Moore River (Garban) is a river in the Wheatbelt region of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Geography

The headwaters of the Moore River lie in the Perenjori, Carnamah and Dalwallinu Shires. The river then drains southwards through Moora, flows westerly before joining with the Moore River East near Mogumber, then flows in a westerly direction over the Edengerie Cascade, through the northern edge of the Moore River Nature Reserve, then through the Gingin Scarp, discharging into the Indian Ocean at Guilderton. The river includes a catchment that extends from just south of Three Springs to Guilderton. The catchment has a total area of and is 80% cleared for agriculture. The catchment area is used for broadacre farming but with increasing diversification in

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

and tree plantations. The river mouth at Guilderton typically closes during the summer months due to insufficient water flow, creating a sandbar. The river has nine sub-catchment areas and has a number of tributaries and lakes along the length of the river. The

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

levels in the river catchment vary from

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

to saline with the exception of Gingin Brook which remains fresh throughout the year.

History

The Aboriginal people referred to the lower part of the river as Garban. White settlers named it River Moore in May 1836 by Corporal Patrick Heffron of the 63rd Regiment of Foot, after his expedition leader George Fletcher Moore, Advocate-General. The exploratory party comprised Moore, Heffron and an Aboriginal man named Weenat. Heffron was notable for his participation in the

Pinjarra Massacre The Pinjarra massacre, also known as the Battle of Pinjarra, occurred on 28 October 1834 in Pinjarra, Western Australia when a group of Binjareb Noongar people were attacked by a detachment of 25 soldiers, police, and settlers led by Governor ...

in 1834. The river is prone to periodic flooding unusually following

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

s and tropical depressions crossing the coast further north. In 1907, the railway lines between Watheroo and Moora were closed for some time when parts of the track were washed away. More floods occurred in 1917 when of rain fell in three hours at Mogumber with similar falls in surrounding areas. Moora was once again left underwater and rail services in surrounding areas were suspended. Low-lying areas in other towns such as Arrino, Three Springs, and Coorow were also submerged. In 1932, the river flooded once again following heavy rains in the Midland districts. Railway lines were undermined to a depth of leaving Moora isolated from

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

by both road and rail. The township of Moora was left underwater and portions of the town had to be evacuated. Crops and some stock were lost as a result of the floodwaters. Opened in 1918, near the head of the river, was the now defunct and discredited government-managed-settlement and internment camp known as the Moore River Native Settlement.

References

External links

includes a map of the lower reaches of the river navigable by canoe

larger zoomable Sunset Coast map {{Authority control Rivers of the Wheatbelt region Moora, Western Australia

Geography

History

See also

References

External links