Cockburn River

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}{{Use Australian English|date=January 2013}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Cockburn River

| native_name =

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| name_other =

| name_etymology = In honour of George Cockburn

| image = Cockburn-River-rock-chute Tamworth.jpg

| image_size =

| image_caption = A rock-chute, on the Cockburn River, near Tamworth

| map =

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| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = Australia

| subdivision_type2 = State

| subdivision_name2 = New South Wales

| subdivision_type3 = Region

| subdivision_name3 = IBRA: New England Tablelands

| subdivision_type4 = District

| subdivision_name4 = Northern Tablelands

| subdivision_type5 = Municipality

| subdivision_name5 = Tamworth

| length_km = 33.6

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| source1 = Moonbi Range

| source1_location = near Limbri

| source1_coordinates=

| source1_elevation = {{convert|493|m|abbr=on}}

| mouth = confluence with the Peel River

| mouth_location = west of Nemingha

| mouth_coordinates =

| mouth_elevation = {{convert|384|m|abbr=on}}

| progression =

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| tributaries_left = Mulla Mulla Creek, Swamp Oak Creek

| tributaries_right = Jamiesons Creek, Moonbi Creek

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| extra ={{NSW GNR |id=JPIOWyrXKW |title=Cockburn River |date=6 June 1969 |access-date=18 January 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&cmd=sp&p=204812&st=&s=Cockburn%20River |title=Map of Cockburn River |work=Bonzle.com |access-date=18 January 2013 }}

}}

Cockburn River ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|oʊ|b|ɚ|n}} {{respell|KOH|bərn}}) is a perennial river that is part of the Namoi catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, located in the Northern Tablelands district of New South Wales, Australia.

The river rises in the west slopes of Moonbi Range, near Limbri and then flows generally west south west, joined by four minor tributaries, towards its confluence with the Peel River at Nemingha; dropping {{convert|109|m}} over its course of {{convert|33|km}}.

The river was first encountered by European explorers on 4 September 1818 during an expedition led by the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, John Oxley, who named the river in honour of Admiral Sir George Cockburn.{{cite book|last=Oxley|first=John|title=Journals of Two Expeditions into the Interior of New South Wales, undertaken by order of the British Government in the Years 1817-18|year=1820|publisher=John Murray|location=London|page=286}}

From upstream to downstream, the Cockburn River flows through or near the localities of Limbri, Moonbi, Kootingal, Tintinhull and Nemingha. A section of the Main North railway line runs along the valley of the Cockburn River.

The Cockburn River is also one of the fastest flowing rivers in the southern hemisphere.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} It is home to fish species including catfish, yellow belly, and European carp; the last have decimated the native fish stocks to the point that they are getting harder to find.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} There are small areas of irrigated cropping along the banks of the river and the surrounding hills are mostly used for grazing.