Hunter River (New South Wales)
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| Hunter | |
|---|---|
 Ship entering the mouth of the Hunter River at Newcastle
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| Name origin: Named after John Hunter | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | New South Wales |
| Region | Hunter Valley |
| Major cities | Newcastle, Maitland, Singleton, Muswellbrook, Scone |
| Landmark | Glenbawn Dam |
| Length | 300 km (190 mi) [1] |
| Watershed | 22,000 km² (8,500 sq mi) [1] |
| Source | |
| - location | Mount Royal Range |
| Mouth | Newcastle Harbour |
| - location | Tasman Sea |
| - coordinates | |
| Major tributaries | |
| - left | Paterson River, Williams River |
The Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major world port.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Hunter River was discovered by European explorers in the 1790s. In June 1796 fishermen sheltering from bad weather discovered coal there, and the river was initially called Coal River. In 1797 it was formally named the Hunter, after Captain John Hunter who was Governor of the British colony in New South Wales at that time.[2]
Between 1826 and 1836 convicts built the 264 km (164 mi) long Great North Road that links Sydney to the Hunter Region.[3]
Major floods have occurred on the Hunter including the flood of 1955 that caused devastation to townships along the river, especially Maitland. Severe flooding again occurred in June 2007.
[edit] Geography
The Hunter Valley is one of the best routes to the interior of the state with access relatively unimpeded by mountains and other obstacles. It is the largest area of relatively low-lying land near the coast of New South Wales, and owing to the shielding by rugged ranges to its north, is much drier than any other coastal region of the state. Annual rainfall ranges from 1,100 mm (43 in) at Newcastle to only 640 mm (25 in) at Merriwa and Scone in the upper reaches. In the driest years rainfall can be as low as 600 mm (24 in) at Newcastle and 375 mm (15 in) in the upper valley.
Around the Barrington Tops on the northern side of the valley, however, annual precipitation can be as high as 2,000 mm (79 in), not all of which falls as rain since July temperatures are often below 0 °C (32 °F). In the lower areas, summer maxima are usually around 27 °C (81 °F) and winter maxima around 16 °C (61 °F).
Except for the driest parts of Tasmania and a small area of the Monaro between Cooma and Nimmitabel, the Hunter Valley is the southern limit of rich "black earths" (actually black cracking clays). These are the only soils in all of Australia with reasonable levels of soluble phosphorus, with the result that upstream from Singleton very rich pasture land with many horse studs occurs. Around Merriwa and south of Singleton, the soils are very infertile sands more typical of Australia as a whole, and the dominant land use is extensive grazing.
Tributaries of the Hunter River include the Pages River, the Goulburn River, the Wollombi Brook, the Williams River and the Paterson River. The Hunter River is subject to substantial flooding, which Glenbawn Dam near Scone was constructed to ameliorate.
Towns along the Hunter River include Raymond Terrace, Morpeth, Maitland, Singleton, Jerry's Plains, Denman, Muswellbrook, Aberdeen, and Scone.
Parts of the Hunter Valley are important for grape growing and wine producing. The Hunter Valley is also one of Australia's most important coal mining areas. The Hunter River is threatened by drought, climate change and proposed loss of water due to coal mining.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Estuaries - Hunter River. NSW Department of Natural Resources.
- ^ Clark, Manning (1981). "Chapter 8", A History of Australia, reprint 1,. ISBN 0-522-84008-6.
- ^ The Convict Trail Project.
