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| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | confluence with the Murray River |
| Length | 2,172 km |
The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The word Murrumbidgee derives from 'moorum.beeja' and means path of the boss in the local Aboriginal language, referring to the fault line the river follows. 'Moorum'beeja' is a generic term for a river. Indigneous people name each bend in the rivers by their own specific locality name. Seasonally, this river used to have large flows but now that it is a regulated stream, flows are only high when releases are made from upstream storages to supply downstream irrigators. The river flows for 2,172 km from its source in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains, part of the Australian Alps near Mount Kosciuszko, to its confluence with the Murray River. It drains most of southern New South Wales and is the most important source of irrigation water for the Riverina farming area.
The upper Murrumbidgee was discovered in 1823 by a party of settlers led by Mark Currie, but the extent of the river was not realised until 1829, when Charles Sturt and his party rowed down the length of the river to the Murray, and then down the Murray to the sea. (They also rowed back up, against the current.) The Murrumbidgee basin was opened to settlement in the 1830s and soon became an important farming area.
Distances in Miles on the Murrumbidgee River
"Gundagai to Wagga Wagga, 86 miles; Wagga Wagga to Yarragundy, 23 miles; Yarragundy to Yiorkibitto,48 miles; Yiorkibitto to Grong Grong,36 miles; Grong Grong to Narrandera,13 miles; Narrandera to Yanco or Bedithera,11 miles; Yanco to Yanco Station,18 miles; Yanco to Gojelderie,13 miles; Gojelderie to Tubbo,15 miles; Tubbo to Cararburry,34 miles; Cararbury to Currathool,41 miles; Currathool toBurrabogie,35 miles; Burrabogie to Illilliwa,26 miles; Illilliwa to Hay,14 miles; Hay to Toogambie,39 miles; Toogambie to Maude,25 miles; Maude to Lachlan Junction,44 miles; Lachlan Junction to Balranald,85 miles; Balranald to Canally,26 miles; Canally to Weimby,Murray Junction, 38 miles.
Total distance from Gundagai to Murrumbidgee Junction - 670 miles"
See also
Major tributaries
Population centres
External links
- Nomination of Lower Murrumbidgee Catchment for UNESCO's HELP Pilot Demonstration Status by CSIRO
- Murrumbidgee River Flows recorded by NSW Water
- River pilot maps 1880-1918 / Echuca Historical Society
- Heaton, J.H.,1984, The Bedside Book of Colonial Doings, Published in 1879 as 'Australian Dictionary of Dates' containing the History of Australasia from 1542 to May, 1879, Angus & Robertson Publishers Sydney, pp.215-216