The Victoria River is a river in the
bioregion
A bioregion is a geographical area, on land or at sea, defined not by administrative boundaries, but by distinct characteristics such as plant and animal species, ecological systems, soils and landforms, Human settlement, human settlements, and ...
of
Victoria Bonaparte
The Victoria Bonaparte, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
of Australia. It flows for from its source south of the
Judbarra / Gregory National Park to the
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf is a large body of water off the coast of the Northern Territory and Western Australia and part of the Timor Sea. It was named after Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon and King of Naples (1806–1808) and then Spain (18 ...
in the
Timor Sea
The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...
.
History
On 12 September 1819,
Philip Parker King
Phillip Parker King (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts.
Early life and education
King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna Josepha King ''née'' Coom ...
came to the mouth of the Victoria and, twenty years later, in 1839, Captain
J. C. Wickham arrived at the same spot in and named the river after
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. Crew members of the Beagle followed the river upstream into the interior for more than .
In August 1855
Augustus Gregory
Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...
sailed from
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
and at the end of September reached the estuary of the Victoria River. He sailed up the river and carried out extensive exploration.
In 1847
Edmund Kennedy
Edmund Besley Court Kennedy J. P. (5 September 1818 – December 1848) was an explorer in Australia in the mid-19th century. He was the Assistant-Surveyor of New South Wales, working with Thomas Mitchell (explorer), Sir Thomas Mitchell. Kenned ...
went on an expedition to trace the route of the "River Victoria" of
Thomas Mitchell with a view to finding whether
there was a practical route to the
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...
. This "River Victoria" was later renamed the
Barcoo River
The Barcoo River in western Queensland, Australia rises on the northern slopes of the Warrego Range, flows in a south-westerly direction and unites with the Thomson River to form Cooper Creek. The first European to see the river was Thomas ...
.
Location and features
Flowing for from its source, south of the
Judbarra / Gregory National Park, until it enters
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf is a large body of water off the coast of the Northern Territory and Western Australia and part of the Timor Sea. It was named after Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon and King of Naples (1806–1808) and then Spain (18 ...
in the
Timor Sea
The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...
, the Victoria River is the longest singularly named permanent river in the Northern Territory. It is the second longest permanent river in the Northern Territory, as defined by international standards, the longest being the
Katherine/Daly River.
Important wetlands are found in the lower reaches of the river with forming suitable habitat for waterfowl breeding colonies and roosting sites for migratory shorebirds. Large areas of
rice-grass floodplain grasslands are also found along the river.
Part of the area adjoining the river mouth has been identified as the
Legune (Joseph Bonaparte Bay) Important Bird Area
The Legune (Joseph Bonaparte Bay) Important Bird Area comprises a low-lying, swampy, floodplain peninsula at the south-eastern end of the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf in the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. The land is part of the Legun ...
because of its importance for
waterbird
A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...
s.
Tributaries
The river has 56
tributaries
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' 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 into which the ...
including the Camfield River,
Wickham River, Battle Creek, Angalarri River, Gidyea Creek, and Armstrong River. The river also flows through several
waterholes, such as Catfish waterhole and Four Mile Waterhole.
It has a mean annual outflow of ,
Cattle stations
Several large
cattle station
In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...
s are found along the length of the river, including
Riveren where the river originates,
[ Victoria River Downs, ]Coolibah Station
Coolibah Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Northern Territory of Australia.
It is situated about east of Timber Creek and south west of Katherine, with the homestead situated along the Victoria River.
Th ...
, and Wave Hill Station
Wave Hill Station, most commonly referred to as Wave Hill, is a pastoral lease in the Northern Territory operating as a cattle station. The property is best known as the scene of the Wave Hill walk-off, a strike by Indigenous Australian w ...
, which is known for the historic strike known as the "Wave Hill walk-off
The Wave Hill walk-off, also known as the Gurindji strike, was a walk-off and strike by 200 Gurindji stockmen, house servants and their families, starting on 23 August 1966 and lasting for seven years. It took place at Wave Hill, a cattle stati ...
" in the 1960s to the 1970s.
Eponyms
A species of turtle, ''Emydura victoriae
''Emydura victoriae'', also known commonly as the red-faced turtle, Victoria short-necked turtle and Victoria River turtle, is a species of medium-sized aquatic turtle in the family Chelidae. The species inhabits rivers, streams and permanent wa ...
'', is named after the Victoria River.[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Victoria", p. 275).]
See also
* List of rivers of the Northern Territory
Footnotes
References
{{Authority control
Rivers of the Northern Territory