Burdekin River

The Burdekin River rises on the western slopes of the Seaview Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, west of {{QLDcity|Ingham}}. In the river's upper catchment, from its source the river generally flows west and then south out of the Girringun National Park, part of the UNESCO Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. This area, now part of Basalt was the location of one of the earliest inland settlements in northern Australia and was known as Dalrymple.{{cite web |url=http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/dalrymple/about.html |title=About Dalrymple |date=27 June 2014 |publisher=Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing |access-date=10 October 2014 }} The river is joined by Lucy Creek, the Running River, Star River and Keelbottom Creek, above {{QLDcity|Charters Towers}}. From the west in the Dry Tropics to the west of the river, the river is joined by the Clarke, Basalt and Dry rivers. South of Charters Towers, the upper catchment of the Burdekin River is joined by the Fanning River,{{cite web |url=http://riverconsulting.com.au/reports/Uses&Values_3%289%29.pdf |title=Social, Economic, Cultural and Environmental Values of Streams and Wetlands in the Burdekin Dry Tropics Region |date=July 2006 |work=Department of National Resources, Mines and Energy |publisher=Queensland Government |access-date=9 November 2015 }} and then continues to flow south through wetlands before entering Lake Dalrymple, the reservoir created by the Burdekin Falls Dam.

Within Lake Dalrymple, the Burdekin River is joined by the Cape, Suttor/Belyando rivers. The source of the Belyando River in central western Queensland is almost {{convert|500|km|mi|0}} from the mouth of the Burdekin River, and extends into the typical black-soil grassland of Central Queensland, with the Belyando draining the Drummond and Galilee Basins and flowing north for over {{convert|1000|km}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=213194&cmd=sp|title=Map of Belyando River, QLD|access-date=13 November 2015|work=Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=213195&cmd=sp|title=Map of Belyando River, QLD (2)|access-date=13 November 2015|work=Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=205303&cmd=sp|title=Map of Belyando River (Western Branch), QLD|access-date=13 November 2015|work=Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia}}

Below the dam wall, in the river's lower catchment, is northern Australia's largest irrigation area with approximately {{convert|80000|ha}} under irrigation, predominantly for growing sugarcane. It consists of two broad regions, the earlier established delta region located on the coarse sedimentary deposits of the Burdekin River Delta, a groundwater dominated scheme, and the Burdekin Haughton Water Supply Scheme (BHWSS) – a more recently developed surface water dominated scheme on alluvial floodplains of the Burdekin River.{{cite web |url=http://www.irrigationfutures.org.au/publications.asp?pbID=4222 |author1=Petheram, C. |author2=Tickell, S. |author3=O'Gara, F. |author4=Bristow, K. L. |author5=Smith, A. |author6=Jolly, P. |date=2008 |title=Analysis of the Lower Burdekin, Ord and Katherine-Douglas-Daly Irrigation Areas |website=Cooperative Research Centre for Irrigation Futures |type=abstract |access-date=9 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102832/http://www.irrigationfutures.org.au/publications.asp?pbID=4222 |archive-date=4 March 2016 }} Here the Burdekin is joined by the Bowen and Bogie rivers.

The Burdekin River descends {{convert|620|m}} over its {{convert|886|km|adj=on}} course.

Four DIWA wetlands can be found along the course of the river. The first is at the Valley of Lagoons in the upper region of the catchment, the next is a Lake Dalrymple,{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/wetlands/report.pl?smode=DOIW&doiw_refcodelist=QLD006|title=Lake Dalrymple – QLD006|work=Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia|year=2012|access-date=12 October 2014|publisher=Australian Government}} then at the junction of the Burdekin and Bowen rivers known as the Burdekin-Bowen Junction and Blue Valley Weir Aggregation{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/wetlands/report.pl?smode=DOIW;doiw_refcodelist=QLD205|title=Burdekin-Bowen Junction and Blue Valley Weir Aggregation – QLD205|work=Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia|year=2012|access-date=12 October 2014|publisher=Australian Government}} and the last is at the river delta which forms a {{convert|342.5|km2|sqmi|0}} wetland.{{cite web|url=http://wetlandinfo.ehp.qld.gov.au/wetlands/facts-maps/diwa-wetland-burdekin-delta/|title=Burdekin Delta DIWA nationally important wetland|year=2014|access-date=12 October 2014|publisher=Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland}}

The Burdekin River is one of the most economically important rivers in Australia,{{cite web|url=https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/video/adventure-video/highway-one/2013/11/highway-one-the-mighty-burdekin-river/ |title=Highway One: the mighty Burdekin River |date=7 November 2013 |last=Lawson |first=Catherine |access-date=25 October 2021}} and has the fourth-largest watershed of any exorheic drainage system in Australia. It is also the fourth-largest river in Australia by volume of flow,{{cite book |author=Brown, John Alexander Henstridge |title=Australia's Surface Water Resources |year=1983 |publisher=Australian Government Publication Service |location=Canberra }} but is so erratic that its discharge can reach the mean discharge of the Yangtze River (after two severe cyclones in 1958) or have as many as seven months with no flow whatsoever (as in 1923). This exceedingly erratic flow is due to the extreme variability of precipitation throughout the entire basin. Annual rainfall at most gauges within the basin can range from {{convert|200|to|1600|mm}} depending on the monsoon and the number of cyclones that cross the coast.Willcocks, Jacqui; Queensland's rainfall history: graphs of rainfall averages, 1880–1988; published 1991 by Queensland Department of Primary Industries On the coast itself, the variability is even higher: at Bowen not far from the river's mouth, the annual rainfall has ranged from {{convert|216|mm|in|0}} in 1915 to over {{convert|2200|mm|in|0}} in 1950. It has the highest mean annual flow for any river adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef.

File:StateLibQld 1 99164 Flood damaged railway bridge over the Burdekin River, 1917.jpg

File:StateLibQld 1 242224 Burdekin River in flood in Ayr, north Queensland.jpg]]

File:StateLibQld 1 258422 Charters Towers weir, 1904.jpg

File:StateLibQld 1 393765 Burdekin River at its lowest level, 1948.jpg

Gugu Badhun (also known as Koko-Badun and Kokopatun) is an Australian Aboriginal language of North Queensland. The language region includes areas within the local government area of Charters Towers Region, particularly the localities of Greenvale and the Valley of Lagoons, and in the Upper Burdekin River area and in Abergowrie.{{Cite SLQ-CC-BY|url=https://maps.slq.qld.gov.au/iyil/view/65|title=Gugu Badhun|website=Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map|access-date=28 January 2020}}

Yuru (also known as Juru, Euronbba, Juru, Mal Mal, Malmal) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuru country. The Yuru language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Shire of Burdekin, including the town of Home Hill.{{Cite SLQ-CC-BY|url=https://maps.slq.qld.gov.au/iyil/view/174|title=Yuru|website=Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map|access-date=23 January 2020}}

The river was first discovered by Europeans by John Clements Wickham aboard {{HMS|Beagle}} in 1839 who named it the Wickham River. In 1849, Ludwig Leichhardt named the river after Thomas Burdekin, one of the sponsors of Leichhardt's expedition.{{cite web|url=http://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/burdekin-shire |title=Burdekin Shire |work=Queensland Places |publisher=Centre for the Government of Queensland |access-date=10 October 2014 }} Because he was inland away from the coast he was not aware it was the same watercourse named by Wickham. The town of Wickham was established on Rita Island at the river mouth but was soon swept away during a flood in the 1860s.

Pastoralists had established runs along the river during the 1860s, with some along the lower reached taken for selection in the 1880s.

In 1899, the Burdekin River Rail Bridge was built over the river about 24 km NE of Charters Towers to carry the Great Northern railway. Although replaced by a new bridge in 1964, the old bridge remains and is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.{{cite QHR|15217|Burdekin River Rail Bridge (former)|600442|access-date=7 July 2013}}

The townships of Ayr and Brandon were established in 1882 with many sugarmills being erected. The North Coast railway between Ayr and Townsville had the Inkerman Bridge over the Burdekin River from McDesme to Home Hill which was built in 1913 followed by bridge for road traffic in 1930. Both were too low and often damaged during flooding and the decision was made to replace them with a higher dual level bridge known as the Silver Link. Construction commenced in 1947 and was not completed until 1957 when the bridge opened.

A weir was constructed in a gorge in the Leichhardt Range for settlement farms near Clare and Dalbeg in 1953 for growing tobacco. In 1984 construction of the Burdekin Falls Dam commenced and was completed by 1987 when the dam started to fill forming Lake Dalrymple.

File:Charters Towers - Burdekin River Flows.jpg]]

Floods events occur on average from no floods to three per year between December and March.{{cite book |title=Oceanographic Processes of Coral Reefs: Physical and Biological Links in the Great Barrier Reef |chapter=River Plume Dynamics in the Central Great Barrier Reef |last=King |first=Brian |author2=McAllister, Felicity |author3=Wolanski, Eric |author4=Done, Terry |author5=Spagnol, Simon |editor=Wolanski, Eric |year=2000 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=1-4200-4167-3 |pages=147, 151, 152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLysNLltOS0C |access-date=10 October 2014}}

Heavy flooding occurred in 1875 with the Dawson, Fitzroy, Mary and Burdekin Rivers rising up to {{convert|60|ft|m|0}} in a few hours. The waters washed away dwellings, fencing and livestock{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18335336 |title=General News. |newspaper=The Queenslander |location=Brisbane|date=27 March 1875 |access-date=11 October 2014 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}} and effects downstream included the loss of the steamer {{SS|Gothenburg}} which was unable to steer effectively and ran aground on a reef at the entrance of Flinders Channel.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1397421 |title=Wreck of the Gothenburg |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |date=15 April 1875 |access-date=11 October 2014 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}

In 1917 more severe flooding occurred with the bridge at Inkerman under {{convert|11|ft|m|0}} of water and the one at Ayr over {{convert|14|ft|m|0}} underwater after a day of flooding.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40231613 |title=Floods On The Railway. |newspaper=The Cairns Post |location=Queensland|date=5 January 1917 |access-date=11 October 2014 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}} Approximately one third of the Inkerman Bridge was later washed away by the floodwaters.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article77787969 |title=Barcaldine and General |newspaper=The Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central-Western Districts |location=Barcaldine, Queensland|date=20 January 1917 |access-date=11 October 2014 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}

Further flooding occurred in 1927 with waters running nearly {{convert|6|ft|m|0}} over the Inkerman Bridge and {{convert|3|ft|m|0}} over the Burdekin Bridge,{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55266708 |title=Flooded Rivers |newspaper=The Morning Bulletin |location=Rockhampton, Queensland|date=28 January 1927 |access-date=11 October 2014 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}} the river reached its peak at {{convert|66|ft|m|0}} above summer levels at Sellheim.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55267498 |title=Northern Cyclone. |newspaper=The Morning Bulletin |location=Rockhampton, Queensland|date=12 February 1927 |access-date=11 October 2014 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}

During the 1974 flood event associated with Cyclone Wanda, which lasted from 17 December 1973 to 23 April 1974, an estimated mass discharge peak of {{convert|25000|t}} of water per second was reached, which affected {{convert|450|km}} of coastline and created a plume with widths ranging from {{convert|25|to|100|km}}.

{{main|Burdekin Falls Dam}}

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The Burdekin Falls Dam, the largest dam in Queensland was constructed west of Ayr and Home Hill and completed in 1987 to form what is also known as Lake Dalrymple.

As part of the proposed Bradfield Scheme the upper Burdekin River was to be used to feed water by gravity westwards to the upper reaches of the Flinders River.{{cite book |title=Inter-Basin Water Transfer: Case Studies from Australia, United States, Canada, China and India |last=Ghassemi |first=Fereidoun |author2=Ian White |year=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-46304-1 |page=125 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6EBM2a6R9igC |access-date=10 October 2014 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012233717/http://books.google.com/books?id=6EBM2a6R9igC |url-status=live }}

On the lower Burdekin floodplain an irrigation area was established in the early 1950s.{{cite web |url=http://www.sunwater.com.au/schemes/burdekin-haughton |title=Burdekin Haughton |publisher=Sunwater |access-date=23 September 2012 |archive-date=31 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031210926/https://www.sunwater.com.au/schemes/burdekin-haughton/ |url-status=live }} At first only Gorge Weir and Blue Valley Weir provided water to the scheme, until the 1970s when Eungella Dam also provided water. Water is also drawn from the Haughton River. Major pump stations are located at Clare Weir feeding water to both sides of the river. An area of {{convert|2560|km2}} is irrigated.{{cite web |url=http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/water/overview/qld/gmu-burdekin-river-irrigation-area-left-bank.html |title=Water resources – Overview – Queensland: Groundwater Management Unit: Burdekin River Irrigation Area (Left Bank) |date=15 June 2009 |work=Australian Natural Resources Atlas |publisher=Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities |access-date=23 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130414090616/http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/water/overview/qld/gmu-burdekin-river-irrigation-area-left-bank.html |archive-date=14 April 2013 }}

In the delta around Ayr and Home Hill, groundwater is used extensively to irrigate crops of sugar cane. This groundwater is recharged artificially during the extreme flood events that occasionally occur, usually due to a La Niña event. The use of groundwater in the floodplain is carefully managed so that supply can be maintained during the dry season and to prevent saltwater intrusion.{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/water/wetlands/publications/wetlands-australia/national-wetlands-update-september-2012-15|title=The hydroecology of the Lower Burdekin River floodplain wetlands |date=21 September 2012 |work=Wetlands Australia: National Wetlands Update |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|access-date=23 May 2018}}

File:Burdekin River aerial.jpg (upper) with the Burdekin River]]

The North Coast railway line crosses the river at Home Hill, via a bridge constructed in 1913. At the same location the Bruce Highway traverses the river via the Burdekin Bridge. Further west, the river is crossed by the Flinders Highway.

Although on paper most of the basin of the Burdekin appears perfect for rainfed crops like cotton and maize, in fact the rainfall is so erratic that in almost every year a would-be farmer will experience either too little or too much rain for the crop to mature properly. Thus, most of the basin of the Burdekin can be used only for low-density grazing of sheep and cattle, since grazing is less likely to be damaged economically and ecologically by the extreme risks of an extraordinarily erratic climate.

The Valley of Lagoons Station was established in 1862 after the area in the upper reaches of the Burdekin was opened up by the government.{{cite web|url=http://archivescollection.anu.edu.au/index.php/valley-of-lagoons-station|title=Archives – Valley of Lagoons Station|date=29 August 2011|access-date=11 October 2014|publisher=Australian National University|archive-date=18 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218142528/http://archivescollection.anu.edu.au/index.php/valley-of-lagoons-station|url-status=live}} Initially stocked with sheep, the property was later used to raise cattle. In 1864, Inkerman Station was established toward the lower reaches, where the town of Inkerman now stands. The area was plagued by cattle tick, so the government acquired the property in 1910 and sold it off as farmland where sugarcane was later grown.{{cite web|url=http://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/inkerman|title=Inkerman|year=2014|access-date=11 October 2014|publisher=Centre for the Government of Queensland}}

The natural vegetation away from the coast is a grassland dominated by perennial Mitchell and annual Flinders grasses. Near the coast there are patches of dry eucalypt forest on the typically infertile laterised soils characteristic of most of Australia.

Few mines exist along the waterway, with the notable exception of the Ben Lomond Uranium mine which is situated approximately {{convert|50|km|mi|0}} west of Townsville. The mine is currently dormant, but in 1981 the mine discharged toxic waste containing unacceptable levels of radioactivity,{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-22/potential-uranium-port-sparks-fears-for-barrier-reef/4643832|title=Potential uranium port sparks fears for Barrier Reef|date=22 April 2013|access-date=29 April 2013|work=ABC News|location=Australia }} when its tailing dam overflowed into a creek that feeds into the Burdekin.

Neosilurus mollespiculum is a species of eeltail catfish endemic to the Burdekin.{{cite book |title=Freshwater Fishes of North-Eastern Australia |editor1-first=Brad |editor1-last=Pusey |editor2-first=Mark |editor2-last=Kennard |editor3-first=Angela |editor3-last=Arthington |year=2004 |publisher=Csiro Publishing |isbn=0-643-09895-X |page=130 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yqmPm7iQEIMC |access-date=10 October 2014}} Many other species such as Agassiz's glassfish, Irwin's turtle, banded grunter, barramundi, black catfish, eastern rainbowfish, empire gudgeon, freshwater longtom, mangrove jack, tilapia and yellowbelly are found throughout the catchment.{{cite web|title=Freshwater Fishes of the Burdekin Dry Tropics|url=http://wiki.bdtnrm.org.au/index.php/Category:Freshwater_Fishes_of_the_Burdekin_Dry_Tropics|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170604225634/http://wiki.bdtnrm.org.au/index.php/Category:Freshwater_Fishes_of_the_Burdekin_Dry_Tropics|archive-date=4 June 2017|access-date=12 October 2014|publisher=NQ Dry Tropics}}

{{stack|{{Portal|Water|Environment|Queensland}}}}

• Burdekin Gap
• {{Section link|List of rivers of Australia|Queensland}}

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• {{cite web |title=Burdekin River in flood 1875; 70 ft. over old bridge |type=Photograph |website=State Library of Queensland |hdl = 10462/deriv/27755 |hdl-access=free |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10462/deriv/27755}}
• {{cite book |author1=Logan, Murray |author2=Fabricius, Katharina |author3=Weeks, Scarla |author4=Canto, Marites |author5=Noonan, Sam |author6=Wolanski, Eric |author7=Brodie, Jon |date=2013 |title=The relationship between Burdekin River discharges and photic depth in the central Great Barrier Reef. Report to the National Environmental Research Program |publisher=Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited, Australian Institute of Marine Science |location=Cairns, Queensland |isbn=978-1-921359-80-4 |url=http://www.nerptropical.edu.au/sites/default/files/publications/files/The%20relationship%20between%20Burdekin%20River...%20Logan%20et%20al%202013.pdf }}

{{Rivers of Queensland}}

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Category:North Queensland

Category:Bodies of water of the Coral Sea

Category:Rivers of Far North Queensland