Port River
Encyclopedia
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
on the eastern side of Gulf St Vincent. It extends inland through the historic Inner Harbour of Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...
, to the constructed salt-water West Lakes
West Lakes, South Australia
West Lakes is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Charles Sturt. It contains the Westfield West Lakes Shopping Centre, AAMI Stadium and the Riverside Golf Course...
in the north-western suburbs of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, the capital of 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...
. The lower reaches of the Port River flow between the Lefevre Peninsula, and the Section Bank and Torrens Island
Torrens Island
Torrens Island is located in the Port River Estuary between the Lefevre Peninsula and Barker Inlet, about 15 km northwest of the Adelaide city centre in South Australia...
, and form the sea entrance to the port facilities of Adelaide, and connect to the Barker Inlet
Barker Inlet
The Barker Inlet is a tidal inlet of the Gulf St Vincent in Adelaide, South Australia, named after Captain Collet Barker who first sighted it in 1831. It contains one of the southernmost mangrove forests in the world, a dolphin sanctuary, seagrass meadows and is an important fish and shellfish...
to the east via the North Arm and Angas Inlet which surround Garden Island. Before European settlement of Adelaide's western suburbs and the construction of various flood mitigation channels and levees, the Port River formed one of the outlets of the River Torrens
River Torrens
The River Torrens is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains and was one of the reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Adelaide Hills near Mount Pleasant, across the Adelaide Plains, past the city centre and empties...
.
The banks of the river are largely industrialised
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and have some of Adelaide’s wharves
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
, bulk cargo and container handling facilities, although there are some remnant mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s. One of its main attractions other than transport is the Port River dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s, which are the only wild dolphins in the world that live within a city.
Besides shipping
Ship transport
Ship transport is watercraft carrying people or goods . Sea transport has been the largest carrier of freight throughout recorded history. Although the importance of sea travel for passengers has decreased due to aviation, it is effective for short trips and pleasure cruises...
using the river’s main channel, a fishing fleet
Fishing fleet
A fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial fishing vessels. The term may be used of all vessels operating out of a particular port, all vessels engaged in a particular type of fishing , or all fishing vessels of a country or region.Although fishing vessels are not formally organized as if they...
operates out of the North Arm which also has a speed boat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
club. Recreational boating marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
s are located in the Angas Inlet and on the Lefevre Peninsula.. The Australian Submarine Corporation
Australian Submarine Corporation
The ASC, formerly Australian Submarine Corporation, is a wholly government-owned Australian naval defence company headquartered at Osborne in Adelaide, South Australia.-History:...
has its construction and maintenance facility and dock at Osborne
Osborne, South Australia
Osborne is a north-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 19 km from the CBD, in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is on the LeFevre Peninsula, adjacent to Outer Harbor, Taperoo and North Haven...
, and there is a heritage-listed former Quarantine
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service is the Australian government agency responsible for enforcing Australian quarantine laws...
Station on Torrens Island. Several power stations including the Torrens Island Power Station and the Pelican Point Power Station, draw seawater from the Port River for cooling purposes. The Port Adelaide Rowing Club has rowed on the river for one hundred and thirty years, and the river was formerly a frequent venue for the Intervarsity eights race
Oxford and Cambridge Cup
The Oxford and Cambridge Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Australian University Championship Men's Eight , and is competed for annually at the Australian University Games or the Australian University Rowing Championships...
.
Environment
Prior to European settlement of the Adelaide Plains, winter rains over the catchment of the River Torrens created large seasonal inflows of fresh water into the Reedbeds wetlands, which drained north into the Port River and south to the PatawalongaPatawalonga River
The Patawalonga River is a short river that was, before European settlement, a tidal estuary...
. Since construction of the Breakout Creek outlet in the 1930s to drain the Reedbeds, and the closure of the former Port Adelaide Wastewater Treatment Plant with the diversion of wastewater to Bolivar in 2005, the upper reaches of the Port River now receive only limited amounts of locally-derived stormwater, and are now largely marine. Flushing of the West Lakes occurs through a one-way system that takes in fresh seawater through an inlet off the coast at the southern end, and discharges into the upper reaches of the Port River.
Despite clearing for industrial purposes since the early days of European settlement, mangrove forests (consisting of only one species, Avicennia marina
Avicennia marina
Avicennia marina, commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae...
var resinifera) remain along the shores of Torrens Island, the North Arm which connects to Barker Inlet, and north of the Submarine Corporation, adjacent to the Mutton Cove Conservation Reserve on the Lefevre Peninsula. Spring tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
s are over 2½ metres AHD
Australian Height Datum
The Australian Height Datum is a geodetic datum for altitude measurement in Australia. According to Geoscience Australia, "In 1971 the mean sea level for 1966-1968 was assigned the value of zero on the Australian Height Datum at thirty tide gauges around the coast of the Australian continent...
and at low tide mudflats are exposed near the outlet of the river, forming a breeding ground for blue swimmer crabs
Portunus pelagicus
Portunus pelagicus, also known as the flower crab, blue crab, blue swimmer crab, blue manna crab or sand crab, is a large crab found in the intertidal estuaries of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the Middle-Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The name "flower crab" is used in east Asian...
and other species. A 118 km² Dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...
sanctuary was enacted by the 2005 Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Act and covers all of the Barker Inlet and Port River. Bottlenose dolphins are often seen in the river, examining and following small boats and have become a well known tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
with dolphin cruises departing from Queens Wharf. The industrialised nature of the Port River has led to concern for the welfare of the bottlenose dolphin population and studies have shown that some of the dolphins have very high heavy metal burdens in comparison to dolphins elsewhere. The mudflats at the mouth of the river are part of the Gulf St Vincent Important Bird Area
Gulf St Vincent Important Bird Area
The Gulf St Vincent Important Bird Area comprises land extending along the coast of Gulf St Vincent, north of Adelaide, South Australia.-Description:...
.
Settlement history
Prior to the 1836 settlement of South Australia, the river was a shallow and narrow tidal creek winding between mangrove swamps. The river was officially discovered in 1834 by Captain John Jones after an 1831 sighting by Captain Collet BarkerCollet Barker
Collet Barker was a British military officer and explorer. He explored areas of South Australia, Western Australia and Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory-History:Barker was born in Hackney, he lived in Newbury as a child...
. The initial landing place in Adelaide was some way north of the current port and had such poor conditions that for many years it was known as Port Misery. In 1837 a harbour was declared when harbourmaster
Harbourmaster
A harbourmaster is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operation of the port facilities.-Responsibilities:Harbourmasters are normally responsible for issuing...
Captain Thomas Lipson took up residence on the shore of the then named port creek with the first migrants
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
landing in the same year and Mclaren wharf built in 1839. The current port location was opened in 1840 but, due to the shallow depth of the river, a new harbor was authorised for construction at Outer Harbor
Outer Harbor, South Australia
Outer Harbor is a north-western industrial suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, located at the northern tip of the Lefevre Peninsula; administratively, it lies in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, 22 km from the Adelaide city centre. It is adjacent to Osborne, North Haven and Pelican Point...
in 1902 and completed in 1908. This new harbour allowed the larger steamships that were then arriving at Adelaide to dock, with smaller steam vessels and sailboats able to use the old port facilities.
The river was first bridged in 1859 opening the Lefevre Peninsula to development and now is crossed by 3 road bridges including the Birkenhead bridge, the first bascule
Bascule bridge
A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic....
moving bridge in Australia.
Ships graveyard
The North Arm contains a significant ships graveyard with 25 identified wrecks and was also used to house explosives stores from the 1880s. The remains of the ironIron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and wooden ships that were abandoned between 1909 and 1945 are now bird roosts and a canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
attraction. The ships in the graveyard were launched from 1857 to 1920 and include United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
built Oregon pine
Douglas-fir
Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...
sailing ships, steamships and unnamed iron barges.