The Ovens 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 abse ...

of the north-east

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

and

Hume Hume most commonly refers to: * David Hume (1711–1776), Scottish philosopher Hume may also refer to: People * Hume (surname) * Hume (given name) * James Hume Nisbet (1849–1923), Scottish-born novelist and artist In fiction * Hume, ...

regions of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

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

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 East and West Branches of the river, the Ovens River rises in the

Victorian Alps The Victorian Alps, also known locally as the High Country, is a large mountain system in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. Occupying the majority of eastern Victoria, it is the southwestern half of the Australian Alps (the other ...

, at the settlement of

Harrietville Harrietville is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, in the Alpine Shire. At the , Harrietville and the surrounding area had a population of 338. History Harrietville was named after the first white woman who lived ...

, sourced by runoff from high slopes located within the

Alpine National Park The Alpine National Park is a national park located in the Central Highlands and Alpine regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located northeast of Melbourne. It is the largest National Park in Victoria, and covers much of the hig ...

and the

Mount Buffalo National Park The Mount Buffalo National Park is a national park in the alpine region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is located approximately northeast of Melbourne in the Australian Alps. Within the national park is Mount Buffalo, a moderately ...

. The river flows generally north by west and is joined by eighteen tributaries including Morses Creek at

Bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) *Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage nam ...

, the

Buckland River The Buckland River (''Kaŋiq'' in Inupiaq) is a stream, long, in the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows northwest to the Chukchi Sea at Eschscholtz Bay, southwest of Selawik in the Northwest Arctic Borough. Naval officer Frederick William Beech ...

at , the Buffalo River and then the King River at . The river descends over its

course Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

. The

Great Alpine Road } The Great Alpine Road (B500) is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, and passing through the Victorian Alps. The road was given its current name because it was consid ...

follows much of the course of the river in its upper reaches.

Ovens Valley

The river flows through the Ovens Valley, which is a popular tourist destination servicing the ski fields of

Mount Hotham Mount Hotham is a mountain located in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, in the Australian state of Victoria. The mountain is located approximately north east of Melbourne, from Sydney, and from Adelaide by road. The nearest ...

Mount Buffalo Mount Buffalo is a mountain plateau of the Australian Alps and is within the Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, Australia. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is noted for its dramatic scenery. The summit of the high ...

and Falls Creek, the Alpine National Park and the Mount Buffalo National Park. Air sports such as

gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word ''soaring'' is a ...

and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

are also practised here, and there is a hedge

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that le ...

at Wandiligong. A disused railway line has been converted to the

Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail The Murray to Mountains Rail Trail is a cycling and walking rail trail in northern Victoria, Australia. It extends from Wangaratta to Bright, with a side branch to Beechworth, following the route of the former Bright railway line. This side branc ...

, a cycle trail which stretches from Wangaratta and

Beechworth Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859. Beechworth's many histor ...

. There are several

wineries A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

in the area, and many

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant '' Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to w ...

farms. The wineries are a popular stop for cyclists on their touring rides. Tobacco was a major industry in the valley until 2006; that year saw the

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the lar ...

and

Philip Morris Phil(l)ip or Phil Morris may refer to: Companies *Altria, a conglomerate company previously known as Philip Morris Companies Inc., named after the tobacconist **Philip Morris USA, a tobacco company wholly owned by Altria Group ** Philip Morris Inte ...

companies decide to no longer buy Australian tobacco, and the Federal Government began implementing a plan to transition growers out of this industry. Reminders of the valley's long and prosperous tobacco history continue to dot the valley, such as the many tobacco kilns.

Etymology

Hamilton Hume and William Hovell explored the area in 1824, naming the Ovens River in honour of Major

John Ovens John Ovens (1788 – 7 December 1825) was an Irish-born soldier, civil engineer and explorer of Australia. He was aide-de-camp to Sir Thomas Brisbane, governor of New South Wales and explored the Murrumbidgee River and Monaro (New South W ...

, the Secretary to

Thomas Brisbane Major General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he had served, he was appoint ...

, the Colonial

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...

. In the Aboriginal Waywurru language, the river has two names, ''Burwang'', with no clearly defined meaning; and ''Djerrang'', meaning "leaf".

List of towns

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had an estimated urban population of 19,318 at June 2018. Wangaratta has recorded a population growth rate of almost 1% annually ...

* Everton *

Myrtleford Myrtleford is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia, 280 km (170 miles) northeast of Melbourne and 46 km (29 miles) southeast of Wangaratta. Myrtleford is part of the Alpine Shire local government area and in 2016 the town had a p ...

* Ovens *

* Wandiligong *

* Porepunkah

Gallery

PorepunkahOvensRiver.JPG, The Ovens River at Porepunkah. MyrtlefordVic20050421gTobaccoCrop.JPG, Tobacco crops in the Ovens Valley. Ovens Valley and MUMC from Mt Feathertop.jpg, The Ovens Valley, as seen from

Mount Feathertop Mount Feathertop is the second-highest mountain in the Australian state of Victoria and is part of the Australian Alps and is located within the Alpine National Park. It rises to and is usually covered in snow from June to September. Unlike m ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Rivers of Victoria (Australia) North-East catchment Rivers of Hume (region) Tributaries of the Murray River Victorian Alps Hume Highway