Dunham River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the Kimberley region of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

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The river rises between the Durack Range and the O'Donnell Range then flows north west parallel with the Great Northern Highway

Great Northern Highway

The Great Northern Highway is a generally north-south Western Australian highway which links the state's capital Perth with its most northern port, Wyndham. It is in length, with being National Highway...

 to the East and the Bedford Stock Route to the West. The river then crosses the Great Northern Highway near Cabbage Tree Creek and continues North West crossing the Victoria Highway

Victoria Highway

The Victoria Highway is a 524 kilometre highway linking the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia with the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. It is a part of the Perth - Darwin National Highway link. It is signed as National Highway 1 and is also a part of the Highway 1 network. It is...

 and discharging into the Ord River

Ord River

The Ord River is a 320-kilometre-long river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It was named in honour of Harry Ord, Governor of Western Australia from 1877 to 1880....

 west of Kununurra

Kununurra, Western Australia

Kununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley Region approximately from the border with the Northern Territory. Kununurra was initiated to service the Ord River Irrigation scheme....

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There are five tributaries

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Dunham; Cabbage Tree Creek, Pelican Creek, Macphee Creek, Rabbit Creek and Pumpkin Lookout Creek.

The rivers flows through one permanent waterhole, Flying Fox waterhole, toward the end of its journey.

The Dunham river is often incorrectly referred to as the Denham River.

The river is prone to flooding during rain events. In March 2000, the peak flow of the river was estimated at 2700 m³ s^-1 during floods.

The river was named in 1882 by explorer and Kimberley pioneer Michael Durack

Michael Durack

Michael Patrick Durack, was a pastoralist, and Western Australian pioneer. He was the son of Patrick Durack and Mary Costello, both Irish-Australians....

 after the clergyman, Reverend Father Dunham of Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, who in 1871 was the first Reverend to visit Cooper Creek

Cooper Creek

Cooper Creek is one of the most famous and yet least visited rivers in Australia. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its tributaries and is one of three major Queensland river systems that flow into the Lake Eyre Basin...

 in outback Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

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