Glenelg River (Victoria): Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=JulyJune 20132023}}

| subdivision_name2 = [[Victoria (Australiastate)|Victoria]], [[South Australia]]

| length = {{convert|350|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name=ghcma>{{cite web|url=http://www.ghcma.vic.gov.au/coast-and-marine/estuaries/|title=Estuary facts and figures: Glenelg|work=Coast & Marine: Estuaries|publisher=Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority|access-date=|accessdate=4 June 2014}}</ref>

| source1_location = [[Grampians National Park]], [[Victoria (Australiastate)|Victoria]]

| extra = <ref name=bonzle>{{cite web|url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=211795&cmd=sp|title=Map of Glenelg River|work=Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia|access-date=|accessdate=4 June 2014}}</ref>

The '''Glenelg River''', a [[perennial river]] of the Glenelg [[Hopkins River|Hopkins]] catchment, is located in the [[Australia]]n states of [[Victoria, Australia(state)|Victoria]] and [[South Australia]].

The river was named after [[Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg|Colonial Secretary Baron Glenelg, Charles Grant]], by [[Thomas Mitchell (explorer)|Major Thomas Mitchell]] in August 1836.<ref name=mitchell>{{Citation |last=Mitchell |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Mitchell (explorer) |title=Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia |place=London |publisher=Boone |year=1838 |volume=Vol. 2 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13033 |format=e-book }}</ref><ref name=bird>{{cite web |last=Bird |first=Eric |date=12 October 2006 |title=Place Names on the Coast of Victoria |publisher=The Australian National Placename Survey (ANPS) |url=http://www.anps.org.au/documents/VIC_coastal.pdf |format=PDF |accessdateaccess-date=23 July 2008 |archiveurlarchive-url=https://wwwweb.webcitationarchive.org/5wNhWF4B7?url=web/20110218121208/http://www.anps.org.au/documents/VIC_coastal.pdf |archivedatearchive-date=1018 February 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>

The Glenelg was important to [[Indigenous Australia]]ns. It formed the traditional tribal boundaries for the nomadic [[Bungandidj people|Bungandidj]] people (western bank) and [[Gunditjmara]] people (eastern bank) people from two distinct language groups. Little archeological evidence has been found of Bunganditj in-habitationinhabitation along the riverbanks itselfof the river, including in the regions manyregional caves. However, there is strong evidence of their presence infurther nearbytowards the coastal areas.<ref>{{cite webbook|url=http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/313339/Lower-Glenelg-National-Park-Management-Plan.pdf|type=PDF|title=Lower Glenelg National Park Management Plan|date=May 1991|work=Department of Conservation & Environment|publisher=[[GovernmentVictoria ofState Victoria (Australia)|Government of Victoria]]|accessdateaccess-date=4 June 2014|page=17|isbn=0-7306-2068-9|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103002421/http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/313339/Lower-Glenelg-National-Park-Management-Plan.pdf|archivedatearchive-date=3 November 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> While strong evidence of Gunditjmara activity has been found along the river's eastern hinterland<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ntsv.com.au/document/NTSV-Gunditjmara-Background.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=13 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423002200/http://www.ntsv.com.au/document/NTSV-Gunditjmara-Background.pdf |archive-date=23 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and shell [[midden]]s discovered may indicate multiple nomadic tribes camping along the river that may have used [[message stick]]s to communicate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://environmentvictoria.org.au/content/keicha-day|title = Keicha Day|date = 5 April 2005}}</ref> It is not known how long indigenous Australians had been associated with the river, however it is estimated to have been many thousands of years.

Major Thomas Mitchell was the first European to visit and cross the river in August 1836, noting its width and its suitability for boating, naming it for Colonial Secretary Baron Glenelg, Charles Grant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.swvic.org/dartmoor/mitchell_1836.htm|title = Major Thomas Mitchell, August 1836, Glenelg River, Dartmoor, South-West Victoria, Australia}}</ref> A cenotaph at Nelson marks the crossing point. The first Europeans arrived in 1840. Thomas Ricketts moved from the [[Barwon River (Victoria)|Barwon River]] to the Glenelg and established "Clunie" on its southern boundary.<ref name="Glenelg River in History">{{cite news|title=Gleneg River in History|page=8|newspaper=The Argus|date=19 April 1924|accessdate=}}</ref> Historians noted the hostility of the Indigenous people of the area who drove Ricketts out of the settlement and conflicted with many others. Addison and Murray from [[Van Diemen's Land]] set up the sheep run Dunrobin in January, 1840 after which more than half a dozen squatters others followed, and by the end of the year, many properties had river frontages and the population grew gradually thereafter.

A punt built in 1848 by Henry Kellett at Nelson was the first permanent crossing of the river. In 1860 a body of Mr Hunt and his wife were discovered under a bridge at Casterton, after which Mr Waines was subsequently tried and hanged for the murder.<ref name="Glenelg River in History" /> On 1 July 1861, at Chetwynd station, a large tornado occurred reportedly killing a man.<ref name="Glenelg River in History"/><ref>{{cite news|title=THE TORNADO AT CHETWYND STATION ON 1 JULY 1861|newspaper=Bell's Life in Sydney and Sporting Chronicle|date=15 February 1862|accessdate= }}</ref> In 1866, one of the earliest artists depictions of the river by engraver Frederick Grosse "View of the River Glenelg, South Australia" was published depicting boating among its steep limestone cliffs.<ref>{{Cite news|author1=Grosse, Frederick| title=VIEW ON THE RIVER GLENELG SOUTH AUSTRALIA|publication-date=1866|publisher=Ebenezer and David Syme|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/167553367|accessdateaccess-date=5 June 2014 }}</ref> The earliest crossings over the Glenelg were at Casterton. The first crossing over the wider reaches of the lower Glenelg was constructed out of wood in 1893 in Nelson. It was replaced by the current steel cantilever bridge in 1963.

The Glenelg River rises at an elevation of {{convert|760|m}} [[Australian Height Datum|above sea level]] below The Chimney Pots within the Grampians National Park, on the eastern slopes of the Victoria Range, and west of the Serra Range, within the Grampian Range. The river flows north through swampland before heading west, transversed by the [[Henty Highway]], and then south where the river is impounded by the [[Rocklands Reservoir]], formed by a concrete{{endash}}walled [[gravity dam|gravity]] [[dam]] with embankment sections constructed in 1953. The [[reservoir (water)|reservoir]] has a maximum capacity of {{convert|348300|ML|impgal USgal}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gwmwater.org.au/information/information-reservoir-levels/rocklands-reservoir|title=Rocklands Reservoir|publisher=GWMWater|date=4 June 2014|accessdateaccess-date=4 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306143828/http://www.gwmwater.org.au/information/information-reservoir-levels/rocklands-reservoir|archive-date=6 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=ancold>{{cite web|url=http://www.ancold.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Dams-Australia-2010-v1-for-website.xls|format=Excel (requires download)|title=Register of Large Dams in Australia |publisher=[[Australian National Committee on Large Dams]]|year=2010|accessdateaccess-date=4 June 2014|work=Dams information|archive-date=12 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212120804/http://www.ancold.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Dams-Australia-2010-v1-for-website.xls|url-status=dead}}</ref> Leaving the dam wall, the river flows west through [[state forest]]ry areas towards {{VICcity|Balmoral}}, where the river is joined by the Salt, Mather, Yarramyljup, and Schofield Creeks, flowing to the east, north, then west of Balmoral, through the settlement of {{VICcity|Harrow}}, where the river is met by another creek, also called Salt Creek. The [[Chetwynd River]], draining the region north of {{VICcity|Casterton}} and {{VICcity|Coleraine}}, joins the Glenelg east of Burke Bridge. The Glenelg flows generally southwest, to the west of Dergholm State Park towards Dergholm, joined by a number of minor tributaries. From here the river flows south by east, through the town of Casterton, and south of which the {{convert|220|km|adj=on}} [[Wannon River]] forms its [[confluence]] with the Glenelg. Flowing south by west, the Glenelg flows through the Wilkin Flora and Fauna Reserve before heading due south, met by the [[Stokes River (Victoria)|Stokes River]] prior to flowing through the town of {{VICcity|Dartmoor}} where the [[Crawford River (Victoria)|Crawford River]] forms its confluence with the Glenelg. Flowing south, then sharply west and crossing the state border into South Australia, the Glenelg flows through {{SAcity|Donovans}} before heading east back into Victoria. The river reaches its [[mouth (river)|mouth]] at Nelson and much of the latter [[watercourse|course]] is through the Lower Glenelg National Park. From its highest point, the Glenelg River descends {{convert|760|m}}, joined by thirty{{endash}}two named [[tributary|tributaries]] over its {{convert|350|km|adj=on}} course.<ref name=ghcma/><ref name=bonzle/>

{{portalPortal|VictoriaAustralia|South Australia}}

* {{cite web|url=http://www.ghcma.vic.gov.au/|title=Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority|publisher=[[GovernmentVictoria ofState Victoria (Australia)|Government of Victoria]]|date=2014}}

* {{cite web|url=http://www.ghcma.vic.gov.au/media/uploads/glenelg_estuary_managment_plan.pdf|title=Glenelg Estuary Management Plan|work=Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority|publisher=[[GovernmentVictoria ofState Victoria (Australia)|Government of Victoria]]|date=}}

* {{cite map|url=http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/543099/Map-Grampians-NP.pdf|title=Camping in the Grampians National Park|work=[[Parks Victoria]]|publisher=[[GovernmentVictoria ofState Victoria (Australia)|Government of Victoria]]|date=August 2012|type=PDF map}}

{{Rivers of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment |state=autocollapse}}

{{Rivers of Victoria (Australia)}}