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Hastings River
Mooraback Creek^[1]
Hastings River; Mooraback Creek
	North Coast railway bridge over the Hastings River at Wauchope
Etymology	In honour of 1st Marquess of Hastings
Native name	Doongang (Birrpayi)
Location
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
IBRA	New England Tablelands, NSW North Coast
District	Northern Tablelands, Mid North Coast
local government area	Port Macquarie-Hastings
Physical characteristics
Source	Great Dividing Range
• location	southwest of Kemps Pinnacle, within Oxley Wild Rivers National Park
• coordinates	31°25′54″S 152°22′4″E / 31.43167°S 152.36778°E
• elevation	1,040 m (3,410 ft)
Mouth	Tasman Sea, South Pacific Ocean
• location	Port Macquarie
• coordinates	31°25′48″S 152°55′12″E / 31.43000°S 152.92000°E
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	180 km (110 mi)
Basin size	3,658 km2 (1,412 sq mi)
Discharge
• location	Near mouth
• average	46.6 m3/s (1,470 GL/a)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Forbes River, Pappinbarra River, Mortons Creek, Maria River
• right	Fenwicks Creek, Tobins River, Ralfes Creek, Ellenborough River Thone River
National Parks	Oxley Wild Rivers, Werrikimbe, Cottan-Bimbang

Hastings River (Birpai: Doongang^[1]), an open and trained intermediate wave dominated barrier estuary,^[4] is located in the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia.

Course and features

Hastings River rises in the Great Dividing Range, southwest of Kemps Pinnacle, in the area surrounding Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and Werrikimbe National Park and flows generally south, southeast and east, joined by seven tributaries including the Tobins, Forbes, Ellenborough, Pappinbarra and Thone rivers, before reaching its mouth, flowing into the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean, at Port Macquarie. The river descends 1,040 metres (3,410 ft) over its 180 kilometres (110 mi) course.^[3]

The course of the river flows adjacent to the settlements Ellenborough, Long Flat, Beechwood, Wauchope and Port Macquarie. The Oxley Highway is generally aligned with the middle and lower reaches of the river. West of Port Macquarie, the Pacific Highway crosses the Hastings River.

History

The Hastings River has been inhabited by Birpai Aboriginal people for thousands of years, who knew it as Doongang.

The river was first charted by European explorers in 1818, after being sighted by John Oxley. He named the river the Hastings River for the then Governor-General of India, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings.^[1]

On 19 November 2002, two anglers found the dismembered body of murdered Sydney drug dealer, Terry Falconer. Investigations revealed that Falconer had died three days beforehand, after his corpse had been cut up and dumped in the Hastings River by Anthony Perish and his criminal gang associates.^[5]^[6]

The River flooded in March 2021 during a severe weather event affecting much of New South Wales.^[7]

Recreation, flora and fauna

The Hastings River gives its name to the Hastings River wine region and to an endangered species of mammal, the Hastings River Mouse (Pseudomys oralis).

Fishing opportunities on the Hastings River exist for freshwater bass and catfish in the upper reaches to estuarine species such as bream, flathead and luderick near the river mouth.

Gallery

Hastings River, flooded, west of Ellenborough, 2009.
Dennis Bridge from the new Pacific Highway bridge to the west
New Hastings River Bridge carrying the Pacific Highway

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Hastings River". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ "East Coastal Watersheds".
^ ^a ^b "Map of Hastings River, NSW". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ Roy, P. S.; Williams, R. J.; Jones, A. R.; Yassini, I.; et al. (2001). "Structure and Function of South-east Australian Estuaries". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 53: 351–384. doi:10.1006/ecss.2001.0796.
^ Duffy, Michael (2012). Bad: the true story of the Perish brothers and Australia's biggest ever murder investigation (paperback). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. p. 290. ISBN 9781743312964.
^ Robbo (13 August 2012). "Anthony Perish aka Badness". Aussie Criminals Blog. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
^ Carmody, James; Stuart, Riley; Johnson, Keely (20 March 2021). "Devastated couple's home floats away on their wedding day in NSW floods". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 March 2021.