The Bunyip River is a
perennial river
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
of the
Western Port
Western Port, ( Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it ...
catchment, located in the
West Gippsland
West Gippsland is a region of Gippsland in Victoria, Australia. It covers an area of around the eastern shores of the Western Port Bay, extending from San Remo in the west to the Strzelecki Ranges in the east, up to Mount Howitt in the north. ...
region of the
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 ...
n state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
.
Location and features
The Bunyip River rises below
Mount Beenak, part of the southern portion of the Yarra Ranges within the
Bunyip State Park
Bunyip State Park is a state park east of Melbourne, near the town of Gembrook, in the southern slopes of the Great Dividing Range within the Australian state of Victoria.
Location and features
The area was used for logging from 1898 until 1 ...
, near Tomahawk Gap, and flows generally south by east then south, at times via an
aqueduct, joined by four minor
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 ...
, before reaching its
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
with the
Tarago River to form the Main Drain. From there, the river used to flow into the
Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp
The Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp was a large freshwater swamp located to the south east of Melbourne, Victoria. It drained an area of West Gippsland, with several waterways including Cardinia Creek and the Bunyip River.
The Koo-Wee-Rup swamp originally ...
, the largest wetland in Victoria, covering an area of , before flowing into Western Port. The river descends approximately 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 ...
.
[
At the confluence of the Bunyip and Tarago Rivers, the rivers are traversed by the ]Princes Freeway
Princes Freeway is a Australian freeway, divided into two sections, both located in Victoria, Australia. The freeway links Melbourne to Geelong in the west, and to Morwell in the east. It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes ...
, north of the locality of .[
]
Etymology
In the Aboriginal Boonwurrung language
The Boonwurrung, also spelt Bunurong or Bun wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Prom, Wilsons Promontory in the Australian s ...
, the name for the river is ''Banib'', meaning "a fabulous, large, black amphibious monster".[
The river is named after the ]bunyip
The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.
Name
The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...
, an Aboriginal mythological and legendary character from lakes and swamps.
See also
* List of rivers of Australia
Rivers are ordered alphabetically, by state. The same river may be found in more than one state as many rivers cross state borders.
Longest rivers nationally
Longest river by state or territory
Although the Murray River forms much of the bor ...
References
Melbourne Water catchment
Rivers of Greater Melbourne (region)
Rivers of Gippsland (region)
Western Port
{{VictoriaAU-river-stub