Cockburn 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 ...
that is part of the
Namoi catchment within the
Murray–Darling basin
The Murray–Darling Basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, encompassing the drainage basin of the tributaries of the Murray River, Australia's longest river, and the Darling River, a right tributary of ...
, located in the
Northern Tablelands
The Northern Tablelands, also known as the New England Tableland, is a plateau and a region of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales, Australia. It includes the New England Range, the narrow highlands area of the New England regio ...
district of
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 ...
,
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 ...
.
The river rises in the west slopes of
Moonbi Range
The Moonbi Range, a mountain range that is part of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.
The range is located roughly north east of the city of Tamworth situated at the bottom of the ...
, near
Limbri
Limbri is a small village on Swamp Oak Creek, about 30 km east northeast of Tamworth and about 8 km east southeast of Moonbi in northern New South Wales, Australia. The population of the Limbri region in 2006 was 259.
Some alluvial ...
and then flows generally west south west, 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 ...
, towards 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
Peel River at
Nemingha; dropping 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 ...
of .
[
The river was first encountered by European explorers on 4 September 1818 during an expedition led by the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, ]John Oxley
John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an English List of explorers, explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps bes ...
, who named the river in honour of Admiral Sir George Cockburn.Tintinhull
Tintinhull is a village and civil parish near Yeovil, south west of Ilchester, in Somerset, England. The village is close to the A303. It is on the Fosse Way.
In addition to a school of around 100 pupils, Tintinhull has a church, park, swim ...
and Nemingha. A section of the Main North railway line
The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia, running from Strathfield in Sydney to Armidale.
The 1980s saw the line closed progressively north of Armidale; passenger services ...
runs along the valley of the Cockburn River.
The Cockburn River is also one of the fastest flowing rivers in the southern hemisphere. It is home to fish species including catfish, yellow belly, and European carp; the last have decimated the native fish stocks to the point that they are getting harder to find. There are small areas of irrigated cropping along the banks of the river and the surrounding hills are mostly used for grazing.
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 ...
*Rivers of New South Wales
This page discusses the rivers and hydrography of the state of New South Wales, Australia.
The principal topographic feature of New South Wales is the series of low highlands and plateaus called the Great Dividing Range, which extend from nor ...
References
External links
*
{{Rivers of New South Wales , state=autocollapse
Rivers of New South Wales
Murray-Darling basin