Fitzroy River (Victoria)

For other uses, see Fitzroy.

Fitzroy
Fitzroy River (Victoria) is located in Victoria
Fitzroy River (Victoria)
Location of the Fitzroy River mouth in Victoria
EtymologyFitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan.[1]
Location
CountryAustralia
StateVictoria
RegionVictorian Midlands, Naracoorte Coastal Plain (IBRA), Western District
Local government areaGlenelg Shire
TownHeywood, Tyrendarra
Physical characteristics
SourceMount Vandyke
 • locationCobboboonee National Park
 • coordinates38°2′55″S 141°21′53″E / 38.04861°S 141.36472°E / -38.04861; 141.36472
 • elevation140 m (460 ft)
MouthPortland Bay, Great Australian Bight
 • location
southeast of Tyrendarra
 • coordinates
38°15′49″S 141°51′18″E / 38.26361°S 141.85500°E / -38.26361; 141.85500
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length58 km (36 mi)
Basin features
River systemGlenelg Hopkins catchment
Tributaries 
 • leftSunday Creek (Victoria), Darlot Creek
National parkCobboboonee National Park
[2]

The Fitzroy River, a perennial river of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia.

Course and features

The Fitzroy River rises below Mount Vandyke in the Cobboboonee National Park, near the western edge of the Lower Glenelg National Park. The river flows east by south, through Heywood, then between the western edge of the Tyrendarra lava flow and the Mount Clay escarpment, and thence across a coastal plain.[3] The river is joined by two minor tributaries before reaching its mouth and emptying into Portland Bay in the Great Australian Bight southeast of Tyrendarra. The river descends 138 metres (453 ft) over its 58-kilometre (36 mi) course.[2]

One of its tributaries, Darlot Creek, approximately 51 kilometres (32 mi) in length, flows from near Branxholme in a southerly direction through Lake Condah then along the eastern side of the Tyrendarra lava flow before joining the river close to its mouth.[4]

The river is traversed by the Henty Highway at Heywood and the Princes Highway at Tyrendarra.

Etymology

The river was named Clark's River in December 1834 by Edward Henty after the first person in his party to sight it near Tyrendarra. In August 1836 Major Mitchell, who, at the time, was unaware of the presence of the Hentys at Portland Bay named it after FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan when he crossed it near the site of Heywood.[1][5] 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.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Mitchell, Thomas (1838). Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia. Vol. 2. London: Boone.
  2. ^ a b "Map of Fitzroy River, VIC". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Sub-Catchment P3". Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  4. ^ "Sub-Catchment P4". Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  5. ^ Bird, Eric (12 October 2006). "Place Names on the Coast of Victoria" (PDF). Australian National Placename Survey (ANPS). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  6. ^ Learmonth, Noel F. (1970). Four Towns and a Survey. Melbourne: Hawthorn Press.
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