The Coliban River, an inland
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 northcentral catchment, part of the
Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower
Riverina
The Riverina ()
is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...
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 ...
and
Central Highlands 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. The headwaters of the Coliban River rise on the northern slopes 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 ...
and descend to flow north into the
Campaspe River
The Campaspe River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The ...
with the impounded
Lake Eppalock.
The river is a major water supply source for towns and cities in the lower Central Highlands region.
Location and features
The river rises below Little Hampton near in the Great Dividing Range and flows generally north, descending over the Trentham Falls, and continuing to flow northward to the Upper Coliban,
Lauriston
Lauriston ( )
is an area of central Edinburgh, Scotland, and home to a number of significant historic buildings. It lies south of Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket, and north of The Meadows public park.
Lauriston is the former location ...
and Malmsbury reservoirs. Subsequently, it flows through , , and , and finally reaches 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
Campaspe River
The Campaspe River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The ...
within
Lake Eppalock.
The river descends over its
course.
[
]Gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
was found in the river in 1858, and water from the river was used to supply the goldfields cities of Bendigo
Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...
and . As the population of those cities grew a water supply system consisting of of tunnels and aqueducts was constructed. Over time, the water supply was extended to , as well as many other smaller towns in the region. Today, the system supplies drinking water to a population exceeding 200,000.[ Coliban Water manages the three major water supply reservoirs, which are part of the Eppalock Proclaimed Water Supply Catchment.]
Fauna and flora
The river is home to the platypus
The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypi ...
as well as eight native fish species, including the Macquarie perch. Four of the fish species are endangered and the trout cod is regarded as critically endangered in the river, and may no longer be present. Indigenous vegetation in the area includes the black gum ('' Eucalyptus aggregata'') which, though once plentiful in the area, is now rare due to vegetation clearance over many years.[
]
Etymology
In the Aboriginal Djadjawurrung language, the name for the river is ''Teeranyap'', with no clearly defined meaning. In the Taungurung
The Taungurung people, also spelled ''Daung Wurrung'', are Aboriginal people who are one of the Kulin nations in present-day Victoria, Australia. They consist of nine clans whose traditional language is the Taungurung language.
Their Country ...
and Djadjawurrung languages, the names for the river is '' Pe-er'', with no clearly defined meaning, and ''Dindelong yaluk'', with ''yaluk'' meaning "river".
See also
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References
External links
Public Record Office Victoria
Photograph of Victorian Railways
The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...
passenger train crossing the viaduct over the Coliban River at Malmsbury, November 1945.
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{{Authority control
North-Central catchment
Rivers of Grampians (region)
Rivers of Loddon Mallee (region)
Central Highlands (Victoria)
Tributaries of the Murray River