Border Rivers (Australia)
Encyclopedia
The Border Rivers refers to a group of rivers and the associated region near the border between New South Wales
and Queensland
, states of Australia
. Rising in the New England Tableland, they form the headwaters of the Darling River
, draining the western side of the Great Dividing Range
. The eastern boundary of the Border Rivers catchment area extends along the Great Dividing Range divide from Stanthorpe, Queensland
to Guyra, New South Wales
.
between New South Wales and Queensland, between Tenterfield
and Mungindi
. Unhelpfully, the same names ( Macintyre and Severn ) are each used for two separate streams, one in each State. The border rivers converge into the Macintyre River
, which in turn becomes the Barwon River
, then the Darling River
, and eventually joins the Murray River
.
Between Mungindi and Boggabilla
, the state border runs along the Macintyre River. Upstream from the junction of the Macintyre River and the Dumaresq River
( which is a few kilometers east of Boggabilla), the border follows the Dumaresq River upstream, and the upper Macintyre River flows wholly within New South Wales.
The following streams drain into the Macintyre/Dumaresq border stream from the Queensland side:
The Mole River
joins the Dumaresq from the New South Wales side near Bonshaw
.
The main tributary of the upper Macintyre within New South Wales is the Severn River
, which includes Pindari Dam
.
The largest town in the western part of the Border Rivers region is Goondiwindi, Queensland
where the Newell Highway
crosses the Macintyre River at the state border.
The towns of Stanthorpe, Queensland
and Tenterfield
, Glen Innes
in New South Wales lie along the New England Highway
on the eastern edges of the Border Rivers Basin. Inverell
lies to the west on the western edge of the New England Tablelands
The central part of the Border Rivers region is rather underpopulated with no large towns, major transport routes, or significant industries other than agriculture. Small towns in the region include:
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and 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...
, states of 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...
. Rising in the New England Tableland, they form the headwaters of the Darling River
Darling River
The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is long, making it the longest river system in Australia.The...
, draining the western side 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 eastern boundary of the Border Rivers catchment area extends along the Great Dividing Range divide from Stanthorpe, Queensland
Stanthorpe, Queensland
Stanthorpe is a town situated in south east Queensland, Australia. The town lies on the New England Highway near the New South Wales border 223 km from Brisbane via Warwick, 56 km north of Tenterfield and 811 m above sea level. The area surrounding the town is known as the Granite Belt...
to Guyra, New South Wales
Guyra, New South Wales
-References:...
.
Branches
Several branches of the river ( using different names ) form part of the borderBorder
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
between New South Wales and Queensland, between Tenterfield
Tenterfield, New South Wales
Tenterfield is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the New England region at the intersection of the New England and Bruxner Highways. Tenterfield is a three-hour drive from Brisbane, 2.5 hours from Byron Bay, two hours from Armidale, New South Wales and 10 hours from Sydney....
and Mungindi
Mungindi, New South Wales
Mungindi is a town on the border of New South Wales and Queensland in Moree Plains Shire. It possesses a New South Wales postcode. Mungindi sits on the Carnarvon Highway and straddles the Barwon River which is the border between New South Wales and Queensland...
. Unhelpfully, the same names ( Macintyre and Severn ) are each used for two separate streams, one in each State. The border rivers converge into the Macintyre River
MacIntyre River
The Macintyre River is a river in northern New South Wales, Australia, part of which forms the border with Queensland.The headwaters of the Macintyre River rise west of Guyra and south of Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands...
, which in turn becomes the Barwon River
Barwon River (New South Wales)
The Barwon River flows through New South Wales, virtually as a continuation of the Macintyre River / Border Rivers system, before joining with the Culgoa River to form the Darling River...
, then the Darling River
Darling River
The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is long, making it the longest river system in Australia.The...
, and eventually joins the Murray River
Murray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
.
Between Mungindi and Boggabilla
Boggabilla, New South Wales
Boggabilla is a small town in the far north of inland New South Wales, Australia in Moree Plains Shire. In 2006, the town had a population of 647 people....
, the state border runs along the Macintyre River. Upstream from the junction of the Macintyre River and the Dumaresq River
Dumaresq River
The Dumaresq River forms part of the border between Queensland and New South Wales. The Severn River is its principal tributary and the Dumaresq in turn is a tributary of the Macintyre River...
( which is a few kilometers east of Boggabilla), the border follows the Dumaresq River upstream, and the upper Macintyre River flows wholly within New South Wales.
The following streams drain into the Macintyre/Dumaresq border stream from the Queensland side:
- Weir River joining near Mungindi
- Macintyre Brook joining the Dumaresq near Yelarbon and draining the InglewoodInglewood, QueenslandInglewood is a town situated on the southern Darling Downs in Queensland, Australia, south-west of Toowoomba. Inglewood is the second largest town in the Goondiwindi Region as well as being part of the Border Rivers region of waterways.-History:...
district - Pike CreekPike Creek (Queensland)Pike Creek is a river in southern Queensland, Australia.Pike Creek is one of the Border Rivers. Pike Creek rises south-west of Warwick, Queensland, and flows south-west for about 60 kilometers. It joins the Dumaresq River , near Texas, Queensland.The Glenlyon Dam forms a water storage on Pike...
joining the Dumaresq and including Glenlyon DamGlenlyon DamGlenlyon Dam, also known as Pike Creek Reservoir, is in Queensland near the border with New South Wales, roughly between Stanthorpe and Texas to the west...
. - Severn River (Queensland)Severn River (Queensland)The Severn River, in Queensland, is a small river that rises in the Sundown National Park which joins the Dumaresq River near the Tenterfield Creek and Glenlyon Dam road. The Dumaresq flows into the Macintyre River...
, joining the Dumaresq and draining the StanthorpeStanthorpe, QueenslandStanthorpe is a town situated in south east Queensland, Australia. The town lies on the New England Highway near the New South Wales border 223 km from Brisbane via Warwick, 56 km north of Tenterfield and 811 m above sea level. The area surrounding the town is known as the Granite Belt...
district.
The Mole River
Mole River (New South Wales)
The Mole River is a river in northern New South Wales, Australia.The source of the Mole River lies in the Great Dividing Range, between Glen Innes and Tenterfield in the northern part of the New England highlands. The Mole River flows generally to the west and flows into the Dumaresq River...
joins the Dumaresq from the New South Wales side near Bonshaw
Bonshaw
Bonshaw may refer to:*Barony of Bonshaw in North Ayrshire, Scotland.*Bonshaw, New South Wales, a town in Australia.*Bonshaw, Prince Edward Island, a town on Prince Edward Island, Canada....
.
The main tributary of the upper Macintyre within New South Wales is the Severn River
Severn River (New South Wales)
The Severn River * is a river in the north of New South Wales, Australia. It rises on the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales just north of Glen Innes and is wholly in NSW...
, which includes Pindari Dam
Pindari Dam
Pindari Dam is a reservoir in New South Wales, Australia 22 kilometres east of the town of Ashford and north of Inverell. It is primarily an agricultural storage dam used extensively by the cotton industry....
.
Towns
The main activities in the Border Rivers region is agriculture. Crops are grown in areas with suitable conditions and the rest of the area is used for grazing. Because the rivers are quite small and erratic in flow, there is only small-scale irrigation.The largest town in the western part of the Border Rivers region is Goondiwindi, Queensland
Goondiwindi, Queensland
Goondiwindi is an Australian town of approximately 5,629 people. The town has an annual population growth of 1.4 percent. The name Goondiwindi derives from an Aboriginal word meaning "the resting place of the birds".-History:...
where the Newell Highway
Newell Highway
The Newell Highway is the longest highway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs parallel to the eastern coast about 400 kilometres inland, and is the main inland direct road link from Victoria to Queensland, bypassing the more congested coastal areas of New South Wales...
crosses the Macintyre River at the state border.
The towns of Stanthorpe, Queensland
Stanthorpe, Queensland
Stanthorpe is a town situated in south east Queensland, Australia. The town lies on the New England Highway near the New South Wales border 223 km from Brisbane via Warwick, 56 km north of Tenterfield and 811 m above sea level. The area surrounding the town is known as the Granite Belt...
and Tenterfield
Tenterfield, New South Wales
Tenterfield is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the New England region at the intersection of the New England and Bruxner Highways. Tenterfield is a three-hour drive from Brisbane, 2.5 hours from Byron Bay, two hours from Armidale, New South Wales and 10 hours from Sydney....
, Glen Innes
Glen Innes, New South Wales
Glen Innes is a parish and town on the Northern Tablelands, in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the centre of the Glen Innes Severn Shire Council. The town is located at the intersection of the New England Highway and the Gwydir Highway...
in New South Wales lie along the New England Highway
New England Highway
The New England Highway is a highway in Australia running from Hexham near Newcastle at its southern end to Yarraman near Toowoomba at its northern end. At its southern end it connects to the Pacific Highway and at its northern end it connects to the D'Aguilar Highway. It traverses the Hunter...
on the eastern edges of the Border Rivers Basin. Inverell
Inverell, New South Wales
Inverell is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands. It has a temperate climate...
lies to the west on the western edge of the New England Tablelands
The central part of the Border Rivers region is rather underpopulated with no large towns, major transport routes, or significant industries other than agriculture. Small towns in the region include:
- Texas, QueenslandTexas, QueenslandTexas is a town in Queensland, Australia. The town is located just from Queensland's southern border with New South Wales, close to Bonshaw, New South Wales...
- Inglewood, QueenslandInglewood, QueenslandInglewood is a town situated on the southern Darling Downs in Queensland, Australia, south-west of Toowoomba. Inglewood is the second largest town in the Goondiwindi Region as well as being part of the Border Rivers region of waterways.-History:...
- Ashford, New South WalesAshford, New South WalesAshford is a small farming community in the New England region of New South Wales, close to the Queensland border.-History:Frazer's Creek Post Office opened on 1 January 1853 and was renamed Ashford in 1863....
- Yetman, New South WalesYetman, New South WalesYetman is a very small town in the New England region of northern New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Yetman and the surrounding area had a population of 178....
- Bonshaw, New South WalesBonshaw, New South WalesBonshaw is a village in New South Wales, Australia 783 km north of Sydney. In 2006 the village had a population of 171 people in the district. It is located near the northern border of the State close to Texas, Queensland, from which it is separated by the Dumaresq River which forms the border...
- Emmaville, New South WalesEmmaville, New South WalesEmmaville is a village on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the Glen Innes Severn Council district.Emmaville is at an elevation of 890 metres AHD...