Brodribb River

The Brodribb River is a perennial river of the Snowy River catchment, located in the East Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.

Brodribb
Brodribb River, Marlo from Bridge
Mouth of the Brodribb River in Victoria
EtymologyIn honour of William Adams Brodribb.[1][2]
Location
CountryAustralia
StateVictoria
RegionSouth East Corner (IBRA), East Gippsland
Local government areaShire of East Gippsland
Physical characteristics
SourceErrinundra Plateau
 • locationErrinundra National Park
 • elevation334 m (1,096 ft)
Source confluenceSouth Branch and North Branch of the Brodribb River
Mouthconfluence with the Snowy River
 • location
Lake Corringle-Lake Wat Wat Wildlife Reserve
 • coordinates
37°46′45″S 148°30′52″E
 • elevation
41 m (135 ft)
Length105 km (65 mi)
Basin features
River systemSnowy River catchment
Tributaries 
 • leftEllery Creek, B A Creek, Ferntree Creek, Big River, Rich River, Tooti Creek, Jack River, Cabbage Tree Creek
 • rightGoongerah Creek, Joy Creek, Dead Bull Creek, Dead Calf Creek, Ironbark Creek, Martin Creek (Victoria), Sardine Creek, Wild Cow Creek, Dynamite Creek, Gravelly Creek, Camp Creek (Victoria)
National parkErrinundra NP
[3][4]

Course and features

Formed by the confluence of the South Branch and the North Branch of the river, the Brodribb River rises below the Errinundra Plateau within the Errinundra National Park east of the locality of Goongerah. The river flows generally south by west by south, joined by the Big, Rich, and Jack rivers and sixteen minor tributaries, flowing through a series of reserves and through Lake Curlip, before reaching its confluence with the Snowy River, within the Lake Corringle-Lake Wat Wat Wildlife Reserve in the Shire of East Gippsland. The river descends 337 metres (1,106 ft) over its 105-kilometre (65 mi) course.[4]

An area of 17 square kilometres (6.6 sq mi) of wetlands along the lower reaches of the river has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports a small breeding population of the endangered Australasian bittern.[5]

In its upper reaches, the river is traversed on multiple occasions by the Bonang Highway. In its lower reaches, the river is traversed by the Princess Highway, east of Orbost; and the Marlo Road, north of Marlo.[4]

The catchment area of the river is administered by the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority.

Aboriginal massacre

At some time in 1850, 15 to 20 Gunai people were killed on the banks of the Brodribb River, a few miles south east of Orbost. The killing was reported to have been revenge for the murder of station cook Dan Dempsey, for lacing a gift of flour to local Gunai people with arsenic. The Aboriginal police were believed to have been involved in the massacre.[6]

Etymology

The river was named in honour of William Adams Brodribb,[1] an early settler.[2]

See also

References
  1. Finch, Janette; Teale, Ruth (1969). "Brodribb, William Adams (1809 - 1886)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  2. Blake, Les (1977). Place names of Victoria. Adelaide: Rigby. p. 294. ISBN 0-7270-0250-3., cited in Bird, Eric (12 October 2006). "Place Names on the Coast of Victoria" (PDF). The Australian National Placename Survey (ANPS). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  3. "Brodribb River: 24604". Vicnames. Government of Victoria. 2 May 1966. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  4. "Map of Brodribb River, VIC". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  5. "IBA: Lower Brodribb River". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  6. "Colonial Frontier Massacres in Central and Eastern Australia 1788-1930". Centre for 21st Century Humanities, University of Newcastle. Retrieved 15 October 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.