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The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales
New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
 to its confluence with the Murray River
Murray River

The Murray River, or River Murray and sometimes informally referred to as the "Mighty Murray", is Australia's largest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between...
 at Wentworth
Wentworth, New South Wales

Wentworth is a small border town in the far south west of the state of New South Wales, Australia. It lies at the Confluence of Australia's two most important rivers, Darling River and Murray River, the latter forming the border with the state of Victoria to the south....
, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is long, making ity the longest river system in Australia.

Officially the Darling begins near Brewarrina at the confluence of the Culgoa
Culgoa River

The Culgoa River is a continuation of the Balonne River in southern Queensland and flows south-west to join the Darling River near Bourke, New South Wales. It is named for the Aboriginal word meaning "Running Through"....
 and Barwon
Barwon River (New South Wales)

The Barwon River flows through New South Wales, between the MacIntyre River and Gwydir River rivers, forming a section of the border with Queensland....
 rivers, streams which rise in the ranges of southern Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
.






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The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales
New South Wales

New South Wales is Australia's oldest and most populous States and territories of Australia, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria and south of Queensland....
 to its confluence with the Murray River
Murray River

The Murray River, or River Murray and sometimes informally referred to as the "Mighty Murray", is Australia's largest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between...
 at Wentworth
Wentworth, New South Wales

Wentworth is a small border town in the far south west of the state of New South Wales, Australia. It lies at the Confluence of Australia's two most important rivers, Darling River and Murray River, the latter forming the border with the state of Victoria to the south....
, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is long, making ity the longest river system in Australia.

Officially the Darling begins near Brewarrina at the confluence of the Culgoa
Culgoa River

The Culgoa River is a continuation of the Balonne River in southern Queensland and flows south-west to join the Darling River near Bourke, New South Wales. It is named for the Aboriginal word meaning "Running Through"....
 and Barwon
Barwon River (New South Wales)

The Barwon River flows through New South Wales, between the MacIntyre River and Gwydir River rivers, forming a section of the border with Queensland....
 rivers, streams which rise in the ranges of southern Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
. The whole Murray-Darling river system
Murray-Darling Basin

The Murray-Darling Basin is 3,375 km long, drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural area in Australia....
, one of the largest in the world, drains all of New South Wales west of the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the 4th longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan_Island,_Queensland off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through New South Wales, then into Victoria...
, much of northern Victoria
Victoria (Australia)

File:Map Victoria Aboriginal tribes .jpgVictoria is a States and territories of Australia located in the southeastern corner of Australia. It is the smallest mainland state in area but the most Population density and urbanised....
 and southern Queensland
Queensland

Queensland is a States and territories of Australia of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south....
 and parts of South Australia
South Australia

South Australia is a States and territories of Australia of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
. The Queensland headwaters of the Darling (the area now known as the Darling Downs) were gradually colonised from 1815 onward. In 1828 the explorer Charles Sturt
Charles Sturt

Captain Charles Napier Sturt was an England explorer of Australia, part of the European Exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from both Sydney and later from Adelaide....
 was sent by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Ralph Darling
Ralph Darling

General Sir Ralph Darling, Royal Guelphic Order was a United Kingdom colonial Governor and the seventh Governor of New South Wales ....
, to investigate the course of the Macquarie River
Macquarie River

The Macquarie River is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales. It headwaters rise in the central highlands of New South Wales near the town of Oberon, New South Wales....
. He discovered the Bogan
Bogan

The term bogan is Australian English and New Zealand English slang, usually pejorative or Self-deprecation, for a person who is, or is perceived to be, of a lower-class background....
 and then, early in 1829, the upper Darling, which he named after the Governor. In 1835 Major Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell

Major Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell , Surveyor and European exploration of Australia of south-eastern Australia, was born at Grangemouth in Stirlingshire, Scotland....
 travelled the whole length of the Darling, confirming Sturt's earlier discovery that it was a tributary of the Murray.

Although its flow is extraordinarily irregular (the river dried up on no fewer than forty-five occasions between 1885 and 1960), in the later 19th century the Darling became a major transportation route, the pastoralists of western New South Wales using it to send their wool by shallow-draft paddle steamer
Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a ship or boat driven by a steam engine that uses one or more paddle wheels to develop thrust for Ship propulsion. It is also a type of steamboat....
 from busy river ports such as Bourke
Bourke, New South Wales

Bourke is a town and Local Government Areas in Australia in the north of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located approximately 800 kilometres north-west of Sydney, on the south bank of the Darling River....
 and Wilcannia
Wilcannia, New South Wales

Wilcannia is a small town with a population of 759, located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia....
 to the South Australian railheads at Morgan
Morgan, South Australia

Morgan is a town in South Australia on the right bank of the Murray River, just downstream of where it turns from flowing roughly westwards to roughly southwards....
 and Murray Bridge
Murray Bridge, South Australia

Murray Bridge is the fourth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, South Australia and Whyalla, South Australia....
. But over the past century the river's importance as a transportation route has declined. In this period the Australian poet Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet . Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period, and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"....
 wrote a well-known ironic tribute to the Darling River.

Today the Darling is in poor health, suffering from overuse of its waters, pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
 from pesticide
Pesticide

A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used to kill a pest .A pesticide may be a chemical substance, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest ....
 runoff and prolonged drought
Drought

A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation ....
. In some years it barely flows at all. The river has a high salt content and declining water quality. To quote another Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson

Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet . Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period, and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"....
 poem:

See also

Major tributaries

  • Culgoa River
    Culgoa River

    The Culgoa River is a continuation of the Balonne River in southern Queensland and flows south-west to join the Darling River near Bourke, New South Wales. It is named for the Aboriginal word meaning "Running Through"....
  • Barwon River
    Barwon River (New South Wales)

    The Barwon River flows through New South Wales, between the MacIntyre River and Gwydir River rivers, forming a section of the border with Queensland....
  • Namoi River
    Namoi River

    The Namoi River is a major tributary of the Darling River in inland New South Wales, Australia....
  • Bogan River
    Bogan River

    The Bogan River was discovered by Charles Sturt in 1829 and is a minor river in the central western region of New South Wales, Australia.The Bogan starts near Forbes, New South Wales and flows generally north-north-west past Nyngan....
  • Warrego River
    Warrego River

    The Warrego River is situated in south west Queensland and north west New South Wales, Australia. It briefly flows westwards from its source in the Carnarvon Ranges towards Tambo, Queensland, but then turns to flow basically southwards from the Carnarvon Ranges in central Queensland through to its junction with the Darling River, downstream f...
  • Paroo River
    Paroo River

    The Paroo River is considered a major tributary of the Darling River in eastern Australia, yet in most years the flow dissipates before it reaches the Darling....


Population Centres

  • Bourke
    Bourke, New South Wales

    Bourke is a town and Local Government Areas in Australia in the north of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located approximately 800 kilometres north-west of Sydney, on the south bank of the Darling River....
  • Louth
    Louth, New South Wales

    Louth is a small town on the Darling River in New South Wales, Australia in Bourke Shire Council, 99 kilometres south west of Bourke, New South Wales and 132 kilometres north west of Cobar, New South Wales....
  • Tilpa
    Tilpa, New South Wales

    Tilpa is a town in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located on the Darling River, in the Central Darling Shire Council Local Government Areas of Australia, north west of the state capital, Sydney....
  • Wilcannia
    Wilcannia, New South Wales

    Wilcannia is a small town with a population of 759, located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia....
  • Menindee
    Menindee, New South Wales

    Menindee is a small town in the far west of New South Wales, Australia, in Central Darling Shire, on the banks of the Darling River, with a sign-posted population of 980....
  • Pooncarie
    Pooncarie, New South Wales

    Pooncarie is a small town in New South Wales, Australia in Wentworth Shire Council Shire. It is on the Darling River between Wentworth, New South Wales and Menindee, New South Wales....
  • Wentworth
    Wentworth, New South Wales

    Wentworth is a small border town in the far south west of the state of New South Wales, Australia. It lies at the Confluence of Australia's two most important rivers, Darling River and Murray River, the latter forming the border with the state of Victoria to the south....


External links

  • Daily Telegraph article - June 6, 2007
  • Flickr