The Berckelman River is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The

headwater The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

s of the river rise in the Harding Range and flow in a north-westerly direction before discharging into the Sale River, of which it is a

tributary 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 they ...

. The river was named the Berckelman on 13 June 1865 by Trevarton Charles Sholl while on an exploratory expedition from the short-lived Camden Harbour settlement (in Camden Sound). Sholl named the river after his mother, Mary Ann Sholl, née Berckelman (1822–1889). TC Sholl's father Robert John Sholl was the

government resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of ind ...

of the North District: all of the

Colony of Western Australia The human history of Western Australia commenced "over 50,000 years ago and possibly as much as 70,000 years ago" with the arrival of Aboriginal Australians on the northwest coast. The first inhabitants expanded across the east and south of the ...

north of the Murchison River. TC Sholl was his father's clerk, tidewaiter, postmaster and assistant registrar for the North District. At the time, the government resident's office was based at Camden Harbour, but was transferred to the Tien Tsin Harbor (later Cossack) area in November 1865.

References

Rivers of the Kimberley region of Western Australia {{WesternAustralia-river-stub