The Fitzroy River, 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 Glenelg

Hopkins Hopkins is an English and Welsh patronymic surname derived from the personal name Hopkin and the genitive ending -''s''. Hopkin is itself a pet form of the name Hobb, a shortening of Robert (with alteration of the initial consonant). Notable peop ...

catchment, is located in the Western District 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 ...

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 ...

Course and features

The Fitzroy River rises below Mount Vandyke in the

Cobboboonee National Park The Cobboboonee National Park is a national park located in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Melbourne city centre, with access via the town of near the junctions of the P ...

, near the western edge of the

Lower Glenelg National Park The Lower Glenelg National Park is a national park in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Melbourne. The major features of the park are the Glenelg River gorge and the Princess Mar ...

. The river flows east by south, through , then between the western edge of the

Tyrendarra lava flow Budj Bim, also known as Mount Eccles, is a dormant volcano near Macarthur in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It lies within the geologically-defined area known as the Newer Volcanics Province, which is the youngest volcanic area in Australia ...

and the Mount Clay escarpment, and thence across a coastal plain. The river is joined by two minor tributaries before reaching its

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

and emptying into

Portland Bay Portland Bay ( Dhauwurdwurrung: ''Kardermudelar / Pathowwererer'') is a small bay off the coast of Victoria, Australia. It is about west of Melbourne. The city of Portland is located on the bay. The western end of the bay is marked by the hea ...

in the

Great Australian Bight The Great Australian Bight is a large oceanic bight (geography), bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern Coast, coastline of mainland Australia. There are two definitions for its extent—one by the Internation ...

southeast of . The river descends 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 ...

. One of its tributaries,

Darlot Creek Darlot Creek, also known as Darlots Creek or Darlot's Creek, arises in Lake Condah in south-western Victoria, flows through the wetlands in the Budj Bim heritage areas, past the site of the Lake Condah Mission, and joins the Fitzroy River at the ...

, approximately in length, flows from near in a southerly direction through

Lake Condah Lake Condah, also known by its Gunditjmara name Tae Rak, is in the Australian state of Victoria, about west of Melbourne and north-east of Heywood by road. It is in the form of a shallow basin, about in length and wide. The lake is loca ...

then along the eastern side of the

before joining the river close to its mouth. The river is traversed by the

Henty Highway Henty Highway is a rural highway in western Victoria, Australia, linking Lascelles in the Wimmera region, to Portland on the state's south-western coast. It was named in honour of Edward Henty, a British colonist regarded as the first permanen ...

at Heywood and the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

at Tyrendarra.

Etymology

The river was named Clark's River in December 1834 by

Edward Henty Edward Henty (28 March 1810 – 14 August 1878), was a pioneer British colonist and is regarded as the first permanent settler in the Port Phillip district (later known as the colony of Victoria), Australia. Early life and family background ...

after the first person in his party to sight it near Tyrendarra. In August 1836

Major Mitchell Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (15 June 1792 – 5 October 1855), often called Major Mitchell, was a Scottish surveyor and explorer of Southeastern Australia. He was born in Scotland and served in the British Army during the Peninsular War. I ...

, who, at the time, was unaware of the presence of the Hentys at

named it after

FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, (30 September 1788 – 28 June 1855), known before 1852 as Lord FitzRoy Somerset, was a British Army officer. When a junior officer, he served in the ...

when he crossed it near the site of Heywood. Darlots (later Darlot) Creek was named after Henry Darlot who rested cattle beside the creek in 1840 and 1841 prior to the establishment of pastoral leases in the area.

References

Glenelg Hopkins catchment Rivers of Barwon South West (region) Western District (Victoria) {{VictoriaAU-river-stub

Course and features

Etymology

See also

References