The Bass River, a

perennial river A perennial stream is a stream that has continuous flow of surface water throughout the year in at least parts of its catchment during seasons of normal rainfall, Water Supply Paper 494. as opposed to one whose flow is intermittent. In the abs ...

of the

Western Port Western Port, (Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it is do ...

catchment, is located in the

West Gippsland West Gippsland, a region of Gippsland in Victoria, Australia, extends from the southeastern limits of metropolitan Melbourne and Western Port Bay in the west to the Latrobe Valley in the east, and is bounded by the Strzelecki Ranges to the south ...

region of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Location and features

The Bass River rises below the locale of Woodleigh, west of the

South Gippsland Highway The South Gippsland Highway is a partially divided highway in Victoria, Australia which connects the city of Melbourne with the South Gippsland region of Victoria, ending in the town of Sale. The highway begins at Lonsdale Street (Princes High ...

, with its headwaters drawn from the

Strzelecki Ranges The Strzelecki Ranges (pronounced STREHZ leckee) is a set of low mountain ridges located in the West Gippsland and South Gippsland regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The Ranges are named after Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, a Polish expl ...

, north of the town of . The river flows generally south by west, joined by one minor

tributary 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

river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current reducing the carrying ...

and emptying into the Western Port, west of the town of within the

Bass Coast Shire The Bass Coast Shire is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the southeastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 35,327. It includes the towns of Bass, Cape Paterson, Cape Woolama ...

. The river descends over its combined course. The river is traversed by the Bass Highway near the town of Bass.

Etymology

In the

Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

Boonwurrung language The Boonwurrung language, also anglicised as Bunurong, Bun wurrung, and other variant spellings, is an Aboriginal Australian language traditionally spoken by the Bunurong people, Boonwurrung people of the Kulin Nation, Kulin nation of central V ...

the river is given two names, ''Weandon yallock'', with ''yallock'' meaning "river" or creek"; and ''Tullungurn'', with no defined meeting. The river is now named in honour of

George Bass George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia. Early years Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George ...

, who came to the river and surrounding area in January 1798 on his 'whaleboat' expedition of the southeast coast of Australia.

References

External links

* website * Rivers of Victoria (Australia) Port Phillip and Western Port catchment Rivers of Gippsland (region) Western Port {{VictoriaAU-river-stub

Location and features

Etymology

See also

References

External links