The Albert River is a perennial river located in the

South East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

region of Queensland, Australia. Its

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

lies within the Gold Coast and

Scenic Rim Region The Scenic Rim Region is a local government area in West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s an ...

local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phra ...

and covers an area of . The river provides potable water for the town of Beaudesert.

Course and features

Formed by the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Right and Left Branches of the river that begin in the

Lamington National Park The Lamington National Park is a national park, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border in Australia. From Southport on the Gold Coast the park is to the southwest and Brisbane is north. T ...

and drain the northern slopes of the Border Ranges within the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs roug ...

, the Albert River rises below Neglected Mountain and east of the settlement of . The river flows generally north, joined by six minor

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

before reaching its confluence with the

Logan River The Logan River ( Yugambeh: ''Dugulumba'') is a perennial river located in the Scenic Rim, Logan and Gold Coast local government areas of the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The -long river is one of the dominant waterways in Sout ...

between and . From there the Logan flows a further before entering Moreton Bay. The Albert River catchment is bounded by the McPherson Range to the south, the Beechmont Range in the east and the Jinbroken Range and Birnam Range to the west. The river's upper catchment is heavily influenced by the national parks of Tamborine, Main Range and the

Lamington Plateau The Lamington National Park is a national park, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border in Australia. From Southport on the Gold Coast the park is to the southwest and Brisbane is north. T ...

, and numerous local government-owned reserves and conservation areas, that comprise part of the Shield Volcano Group of the UNESCO World Heritage Site

Gondwana Rainforests of Australia The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world. Collectively, the rainforests are a World Heritage Site with fifty separate res ...

. Tributaries of the Albert River include the Stockyard Creek, Duck Creek, Kerry Creek, Cainbable Creek, Canungra Creek and Bidaddaba Creek. The Albert River is crossed by the Pacific Motorway, the Old Pacific Highway, and the Gold Coast railway line at .

History

Yugembah (also known as Yugumbir, Jugambel, Jugambeir, Jugumbir, Jukam, Jukamba) is one of the

Australian Aboriginal languages The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

in areas that include the Albert River, Gold Coast, Logan, Scenic Rim, Beaudesert,

Beenleigh Beenleigh is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Beenleigh had a population of 8,252 people. A government survey for the new town was conducted in 1866. The town is the terminus for the Beenlei ...

Coolangatta Coolangatta is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is the Gold Coast's southernmost suburb and it borders New South Wales. In the , Coolangatta had a population of 5,948 people. Geography Coolangatta and its ...

Coomera Coomera is a town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Coomera had a population of 13,305 people. Geography Located next to the Pacific Motorway, Coomera is close to Pimpama, Hope Island, Willow Vale, Wongaw ...

Pimpama Pimpama is a northern suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Pimpama had a population of 9,396 people. The name is of Aboriginal origin. The suburb contains numerous schools with the first opening in the 1870s. A sm ...

, Tamborine and Tweed River Valley, within the local government boundaries of the

City of Gold Coast The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774 it is the second most populous local government area in Australia (City of Brisbane being th ...

City of Logan Logan City is a local government area situated within the south of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated between the City of Brisbane to the north and the City of Gold Coast to the south, the City also bor ...

, Scenic Rim Regional Council and the Tweed River Valley. Mununjali (also known as Mananjahli, Manaldjahli and Manandjali) is a dialect of the

Yugambeh language Yugambeh (or ''Mibanah'', from , 'language of men' or 'sound of eagles'), also known as Tweed-Albert Bandjalang, is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Yugambeh living in South-East Queensland between and within the Logan River ...

. The Mununjali language area includes landscape within the local government boundaries of the

Scenic Rim The Scenic Rim is a group of forested mountain ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located south of Brisbane agglomeration, straddling the border between south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. In 2021, the ...

and

Beaudesert Shire The Shire of Beaudesert was a local government area located in South East Queensland, Australia, stretching from the New South Wales border, along the Gold Coast hinterland to the urban fringes of the cities of Brisbane and Ipswich. The Shire c ...

Councils. The river was named by Robert Dixon in honour of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. A rise in the Albert River would see access to

O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat is a tourist destination in the locality of O'Reilly, Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. It is situated in the heart of the Lamington National Park, two hours by road south of Brisbane and 90 minute ...

difficult or impossible during its early years of operation. Floods have been recorded on the Albert River in 1925, 1947, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1989, 2013 and 2017 (

Cyclone Debbie Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie in 2017 was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike Queensland since Marcia in 2015, and was the costliest tropical cyclone in Australia since Yasi in 2011. Forming as a tropical low on 23 March, the low gradu ...

). In 1884, the ''S.S. Walrus'' ran aground on the bank of the river. The vessel had been used as a floating sugar mill and distillery.

Proposed dam

In 1989, the

Goss Government The Goss Ministry was a Ministry of the Government of Queensland, led by Labor Premier Wayne Goss. It commenced on 7 December 1989, five days after the Cooper Ministry, led by Premier Russell Cooper of the National Party, was defeated at the ...

rejected a proposal to build Wolffdene Dam on the Albert River. Later, a dam near Glendower Homestead was once planned in a Queensland Government water strategy report from 1990. The option was discarded after it was revealed the site was too costly to build a dam for the amount of water it would have provided.

Environmental concerns

The water quality of the Albert River remains in relatively good condition until it merges with the Logan River where the quality declines. Residential and industry development and land clearing in the catchment have deteriorated the water quality of the Albert River, particularly in its lower reaches. Key environmental issues that face the catchment are rapid population increase and development; altered flow patterns of the creek causing active erosion; deteriorating water quality; increased noise and vehicle movements; waste disposal; invasion of bushland by exotic plants and animals; management of the extractive industries; and day-to-day behaviour of residents and workers of the catchment.

Gallery

Tamborine Mountain 3.jpg, View west over and the Albert River, 2010 Albert_River_Queensland.jpg, The Albert River valley and farmlands, south east of . Cainbable Creek flows into the Albert River from the east.

References