%, due to Tantangara Dam. Tantangara Dam was completed in 1960 on the headwaters of Murrumbidgee River and diverts approximately 99% of the river's flow at that point into Lake Eucumbene. This had extremely serious affects on native fish populations and other native aquatic life and has lead to serious habitat loss. It can be fairly said that the Murrumbidgee River through the ACT is only half the river it used to be (e.g. ^[2]). Tantangara Reservoir (also known as Tantangara Dam) is a dam constructed as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme in New South Wales, Australia. ... Lake Eucumbene (pronounced you-come-been) is a man-made lake on the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains of Southern New South Wales. ...

The mainstream of the river system flows for 900 km.^[3] The river's source in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains, part of the Australian Alps near Mount Kosciuszko and it flows to a confluence with the Murray River. For 66 kilometres, the river flows through the Australian Capital Territory near Canberra, picking up the important tributaries of the Molonglo and Cotter Rivers.^[4] The Murrumbidgee drains much of southern New South Wales and all of the Australian Capital Territory, and is an important source of irrigation water for the Riverina farming area. Worldwind image of Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains (known for short as the Snowies) are the highest Australian mountain range and contain the Australian mainlands highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2228 metres AHD. They are located in southern New South Wales and are part of the larger Australian... Looking across everlastings on Mt Hotham to Mt Feathertop; during winter these mountains are blanketed in snow The Australian Alps The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. ... Mount Kosciuszko, located in the Snowy Mountains, in Kosciuszko National Park, is the highest mountain in mainland Australia at 2,228 m above sea level. ... The Murray River, or River Murray, is Australias second-longest river in its own right (the longest being its tributary the Darling). ... Capital Canberra Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator none Chief Minister Jon Stanhope (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2006)  - Product ($m)  $19,167 (6th)  - Product per capita  $57,303/person (1st) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  333,667 (7th)  - Density  137. ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... Black swans on Molonglo River. ... The Cotter Dam in December 2005, surrounding country still showing the effects of the 2003 bushfires. ... Capital Canberra Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator none Chief Minister Jon Stanhope (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2006)  - Product ($m)  $19,167 (6th)  - Product per capita  $57,303/person (1st) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  333,667 (7th)  - Density  137. ... The Riverina is a prosperous agricultural region of south-western New South Wales (NSW), Australia. ...

The river system's current channels are relatively new with the Upper Murrumbidgee being an anabranch of the Tumut River (that once continued north along Mutta Mutta Creek) when geological uplift near Adaminaby diverted its flow. The contemporary Murrumbidgee starts at Gundagai but generally the stream that now includes the Upper Murrumbidgee is described as being part of the full river. ^[5]

Exploration

The Murrumbidgee River was known to Europeans before it was actually discovered by them.  In 1820 the explorer Charles Throsby informed the Governor of New South Wales that he anticipated finding "a considerable river of salt water (except at very wet seasons), called by the natives Mur-rum-big-gee".  Throsby reached the river in April 1821.^[6] Charles Throsby (1771 - 1828) was an Australian explorer who opend up much new land beyond the Blue Mountains. ...

In 1823, Brigade-Major John Ovens and Captain Mark Currie came to the upper Murrumbidgee when exploring south of Lake George.^[7]. In 1829, Charles Sturt and his party rowed and sailed down the length of the river from Narrandera to the Murray, and then down the Murray to the sea. They also rowed, sailing when possible, back up against the current.^[8] The Murrumbidgee basin was opened to settlement in the 1830s and soon became an important farming area. See also: 1822 in Australia, other events of 1823, 1824 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history. ... Harbour Master Captain Mark John Currie, Royal Navy. ... Lake George may refer to: Cities, towns, townships etc. ... Events May 2 - After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of the HMS Challenger, declared the Swan River Colony in Australia. ... Charles Sturt c. ...

Charles Sturt Monument located at Wagga Beach in Wagga Wagga

Ernest Favenc, when writing on Australian exploration, commented on the relatively tardy European discovery of the river and that the river retained a name used by Indigenous Australians: Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 782 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 767 pixel, file size: 187 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Charles Sturt Monument located at Wagga Beach in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia Photo taken by User:Bidgee File history Legend: (cur) = this is the... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 782 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 767 pixel, file size: 187 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Charles Sturt Monument located at Wagga Beach in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia Photo taken by User:Bidgee File history Legend: (cur) = this is the... Wagga Wagga (pronounced wogga wogga, informally called Wagga) is a city in New South Wales, Australia. ... Ernest Favenc (1845 – 1908) was an explorer of Australia. ... Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. ...

Here we may remark on the tenacity with which the Murrumbidgee River long eluded the eye of the white man. It is scarcely probable that Meehan and Hume, who on this occasion were within comparatively easy reach of the head waters, could have seen a new inland river at that time without mentioning the fact, but there is no record traceable anywhere as to the date of its discovery, or the name of its finder. When in 1823 Captain Currie and Major Ovens were led along its bank on to the beautiful Maneroo country by Joseph Wild, the stream was then familiar to the early settlers and called the Morumbidgee. Even in 1821, when Hume found the Yass Plains, almost on its bank, he makes no special mention of the river. From all this we may deduce the extremely probable fact that the position of the river was shown to some stockrider by a native, who also confided the aboriginal name, and so it gradually worked the knowledge of its identity into general belief. This theory is the more feasible as the river has retained its native name. If a white man of any known position had made the discovery, it would at once have received the name of some person holding official sway.^[9]

Floods

Flood marker on the Murrumbidgee River showing the height of the 1974 floods

The most notable flood was in 1852 when the town of Gundagai was swept away and 89 people, a third of the town's population was killed. The town was rebuilt on higher ground.^[10] Image File history File linksMetadata Murrumbidgee_River_Flood_Marker. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Murrumbidgee_River_Flood_Marker. ... See also: 1851 in Australia, other events of 1852, 1853 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history. ... Gundagai is a town located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong and Yambla Mountain ranges, 390 km south-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ...

In 1925, four people died and the flooding lasted for eight days.^[11] See also: 1924 in Australia, other events of 1925, 1926 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history. ...

The river has risen above 23 feet at Gundagai eighty times between 1852 and 2002, an average of just under once every eleven years. Since 1925, flooding has been minor with the exception of floods in 1974. In the 1852 disaster, the river rose to just over forty feet. The following year the river again rose to just over forty-one feet. The construction of Burrinjuck Dam from 1907 has significantly reduced flooding but, despite the dam, there were major floods in 1925 and 1974.^[12] See also: 1973 in Australia, other events of 1974, 1975 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history. ... Burrinjuck Dam is located 34 km southwest of Yass and 339 km south west of Sydney, Burrinjuck Dam (also known as Lake Burrunjuck) is a major dam on the Murrumbidgee River below its junction with the Goodradigbee and Yass Rivers. ... See also: 1906 in Australia, Other events of 1907, 1908 in Australia, Timeline of Australian history. ...

The reduction in floods has consequences for wildlife, birds and trees. There has been a decline in bird populations and black box flood plain eucalypt forest trees are starting to lose their crowns.^[13]

Wetlands

Major wetlands along the Murrumbidgee or associated with the Murrumbidgee catchment include:^[14]

• Lowbidgee Floodplain, 2,000 km² between Maude and Balranald
• Mid-Murrumbidgee Wetlands along the river from Narrandera to Carathool
• Tukerbill Swamp
• Tomneys Plain
• Micalong Swamp
• Lake George
• Yaouk Swamp
• Black Swamp & Coopers Swamp
• Big Badja Swamp

Major tributaries

Bridge over the Murrumbidgee at Carrathool, New South Wales.

• Gudgenby River
  • Naas River (Naas flows into Gudgeny before Murrumbidgee despite what appears on the 1:100 000 topographic map)
• Molonglo River
  • Queanbeyan River
• Cotter River
• Tumut River
• Yass River
• Lachlan River
  • Abercrombie River

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ... Carrathool is a village in the western Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, located in the Carrathool Shire. ... The Gudgenby River is a river in the Australian Capital Territory that flows predominantly through the forests of the Namadgi National Park. ... The Naas River rises in the southern ranges of the Australian Capital Territory within Namadgi National Park. ... Black swans on Molonglo River. ... The Queanbeyan River joins the Molonglo River at Oaks Estate just within the Australian Capital Territory. ... The Cotter Dam in December 2005, surrounding country still showing the effects of the 2003 bushfires. ... The Yass River is a river in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ... The Lachlan River is a significant river in central New South Wales, Australia. ... Abercrombie River, NSW The Abercrombie River is is a river in New South Wales, Australia. ...

Population centres

• Tharwa
• Yass
• Gundagai
• Wagga Wagga
• Narrandera
• Yanco
• Leeton
• Darlington Point
• Hay
• Balranald

Tharwa, (postcode 2620) is a village within the Australian Capital Territory south of Canberra. ... Yass is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Shire. ... Gundagai is a town located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong and Yambla Mountain ranges, 390 km south-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... Wagga Wagga (pronounced wogga wogga, informally called Wagga) is a city in New South Wales, Australia. ... Narrandera is a town and Local Government Area (see Narrandera Shire Council) in southern New South Wales, Australia. ... Yanco is a small town in the Local Government Area of Leeton in South Western New South Wales, Australia. ... Leeton is a town and Local Government Area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. ... Darlington Point is a small town on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in the Riverina district of western New South Wales, Australia. ... Hay is a town in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales (NSW), Australia. ... Balranald is a town and local government area in the south west of New South Wales, Australia. ...

River crossings

The list below notes past and present bridges that cross over the Murrumbidgee River. There were numerous other crossings before the bridges were constructed and many of these still exist today.

• Tharwa Bridge 1895 - present
• Near the confluence with the Cotter River
• Wee Jasper: Taemas Bridge 1930 -
• Gobarralong : Gobarralong Bridge
• Gundagai
  • Prince Alfred Bridge 1867 -
  • Railway bridge 1902 -
  • Sheahan Bridge 1977 -
• Wagga Wagga
  • Eunony Bridge 1975 -
  • Hampden Bridge 1895 - 1995
  • Gobbagombalin Bridge 1997 -
  • Murrumbidgee River Rail Bridge 1881 - 2006 (Replaced with concrete bridge)
  • Wiradjuri Bridge opened 1995
• Narrandera
  • Rail bridge
• Darlington Point
  • concrete bridge
• Yanco: Euroley Bridge 2003 - (1929 Dare truss bridge was replaced by a concrete bridge in 2003)
• Carrathool - the last surviving example of a bascule lift span in a timber truss road bridge

Tharwa Bridge looking South; Tharwa is to the right Tharwa Bridge and the Murrumbidgee River after rain, 2005 (looking South); Tharwa is to the right. ... The Cotter Dam in December 2005, surrounding country still showing the effects of the 2003 bushfires. ... Wee Jasper is a small picturesque village of about 100 people in a pretty valley at the foot of the Brindabella Ranges, on the backwaters of Burrinjuck Dam. ... Gobarralong is a rural community in the central east part of the Riverina. ... Gundagai is a town located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong and Yambla Mountain ranges, 390 km south-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... Hampden Bridge Design Hampden Bridge is a wooden Allan Truss bridge over the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales which opened to traffic on 11 November 1895 and was closed in October 1995 when the Wiradjuri Bridge opened. ... Wrought iron lattice railway bridge Murrumbidgee River Rail Bridge is located over the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. ... Yanco is a small town in the Local Government Area of Leeton in South Western New South Wales, Australia. ... Carrathool is a village in the western Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, located in the Carrathool Shire. ... Salmon Bay Bridge, Seattle, USA; a single leaf through truss with an above-deck counterweight A bascule bridge is a drawbridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or leaf, throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...	The Prince Alfred bridge crosses the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai, photographed c. 1885 Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...	Former Wagga Wagga railway bridge Image File history File linksMetadata Wagga-railway-bridge. ...	New concrete railway bridge at Wagga Wagga Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (600 × 800 pixel, file size: 89 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) New concrete bridge over the Murrumbidgee in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. ...
Hampden Bridge at Wagga Wagga Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 663 KB) Summary Bridge over Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales Built 1895 an example of an Allen Truss bridge Picture by AYArktos Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Wagga Wagga, New South Wales...

References

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 7 is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... July 13 is the 194th day of the year (195th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... July 13 is the 194th day of the year (195th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Charles Sturt c. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Ernest Favenc (1845 – 1908) was an explorer of Australia. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Nomination of Lower Murrumbidgee Catchment for UNESCO's HELP Pilot Demonstration Status by CSIRO
• Murrumbidgee River Flows recorded by NSW Water
• River pilot maps 1880-1918 / Echuca Historical Society