Capel River

{{Short description|River in Western Australia}}

{{For|the eponymous locality|Capel River, Western Australia}}

{{Use Australian English|date=December 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Capel River

| image = Capel river gnangarra 2.JPG

| image_size =

| image_caption = Bridge over the Capel River at Capel

| map = {{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |zoom=10 |frame-height=300 | stroke-width=2 |coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}|point = none|stroke-color=#0000FF |id=Q5035246 }}

| source1_location = Junction of Capel River North and Capel River South

| mouth_location = Geographe Bay

| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = Australia

| length = {{convert|32|km|mi|0}}{{LandInfo WA|r|C|3 September 2011}}

| source1_elevation = {{convert|76|m|ft|0}}{{cite web|url=http://maps.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&cmd=sp&p=203260&st=&s=capel%20river|title=Bonzle Digital Atlas - Map of Capel River, WA|year= 2008|access-date= 23 November 2008}}

| mouth_elevation = sea level

| discharge1_avg =

| basin_size = {{convert|653|km2|sqmi|0}}{{cite web|url=http://www.geocatch.asn.au/pages/RAP_Capel.htm |title=Capel River Action Plan |year= 2007 |access-date= 26 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831221256/http://www.geocatch.asn.au/pages/RAP_Capel.htm |archive-date= 31 August 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}

}}

The Capel River is a river in the South West region of Western Australia that rises in the Darling Range east of Mullalyup, and flows into the Indian Ocean at Peppermint Grove Beach.

The Capel River is the largest in the Geographe catchment. It rises at the edge of the Darling Scarp and flows in a north-westerly direction across the northern part of the Blackwood plateau to the confluence of the Capel River North and Capel River South, near Goodwood.

The original inhabitants of the Capel basin were the Noongar Aboriginal people of the Wardandi dialect group. They called the river Coolingup.{{Cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/capel-20040208-gdkqzg.html|title=Capel|date=8 February 2004|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=20 November 2021}} The river is said to have formed a border between different clans. Various stone artifacts were found along the river. The lower reaches of the Capel were of cultural importance for the Wardandi because they buried their dead there. A slaughter of the Wardandi occurred in 1841, by John Bussell and a number of settlers, following the murder of George Layman by the Wardandi elder Gaywal. The Wardandi later avoided the place.{{Cite web|url=https://rgw.dwer.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Capel-River-Action-Plan-1999.pdf|format=PDF|title=Capel River Action Plan 1999|website=Rgw.dwer.wa.gov.au|access-date=20 November 2021}}

The river was given its English name after Capel Carter Brockman (1839–1924),[http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/brockman-capel-carter-13745 'Brockman, Capel Carter (1839–1924)'], Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 7 April 2013. daughter of John Bussell (1803–1875),Freda Vines Carmody (1966) [http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bussell-john-garrett-1860 'Bussell, John Garrett (1803–1875)'], Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, (MUP) who was named after a Miss Capel Carter, a cousin of the Bussells in England with whom the Bussell family members corresponded.

The river crosses the Bussell Highway near Capel.

An artificial river mouth was cut through the sand dunes adjacent to the Stirling Wetlands in 1880 to allow it to flow directly into Geographe Bay.{{cite web|url=http://www.wrc.wa.gov.au/ribbons/saltLGSCWG.htm |title=Regional Saltwatch Snapshot pages |year=2007 |access-date=26 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829020203/http://www.wrc.wa.gov.au/ribbons/saltLGSCWG.htm |archive-date=29 August 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}

The Capel river has six tributaries: Capel River North, Capel River South, Gynudup Brook, Camp Gully, Layman Gully and Maidenhair Gully.

The inaugural 2009 Ranger Outdoors Capel Descent{{cite web|url=http://www.capeldescent.com/|title=Capel Descent|website=Capeldescent.com|year=2009|access-date=23 June 2009}} was held in June 2009, consisting of a {{convert|15|km|mi|0|adj=on}} part down river, part open ocean paddle along the Capel River and Geographe Bay.