The Coen River is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...
located in the
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
,
Australia.
The headwaters of the river rise at 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 Pandanus Creek and an unnamed creek near Bend along the
Peninsula Developmental Road in 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 river flows in an easterly direction crossing the Peninsula Developmental Road at
Coen then veering north east through mostly uninhabited country including
Mungkan Kandju National Park then heading east and eventually discharging into the
Archer River
The Archer River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland, Australia.
Course and features
The headwaters of the river rise in the McIlwraith Range and it flows west, traversing tropical savanna plains and wetland ...
.
[ The Coen River is a tributary of the Archer river and was for a time known as the South Coen River.
The catchment area of the river occupies an of which an area of is composed of ]riverine
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...
wetlands.
The present (1996) Pennefather River
The Pennefather River is a river located on the western Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.
Location and features
Formed by the confluence of a series of waterways including the Fish Creek in the Port Musgrave Aggregation ...
(renamed 1894) was originally called the Coen River by Jan Carstenszoon
Jan Carstenszoon or more commonly Jan Carstensz In Dutch patronyms ending in -szoon were almost universally abbreviated to -sz was a 17th-century Dutch explorer. In 1623, Carstenszoon was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to lead an ex ...
in honour of Jan Pieterszoon Coen
Jan Pieterszoon Coen (, 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was an officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of Batavia, ...
, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese for ...
.''The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606-1765'' by J. E. Heeres, 1894
/ref> The present Archer River was probably confused by Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
with Carstenszoon's Coen River.
See also
* List of rivers of Queensland
References
{{Rivers of Queensland
Rivers of Far North Queensland