Abercrombie River

Abercrombie River
Goulburn-Oberon Road bridge

The Abercrombie River is a river in New South Wales, Australia. It flows west from Mount Werong to the Wyangala Dam near Cowra.[1] The river is a tributary of the Lachlan, which it joins at Wyangala lake.

The Abercrombie River is 130 km (81 mi) in length, and passes through the Abercrombie River National Park. It provides habitat for platypus and rakali.[2] The Goulburn-Oberon Road crosses the Abercrombie River in the steep-sided Abercrombie Gorge.

The first people to live alongside the river were Aborigines of the Wiradjuri and Gundungara tribes. They may have used the river as a trading route.[3] The first European to visit the river was explorer Charles Throsby on 5 May 1819, during an expedition from Sydney to the Central West of New South Wales.[1] Alluvial gold was discovered in and along the river in 1851. This started a small gold rush. It was difficult to find gold because of the rough terrain, and changing water levels in the river.[4] Early miners found up to 3 oz (85 g) of gold a day along the river.[5] By 1862 about 45 mining parties were working at Milburne Creek, a minor tributary of the Abercrombie.[6] It is the furthest east of the inland flowing rivers.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Geographical Names Register: Abercrombie River". Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. July 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  2. ↑ "Abercrombie River National Park". NSW National Parks and Wildlife service. July 2009. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  3. ↑ "Abercrombie River National Park: Culture and History". New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change. 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  4. ↑ "The Wentworth Diggings". The Argus. Argus Office, Melbourne, Victoria. 24 September 1851. p. 4. Retrieved 2009-07-13.[permanent dead link]
  5. ↑ "The Gold Fields". The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser. Thomas William Tucker and Richard Jones, Maitland NSW. 1 Dec 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 2009-07-13.[permanent dead link]
  6. ↑ "New South Wales: The Lachlan". The Argus. Argus Office, Melbourne, Victoria. 1 February 1862. p. 7. Retrieved 2009-07-13.[permanent dead link]


34°01′S 149°28′E / 34.017°S 149.467°E / -34.017; 149.467