The Border Rivers are a group of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 ...

s and the associated region near part of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

border between

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The rivers rise in the New England Tablelands bioregion and drain the western side of 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. It runs roughl ...

as they collectively form part of the headwaters of the

Darling River The Darling River (or River Darling; Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka''), is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth. Including its long ...

within the Murray-Darling basin. The eastern boundary of the Border Rivers

catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

extends along the Great Dividing Range divide from in the north, to and , in the south. The western boundary of the region converges near the New South Wales town of . Collectively, the Border Rivers comprise a catchment area of . The Border Rivers flows through lands previously occupied by the

Kamilaroi The Gamilaroi, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous Australians, Indi ...

and

Bigambul The Bigambul people are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Tablelands and Border Rivers regions of New South Wales and Queensland. Name In the traditional language, the name of this group is derived from the Bigambul word or wh ...

and other

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

people. The Morella Watercourse,

Boobera Lagoon Boobera Lagoon is a permanent water hole in Moree Plains Shire, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 20 kilometres west of Goondiwindi in Queensland. It is located at . It lies several kilometres south of the Macintyre River, which forms the ...

, and Pungbougal Lagoon located on the

Macintyre River The Macintyre River, a perennial river that forms part of the Border Rivers group, is part of the Barwon catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, located in the Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, and the So ...

floodplain is considered one of the most important Aboriginal places in eastern Australia. As one of the few permanent waterbodies in the northern Murray-Darling basin the complex provides refuge for wildlife during periods of drought. Sundown National Park also has ecological significance, hosting eleven rare and threatened animals, five rare or vulnerable plant species and permanent waterholes supporting a diverse range of waterbirds and aquatic biota. the catchment supported a population of around 50,000 people. The main agricultural use of land is for grazing and dryland cropping, and this covers around ninety per cent of the catchment. Irrigation for the production of cotton occurs on the western plains between and Mungindi.

Branches

For approximately , the Border Rivers form the border between New South Wales and Queensland, located in New South Wales between at its most eastern point, to Mungindi at its most western point. Unhelpfully, several rivers have been given the same name to separate watercourses located in each state. ;Queensland Generally speaking the following rivers are considered to comprise part of the river group and region within Queensland: *

Severn River (Queensland) The Severn River, a perennial river that forms part of the Border Rivers group, is part of the Macintyre catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. Course and features The Queenslan ...

, draining the Stanthorpe district, and flowing into New South Wales * Pike Creek, including Glenlyon Dam, and flowing into New South Wales * Macintyre Brook, draining the district, and flowing into New South Wales, near

Yelarbon Yelarbon is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , the locality of Yelarbon had a population of 313 people. Geography Yelarbon is in south-c ...

* Weir River, draining the Southern Downs district, and flowing into New South Wales, near Mungindi ;New South Wales The following rivers either mark the New South Wales boundary with Queensland, or are fully located within the state and are considered to comprise part of the river group and region: * Mole River, draining the district *

Dumaresq River The Dumaresq River ( Indigenous ) is a perennial stream of the Macintyre catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Northern Tablelands and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales and the Darling Downs region of Que ...

, receiving flows from the Severn River (Queensland), Pike Creek, and the Mole River * Severn River (New South Wales), draining the district, including the Pindari Dam *

, receiving flows from the Severn River (New South Wales), and forming through the confluence of the Dumaresq River and Macintyre Brook. The Macintyre River variously flows in both New South Wales and Queensland Within New South Wales, both the Macintyre and Weir rivers drain to become the Barwon River, a major tributary of the Darling River within the Murray-Darling basin. The Dumaresq River forms the border between Queensland and New South Wales, generally south-east of Bonshaw and . The Macintyre River forms the border west of Boggabilla to Mungindi.

Towns

The main activities in the Border Rivers region is agriculture. Crops are grown in areas with suitable conditions and the rest of the area is used for grazing. Because the rivers are quite small and erratic in flow, there is only small-scale irrigation. The largest town in the western part of the Border Rivers region is Goondiwindi where the

Newell Highway Newell Highway is a National Highway (Australia), national highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It provides the major road link between southeastern Queensland and Victoria (state), Victoria via central NSW and as such carries large amo ...

crosses the Macintyre River at the state border. The towns of Stanthorpe, in Queensland and Tenterfield, Glen Innes in New South Wales lie along the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland, at its northern end to Hexham, New South Wales, Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, ...

on the eastern edges of the Border Rivers Basin.

Inverell Inverell is a large town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River, close to the Queensland border. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the ...

lies to the west on the western edge of the New England Tablelands. The central part of the Border Rivers region is rather underpopulated with no large towns, major transport routes, or significant industries other than agriculture. Small towns in the region include , Inglewood, , , Bonshaw, .

References

Attribution

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...

External links

* *
Gywdir & Border Rivers catchment management agency
- NSW Government website * {{Rivers of the Darling River catchment Rivers of New South Wales Rivers of Queensland Regions of New South Wales Regions of Queensland Borders of New South Wales Borders of Queensland Murray-Darling basin Southern Downs Region Moree Plains Shire Armidale Regional Council Uralla Shire Tenterfield Shire

Branches

Towns

See also

References

Attribution

External links