The Alice River in central Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 rises on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range

Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...

. The river bisects the Shire of Barcaldine

Shire of Barcaldine

The Shire of Barcaldine was a Local Government Area located in central Queensland and headquartered in the town of Barcaldine. It covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1892 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the Shires of Aramac and Jericho to form the Barcaldine...

, flowing in a south-westerly direction towards Isisford

Isisford, Queensland

Isisford is a small town located in central western Queensland, Australia. It is located on the Barcoo River, and is approximately 120 kilometres south east of the town of Longreach. At the 2006 census, Isisford and the surrounding area had a population of 262...

 and its confluence with the Barcoo River

Barcoo River

The Barcoo River in western Queensland, Australia that rises on the northern slopes of the Warrego Range, flows in a south westerly direction and unites with the Thomson River to form Cooper Creek. The first European to see the river was Thomas Mitchell in 1846, who named it Victoria Stream...

 to form Cooper Creek

Cooper Creek

Cooper Creek is one of the most famous and yet least visited rivers in Australia. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its tributaries and is one of three major Queensland river systems that flow into the Lake Eyre Basin...

. Barcaldine

Barcaldine, Queensland

Barcaldine is a small town in Western Queensland, Australia, approximately by road west of the city of Rockhampton. The town is situated on Lagoon Creek, which flows into the Alice River approximately five kilometres south of the Barcaldine. This is the administrative centre of the Barcaldine...

 is located on Lagoon Creek, which flows into the Alice River approximately five kilometre s to the south. The Alice River is often dry, except after the annual summer rains.

The Barcoo River forms the boundary of outback Australia

Outback

The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...

 with little in the way of civilization west of the Barcoo. Waters from the Barcoo and Alice Rivers flow towards Lake Eyre

Lake Eyre

Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately below sea level, and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it is the largest lake in Australia and 18th largest in the world...

 in Central Australia

Central Australia

Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...

, while rivers further east join the Murray-Darling basin

Murray-Darling Basin

The Murray-Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, whose name is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River. It drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural...

 and reach the sea in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

.

History

In 1846, Thomas Mitchell became the first European to see the Barcoo and Alice Rivers. The Alice River was named by Mitchell and Mitchell's name was adopted for the pastoral district and for its grass, Mitchell grass.
In October 1863, Donald Cameron, his son John, together with James and William Crombie walked sheep from the New England district of New South Wales and grazed them along a 40 mile frontage of the Alice River. They named their property Barcaldine after a family farm in Scotland.

In 1891 the Alice River had a record flood that stopped traffic for a week. On 20 March 1910 the Alice River flooded all the low-lying country and the railway line was blocked.