River Torrens
Encyclopedia
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 85 kilometres (53 mi) from its source in the Adelaide Hills
near Mount Pleasant
, across the Adelaide Plains, past the city centre
and empties into Gulf St Vincent between Henley Beach South
and West Beach
. The upper stretches of the river and the reservoirs in its watershed
supply a significant part of the city's water supply
. The river's long linear parks and a constructed lake
in the lower stretch are iconic of the city.
At its 1836 discovery an inland bend was chosen as the site of the Adelaide city centre
and North Adelaide
. The river is named after Colonel Robert Torrens, chairman of the colonial commissioners and a significant figure in the city's founding. The river is also known by its native Kaurna
name Karra wirra-parri. The river and its tributaries are highly variable in flow, and together drain an area of 508 square kilometre. They range from sometimes raging torrents, damaging bridges and flooding city areas, to trickles and completely dry in summer. Winter and spring flooding has prompted the construction of flood reduction works. A constructed sea outlet, landscaped linear parks and three holding reservoirs contain peak flow.
The river's flora and fauna have been both deliberately and accidentally impacted since settlement. In the 19th century, native forests were cleared, gravel removed for construction and many foreign species introduced. With construction of the linear parks, many species native to the river have been replanted, and introduced species have been controlled as weeds. Since European settlement the river has been a frequently touted tourist attraction
. During the early years of settlement, the river acted as both the city’s primary water source and main sewer
, leading to outbreaks of typhus
and cholera
.New site: http://www.amlrnrm.sa.gov.au Active on 9 September 2009.
Due to the faulting in the area creating graben
s, this area is also known as the Torrens Graben, which is a distinct physiographic section of the larger South Australian Shatter Belt province, which in turn is part of the larger West Australian Shield
division.
The River Torrens runs largely westward from the Adelaide Hills, through the centre of Adelaide to the Gulf St Vincent. It originates close to the eastern fault scarp
of the Mount Lofty Ranges
, near Mount Pleasant
, approximately 480 metres (1,575 ft) above sea level
. It runs predominantly along faulted
north-south ground structures, which were formed over 250 million years ago during the Paleozoic
era then further dislocated during the Cretaceous
and earliest Tertiary
. There is a 400 metre subsidence
along the Para Fault which also affects the rivers flow. This subsidence was formed in the last two million years, after the Pliocene
era.
From its origin to Birdwood
the river follows rolling, relatively level country before entering a hilly section that continues to Gumeracha
. The river then follows sedimentary rock
strata
before entering a gorge
after Cudlee Creek
. It flows through the gorge to Athelstone
, passing over the Eden Fault Zone of the Adelaide Hills
face and associated escarpment. After the scarp it flows over sedimentary rocks of varying resistance to erosion
, which has led to interspersed narrows and broad basins. From the base of the Adelaide Hills to Adelaide's central business district
it runs in a shallow valley with a terraced floor, then down the slope of its own alluvial fan
. The structure of this fan shows that the river formerly entered Gulf St Vincent via the Port River
. Over time the Torrens deposited sediment
, choking its own outflow; becoming locked behind coastal sand dunes and forming the swampy areas of the Cowandilla
Plains and the reedbeds.
The Torrens is fed by numerous seasonal creeks, which are dry for most of the year. There are five main creeks that join from the south side as it crosses the Adelaide Plains
east of Adelaide, and at least five more in its path through the Adelaide Hills. The plains tributaries, known as First to Fifth Creeks, with First being the closest to Adelaide's city-centre and the rest numbered consecutively eastward, were originally named Greenhill, Hallett, Todd, Anstey and Ormsley rivulets respectively. They flow vigorously in winter and spring but are otherwise dry, except for small flows in limited areas upstream. "Moriatta" a Kaurna
word meaning "ever flowing" is now the official name of Fourth Creek. This name has been adapted to Morialta which is now the name of an electoral district
, school
and the Morialta Conservation Park
through which the creek flows.
First, Second and Third Creeks have been particularly heavily modified. Some sections have been converted to concrete channels; others run through landscaped private gardens and some run in underground pipes. Much of the original vegetation has disappeared from the creeks, particularly those closest to the city. Introduced species including Olive
s, bamboo
, boxthorn
, watsonia
and blackberries
have displaced native flora.
The largest catchment of the Torrens is Sixth Creek in the Adelaide Hills, which joins the Torrens at Castambul
on Gorge Road
.
As discovered by Europeans, the river was a summertime chain of waterhole
s bounded by large gum
trees. Flowing through the area where the city of Adelaide is sited the river was sometimes invisible beneath its gravel
stream bed
. It frequently flood
ed in winter and did not reach the sea, instead ending at coastal dune
s where its waters created a vast but shallow freshwater wetland
s. These wetlands, known as The Reedbeds after the dominant vegetation, occupied a large area of the western Adelaide Plains
and was also fed by other waterways. The river only flowed to the sea through the Port River
, Barker Inlet
, and Patawalonga River
following heavy rain.Try: http://www.amlrnrm.sa.gov.au/Caring_for_Water_Seas/Creeks_Rivers/River_Torrens.aspx Retrieved on 9 September 2009.
The river’s catchment area of approximately 500 km² (193 sq mi) is the largest of any waterway within the Adelaide region. The upper reaches are used to create a potable water
supply for metropolitan
Adelaide with the river supplying three of Adelaide’s eight reservoirs. The upper catchment has an average annual rainfall of between 575 millimetres (22.6 in) at its eastern end to 1025 millimetres (40.4 in) near Uraidla
. The Torrens has a very variable flow leaving early settler
s to use trial and error in determining bridge heights, with many bridges consequently being washed away. Due to the variability of Adelaide's climate
, flow rates can change from a trickle to flood
conditions quickly. On 5 June 1889, prior to major flooding, the flow rate before it entered the suburbs was 0.7 m³/s(cubic metres per second
), rising to 129.1 m³/s, 8 days later.
Since settlement it has repeatedly flooded, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Adelaide's western suburbs were especially prone to flooding due to their location on the river's alluvial fan. As development of Adelaide progressed the amount of rainfall required for flooding decreased and consequent damage increased. Increased stormwater
runoff, modification of the river's banks and other changes all served to exacerbate the problem. Work done by various groups to minimise flooding was often counter productive with the creation of levee
s, moving and widening channels and other works simply shifting the flooding elsewhere.
Two early floods were, 18 September 1841 which resulted in two people drowning
while trying to cross the river at Klemzig
, and 22 September 1844, the largest recorded since settlement began, when "Shands' Brewery" was washed away after the river undermined its foundations
. The 1899 flood was particularly widespread with extensive flooding of both the river and its tributaries
, after a year with 785.6 millimetres of rain compared to the Adelaide average of 530 millimetres. The river flooded market gardens
and farms throughout its hills course causing extensive damage. Norwood
was inundated to The Parade
, Adelaide to Pirie and Rundle
Streets, and many areas west of the city were left in a shallow lake. The river ran 9 feet (2.7 m) deep over the weir near Thorndon Park Reservoir, 3 foot (0.9144 m) over the Torrens Lake Weir and 1 foot (0.3048 m) over the Morphett Street
Bridge. The Underdale
(or Holbrooks) Bridge was destroyed, the Torrens Lake weir's bridge damaged, and the Felixstow Bridge
over the Fourth Creek washed away.
and George Strickland Kingston
. The river was named "The Yatala" by the party but later renamed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light
after Colonel Robert Torrens, chairman of the South Australian colonisation commissioners. On 29 December 1836 Light announced the location of the new city of Adelaide, 6 miles (9.7 km) inland on the river's banks .
In recent years the river has been dually known by the indigenous Kaurna people’s name of Karra wirra-parri (meaning river of the Red Gum
forest), referring to the dense eucalyptus
forest that lined its banks prior to clearing by early settlers. This name, alternatively Karra-weera, only referred to the lake section of the river, between Adelaide and North Adelaide. It was known as Karrundo-ingga at Hindmarsh
, Witoingga near the reed beds, and Yertala everywhere when in flood. Yertala has been translated as "water running by the side of a river" and has survived as Yatala in the naming of various places in Adelaide.
used in road making and construction of buildings. As the natural environment was removed, the banks were eroded and the riverbed gradually levelled as waterholes filled. By 1878 the river was noted to be a malodorous, black sewer rather than the sylvan stream of the 1830s.
Much of the river's catchment area consists of cleared farmland with run-off captured in private dam
s to sustain farming over Adelaide's dry summer. Combined with the river's use for potable water this has greatly reduced the overall flow especially in the lower river.
in the western suburbs. Popular opinion favoured diverting the flood waters into their "natural" outlets of the Port and Patawalonga
Rivers. The chief engineer of the department of works favoured a cutting through sand dunes near Henley Beach
, allowing the river an outlet, mitigating floods and preventing silting of the Port River. He also advocated the construction of a reservoir where the Kangaroo Creek Reservoir
is now, to both mitigate floods and provide summer irrigation
water for market gardens. Unfortunately the bill lapsed with no action as the government
and local councils
were unwilling to fund the works. The Millbrook Reservoir
opened in 1918 as a summer water source, and flood mitigator if required. A bill was passed in 1923 to enact the earlier plan of cutting through the dunes and adding an upstream regulating weir. Again the bill lapsed due to a lack of commitment from parties on payment.
A major flood in 1931 and another in 1933 led to the latest in a series of government enquiries. In 1934 the "Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works" recommended that an outlet for the river be created to accommodate flows of up to 370 m³/s (cubic metres per second
) (13,000 ft³/s), covering a 1 in 60 year flood. The work was partly financed by a Commonwealth Government
grant with the State Government
arranging for the balance. The State Government, western and eastern local councils and the Municipal Tramways Trust
shared interest costs. The scheme was enacted in 1935 and largely completed by 1939 with the creation of the "Breakout Creek" channel. The scheme involved diversion of the river at Lockleys
(near Adelaide Airport), with the original channel blocked and a new channel created to the sea. The reedbeds and swamp
s were subsequently drained and some of their area is now the site for the suburb of West Lakes
.
Based on recommendations in a 1925 report on flood mitigation, work began in the 1960s on the building of the Kangaroo Creek Reservoir, opened in 1969 with a capacity of 24.4 megalitres It remains the only reservoir damming the river rather than being fed from weirs. The "River Torrens Committee" was formed in 1964 to advise the minister of works on preserving and enhancing the river's natural beauty, and developing it for recreational uses. The "River Torrens Acquisition Act 1970-72" was passed, authorising the purchase of land, in some cases 60 metres back from the top of the river's banks.
By 1980, further development along the riverbanks and removal of levées had reduced the outlet's capacity to a 1 in 35 year flood. A study showed that a 1 in 200 year flood would inundate 13,000 properties; so the Kangaroo Creek dam's level was raised, its spillway
modified, the breakout creek channel capacity increased and some bridges reinforced. A development plan was approved in 1981 to purchase land along the length of the river, create a flood mitigating linear park
and also to modify the Kangaroo Creek dam further. The sea outlet was enlarged to a capacity of 410 m³/s which now covered a 1 in 200 year flood. When the O-Bahn Busway
was opened, the bridges were designed to cope with this scale of flood, although the two bridges in St Peters would likely be awash.
The 470 megalitre Torrens Lake was created in 1881 with the construction of a weir, landscaping of Elder park
and modification of the river’s bank and surrounds into an English formal park. The lake forms a centrepiece of many Adelaide events and postcard scenes. Elder Park
with its iron rotunda
was opened on 28 November 1882. The Rotunda is a largely Glasgow
built 9 metre high iron bandstand which was funded by Sir Thomas Elder Smith, the park being named after him.
In 1867, prison labour from Adelaide Gaol
was used to build a wooden dam near the site of the current weir. The dam was poorly constructed and almost immediately the Torrens washed it away. Construction of a permanent concrete weir was begun in November 1880 and completed, at a cost of £7,000, in 1881. The sluice gates were closed to begin filling the 12 hectares (30 acre) Torrens Lake on 1 July 1881. At the lake's official opening on 21 July 1881 an estimated 40,000, almost the entire population of Adelaide, attended. During the 1889 flood, the weir was overwhelmed, its gates jammed, and in trying to free them the weir's designer John Langdon was crippled. The weir was rebuilt from 1928 to 1929 with its footbridge relocated and the centre section replaced. The gates can now be fully raised and the river allowed to flow unimpeded.
The "Popeye" boats are privately owned recreational ferries
that operate on the lake between Elder Park and the Adelaide Zoo
. The first boat was launched on the Torrens Lake by Gordon Watts in 1935. It was a 25 feet (7.6 m) boat, built on the banks of the Torrens to hold up to 20 passengers and named Popeye 1. Watts purchased a former Glenelg
cruise boat in 1948 and placed it in service as Popeye 2. Over the next two years three new jarrah
hulled boats were built at Port Adelaide
; carrying 40 passengers each they were numbered Popeye 3 through Popeye 5. Trips on the Popeyes from Elder Park to the zoo became a treasured family outing and the boats hosted weddings and other events. In March 1962 Keith Altman, owner of riverside eatery "Jolley's Boathouse", took over the Popeyes and introduced recreational paddle boats
to the river. The Popeyes had a brush with royalty in March 1977 with Popeye 5 ferrying Queen Elizabeth II
and Prince Philip
followed by a choir in Popeye 4. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
officially launched three new fibreglass models named Popeyes I, II and III in 1982 as the wooden boats' replacements.
The "Waterworks Act" of 1856 was passed to enable damming of the upstream Torrens for water supply purposes. The resulting "Water Commission" arranged the following year for foundations to be laid for a water supply weir. Poor construction materials and techniques led to them being washed away, and the weir not completed. Government then created a Waterworks Department, which started construction of a weir and reservoir in 1859, at Thorndon Park partway through the river’s suburban flow. The weir was completed on 4 June 1860 and the reservoir began supplying piped water in December. The water was captured at the weir, piped for storage to the Thorndon Park Reservoir then to a water tank at Kent Town. Water from Kent Town storage was distributed via a manually controlled water system, unmetered for its first six years. Within six years 20,000 citizens in Adelaide and Port Adelaide were connected to reticulated water from the Torrens. By 1872, the 2840 megalitre Hope Valley Reservoir
in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills was completed as a storage reservoir, supplied via an aqueduct and tunnel.
Public baths were built in 1861 just north of the current Parliament House
. They were supplied with reticulated water from the Torrens and progressively upgraded with the last change a 1940 remodelling including an Olympic size swimming pool and diving tower. The baths were demolished in 1970 to make way for the Adelaide Festival Centre
. The 16,500 megalitre Millbrook Reservoir was constructed high in the Adelaide Hills from 1913 to 1918 submerging the town of Millbrook. An earth bank dam fed by mile long tunnel from a weir on the river at Gumeracha
, its elevation allows gravity supply of water to Adelaide's eastern suburbs.
Due to the river's path through the centre of Adelaide, transport necessitated the construction of many bridges. Prior to the bridges all crossings had been via fords
which proved a dangerous practice in spring and winter. The first bridge was one of timber built in 1839 approximately 500 metres west of the current City bridge, but destroyed by floods in September 1844. In 1849 £6000 was allocated to bridge the Torrens. Within four years three wooden bridges had been built and subsequently destroyed in floods. In June 1856 the English manufactured, iron City Bridge was opened, extending King William Street
to North Adelaide
. It was widened in 1877 then converted into a two-lane bridge in 1884. The bridge was replaced in 1931 with a concrete
arch structure.
The Victoria Bridge extends from Morphett Street and crosses the rail lines from the Adelaide Railway Station
and the river. The first bridge was opened on 21 June 1871, and over time various bridges have been built on the same site. The current bridge, a prestressed concrete
box girder bridge
, was opened in March 1968 by Don Dunstan
and Lord Mayor Walter Lewis Bridgland. The bridge is constructed as two bridges joined to appear continuous. The first spans North Terrace
and the rail lines, and the second the river. The bridge was designed without a central pillar in the river, allowing three lanes of rowers
to compete without interference.
The Albert Bridge is adjacent to the Adelaide Zoo
and carries Frome Road
over the river. A timber bridge was constructed in 1859, west of the current bridge, and named the Old Frome Bridge. The current bridge was named after Prince Albert, later King Edward VII
, and opened in his presence on 7 May 1879. The wrought iron
structure is made from three parallel, scalloped girders that were manufactured in England. It is 120 feet (36.6 m) long with a cantilevered span
of 60 feet (18.3 m). The bridge is 43 feet (13.1 m) wide and originally had a timber deck, which was replaced with concrete in 1922. The bridge is listed on the "City of Adelaide Heritage Register", the "South Australian Heritage Register" and the "Register of the National Estate
". A complete restoration was finished in 1982, with the bridge now appearing as it did at the 1879 opening.
Torrens River Park Pedestrian Bridge east of the zoo, was opened in late 2009 and is well patronised by cyclists.
The Hackney Bridge was first known as the "Second Company Bridge" as the South Australia Company built it. It was built so that wheat farmers from the northern side could access the South Australian Company's flour mill which stood where the Hackney Hotel was later built. The current bridge is the third at the same site; in 1845 "Prescott's Crossing" was built as a timber beam bridge, 1860 saw it replaced with a four span, trussed timber bridge and 5 December 1885 with a 126 feet (38.4 m) long, 34 feet (10.4 m) wide truss arch bridge
.
University Footbridge
connects Victoria Drive, at the rear of University of Adelaide
, with University Oval
, War Memorial Drive. The bridge was conceived in 1928 by an engineering undergraduate at the university and funded with a £26,000 grant from Adelaide City Council. It was designed by university staff under the supervision of Robert Chapman, chief engineer of the South Australian Railways
. Construction was delayed until 1937 due to the economic effects of the Great Depression
. The bridge has an arch spanning 152 ft (46.3 m), 20 ft (6.1 m) over the river, and was the first welded
bridge in South Australia. A murder that occurred in the vicinity of the bridge on 10 May 1972 resulted in calls to reform South Australia's laws regarding homosexuality. University of Adelaide
law lecturer Dr George Duncan was thrown into the river. A plaque on the bridge commemorates his death and the subsequent decriminalisation of homosexuality in South Australia.
Various other bridges have spanned the Torrens including:
The river was formerly a food source with yabbies
, mussel
s and small fish, however the reduction in water quality, changing of the river’s habitat, and introduction of European fish species has led to a reduction in fauna quantity and diversity. Exotic pest species such as the European Carp
, Redfin Perch
and trout
have greatly reduced native fish populations like the Big Headed gudgeon
(Philypnodon grandiceps) but native waterfowl
are common along the river with Pacific Black Duck
s, Australian Wood Duck
s, Black Swan
s, ibis
, egret
s and heron
s amongst the more than 100 species seen. The number of exotic waterfowl species such as Mallard
s has reduced in recent years. In places the steep banks of the river are an ideal habitat for long-necked tortoise
s.
The river, and its tributaries, had a population of Water Rats (Hydromys chrysogaster) and Australian Swamp Rat
s (Rattus lutreolus). Water rats remain in reduced numbers, but the introduced Black Rat
(Rattus rattus) and Brown Rat
(Rattus norvegicus) have largely supplanted the natives. The House Mouse
(Mus musculus) is now the most common mammal
of the Torrens environ.
Widely found native reeds
, sedges
and rushes
along the upper river are bulrush
, knobby club rush, spike rush, common reed, sea rush and pale rush. River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and Blue Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon
) trees are found along the riverbanks, although sparser than the forest that was seen by European discoverers. Still present are many of the original vegetation species like: Sheoak (Casuarina
Stricta), Native Cherry (Exocarpos cupressiformis), Native Pine (Callitris
preissii) and Australia's floral emblem the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha)
From its source the river flows westwards through Birdwood
and Gumeracha
. It then continues down through Torrens Gorge entering suburban Adelaide at Athelstone
with some of its path paralleled by the O-Bahn Busway
. It passes between the city-centre
and North Adelaide, forming the Torrens Lake between the Adelaide Zoo
and a weir opposite Adelaide Gaol
. The river then continues the remaining eight kilometres to the sea at Henley Beach South, emptying into Gulf St Vincent via a constructed outlet.
Hope Valley
, Millbrook
and Kangaroo Creek Reservoirs, which provide water storage for Adelaide, capture the river’s flow. These reservoirs form part of the Adelaide Hills catchment, which supplies 60% of Adelaide's water needs in an average year. Adelaide City Council
uses water from the lower river to irrigate the city's surrounding parklands
. Rubbish
accumulation in the lower river is controlled with numerous collection racks, and sediments and other pollutants are filtered through constructed wetland
s.
The earliest linear river park
in Australia bounds the suburban end of the river. The park is 35 km long with numerous playgrounds walkways and bicycle tracks. On the south bank of the lake, adjacent to the Adelaide Festival Centre
, Elder Park
is used for the annual Tasting Australia
festival, mass singing of christmas carol
s at the annual "Carols by Candlelight", and other public events throughout the year. The Popeye tourist boats, small paddle boats and Black Swans of the lake are icons of the area and frequently featured in postcard photographs of the city. Due to now-limited natural river flow and stormwater
born organic material, the lower river, (particularly the lake), is often polluted
with algal bloom
s and significant levels of E. coli bacteria
in spring and summer. Numerous taskforces have been formed to improve the river’s water quality
, including one created in 2006 by the Minister for the Environment and Conservation.
The river is a used by many for recreation, with the footpaths on the riverbanks often filled with cyclists and joggers. Rowers use the lake for training all year round, and many clubs such as the Adelaide University Boat Club
, the Adelaide Rowing Club
, and the boat houses of the secondary schools which participate in the annual Head of the River are located upon its banks. Several rowing regattas are held on the Torrens Lake course in the summer months of each year, contested by both club and school crews.
Adelaide Plains
The Adelaide Plains is the area in South Australia between the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and Gulf St Vincent on the west. The plains are generally fertile with annual rainfall of about per year....
and was one of the reasons for the siting of the city 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...
, 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...
. It flows 85 kilometres (53 mi) from its source in the Adelaide Hills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
near Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, South Australia
Mount Pleasant is a town situated at the northern end of the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia, 55 kilometres east-north-east of the state capital, Adelaide . It is located in the Barossa Council and Mid Murray Council local government areas, and is at an altitude of 440 metres above sea level...
, across the Adelaide Plains, past the city centre
Adelaide city centre
The Adelaide city centre is the innermost locality of Greater Adelaide, known by locals simply as "The City" or "Town". The locality is split into two key geographical distinctions: the city "square mile", bordered by North, East, South and West Terraces; and that part of the Adelaide Parklands...
and empties into Gulf St Vincent between Henley Beach South
Henley Beach South, South Australia
Henley Beach South is a suburb in Adelaide within the City of Charles Sturt local council area. Henley Beach South is south of Henley Beach and south-west of Fulham. Henley Beach Primary School is located in the suburb of Henley Beach South.-References:...
and West Beach
West Beach, South Australia
West Beach is a seaside suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in both the City of Charles Sturt and the City of West Torrens.-History:...
. The upper stretches of the river and the reservoirs in its watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
supply a significant part of the city's water supply
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
. The river's long linear parks and a constructed lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
in the lower stretch are iconic of the city.
At its 1836 discovery an inland bend was chosen as the site of the Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre
The Adelaide city centre is the innermost locality of Greater Adelaide, known by locals simply as "The City" or "Town". The locality is split into two key geographical distinctions: the city "square mile", bordered by North, East, South and West Terraces; and that part of the Adelaide Parklands...
and North Adelaide
North Adelaide
North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.-History:...
. The river is named after Colonel Robert Torrens, chairman of the colonial commissioners and a significant figure in the city's founding. The river is also known by its native Kaurna
Kaurna language
"Kaurna" is the language of the Kaurna people, an Australian aboriginal ethnic group, in South Australia. It was historically spoken on the Adelaide Plains from Crystal Brook and Clare in the north, to Cape Jervis in the south. It became extinct in the 19th century but was revived and reconstructed...
name Karra wirra-parri. The river and its tributaries are highly variable in flow, and together drain an area of 508 square kilometre. They range from sometimes raging torrents, damaging bridges and flooding city areas, to trickles and completely dry in summer. Winter and spring flooding has prompted the construction of flood reduction works. A constructed sea outlet, landscaped linear parks and three holding reservoirs contain peak flow.
The river's flora and fauna have been both deliberately and accidentally impacted since settlement. In the 19th century, native forests were cleared, gravel removed for construction and many foreign species introduced. With construction of the linear parks, many species native to the river have been replanted, and introduced species have been controlled as weeds. Since European settlement the river has been a frequently touted 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....
. During the early years of settlement, the river acted as both the city’s primary water source and main sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
, leading to outbreaks of typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
and cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
.New site: http://www.amlrnrm.sa.gov.au Active on 9 September 2009.
Physiography
Graben
In geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural....
s, this area is also known as the Torrens Graben, which is a distinct physiographic section of the larger South Australian Shatter Belt province, which in turn is part of the larger West Australian Shield
Australian Shield
The Australian Shield, also called the Western Australian Shield or Western Plateau, occupies more than half of the continent of Australia. It occupies the portion of Australia west of a line running north-south roughly from the eastern shore of Arnhem Land on the Bay or Gulf of Carpentaria to the...
division.
The River Torrens runs largely westward from the Adelaide Hills, through the centre of Adelaide to the Gulf St Vincent. It originates close to the eastern fault scarp
Fault scarp
A fault scarp is the topographic expression of faulting attributed to the displacement of the land surface by movement along faults. They are exhibited either by differential movement and subsequent erosion along an old inactive geologic fault , or by a movement on a recent active fault...
of the Mount Lofty Ranges
Mount Lofty Ranges
The Mount Lofty Ranges are the range of mountains just to the east of Adelaide in South Australia.-Location and description:The Mount Lofty Ranges stretch from the southernmost point of the Fleurieu Peninsula at Cape Jervis northwards for over before petering out north of Peterborough...
, near Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, South Australia
Mount Pleasant is a town situated at the northern end of the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia, 55 kilometres east-north-east of the state capital, Adelaide . It is located in the Barossa Council and Mid Murray Council local government areas, and is at an altitude of 440 metres above sea level...
, approximately 480 metres (1,575 ft) above sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. It runs predominantly along faulted
Geologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
north-south ground structures, which were formed over 250 million years ago during the Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
era then further dislocated during the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
and earliest Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
. There is a 400 metre subsidence
Subsidence
Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
along the Para Fault which also affects the rivers flow. This subsidence was formed in the last two million years, after the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
era.
From its origin to Birdwood
Birdwood, South Australia
Birdwood is a town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area.- Origin of the name :Formerly known as Blumberg, the German town name was anglicized during World War I, along with many others in the region in 1917...
the river follows rolling, relatively level country before entering a hilly section that continues to Gumeracha
Gumeracha, South Australia
Gumeracha is a town near Adelaide, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area. At the 2006 census, Gumeracha had a population of 731.-History:...
. The river then follows sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
strata
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
before entering a gorge
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
after Cudlee Creek
Cudlee Creek, South Australia
Cudlee Creek is a small town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area.-History:The name Cudlee Creek is probably derived from Aboriginal Kaurna or possibly Peramangk language meaning the Dingo's Creek....
. It flows through the gorge to Athelstone
Athelstone, South Australia
Athelstone is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Campbelltown. It was established in the 19th century but has only became part of suburban Adelaide in the second half of the 20th century....
, passing over the Eden Fault Zone of the Adelaide Hills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
face and associated escarpment. After the scarp it flows over sedimentary rocks of varying resistance to erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
, which has led to interspersed narrows and broad basins. From the base of the Adelaide Hills to Adelaide's central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
it runs in a shallow valley with a terraced floor, then down the slope of its own alluvial fan
Alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. A convergence of neighboring alluvial fans into a single apron of deposits against a slope is called a bajada, or compound alluvial...
. The structure of this fan shows that the river formerly entered Gulf St Vincent via the Port River
Port River
The Port River is the western branch of the largest tidal estuary on the eastern side of Gulf St Vincent. It extends inland through the historic Inner Harbour of Port Adelaide, to the constructed salt-water West Lakes in the north-western suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia...
. Over time the Torrens deposited sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
, choking its own outflow; becoming locked behind coastal sand dunes and forming the swampy areas of the Cowandilla
Cowandilla, South Australia
Cowandilla is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, in the City of West Torrens.It is located a few kilometres west of the CBD, and is adjacent to the Adelaide airport.-References:...
Plains and the reedbeds.
Tributaries
Adelaide Plains
The Adelaide Plains is the area in South Australia between the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and Gulf St Vincent on the west. The plains are generally fertile with annual rainfall of about per year....
east of Adelaide, and at least five more in its path through the Adelaide Hills. The plains tributaries, known as First to Fifth Creeks, with First being the closest to Adelaide's city-centre and the rest numbered consecutively eastward, were originally named Greenhill, Hallett, Todd, Anstey and Ormsley rivulets respectively. They flow vigorously in winter and spring but are otherwise dry, except for small flows in limited areas upstream. "Moriatta" a Kaurna
Kaurna language
"Kaurna" is the language of the Kaurna people, an Australian aboriginal ethnic group, in South Australia. It was historically spoken on the Adelaide Plains from Crystal Brook and Clare in the north, to Cape Jervis in the south. It became extinct in the 19th century but was revived and reconstructed...
word meaning "ever flowing" is now the official name of Fourth Creek. This name has been adapted to Morialta which is now the name of an electoral district
Electoral district of Morialta
Morialta is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Morialta is derived from a Kaurna Aboriginal word "mariyatala", with "mari" meaning east and "yertala" meaning water...
, school
Norwood Morialta High School
The Norwood Morialta High School is a dual-campus, co-educational, public High School. The school’s two campuses are both located in the Eastern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia...
and the Morialta Conservation Park
Morialta Conservation Park
Morialta Conservation Park is a public reserve 10 km north-east of Adelaide, in the state of South Australia, Australia. The park is in a rugged bush environment, with a narrow gorge set with three waterfalls, bounded by steep ridges and cliffs...
through which the creek flows.
First, Second and Third Creeks have been particularly heavily modified. Some sections have been converted to concrete channels; others run through landscaped private gardens and some run in underground pipes. Much of the original vegetation has disappeared from the creeks, particularly those closest to the city. Introduced species including Olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
s, bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, boxthorn
Boxthorn
Boxthorn is a genus of the nightshade family , containing about 90 species of plants native throughout much of the temperate and subtropical zones of the world...
, watsonia
Watsonia (plant)
Watsonia is a genus of plants in the iris family, subfamily Crocoideae, native to South Africa. The genus is named after Sir William Watson, an 18th century British botanist....
and blackberries
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
have displaced native flora.
The largest catchment of the Torrens is Sixth Creek in the Adelaide Hills, which joins the Torrens at Castambul
Castambul, South Australia
Castambul is a small locality near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area.-History:Castambul was originally named Sixth Creek, but was renamed Castambul by Price Maurice after the Kastamonu region in the Black Sea area of Turkey.In the 1850s,...
on Gorge Road
Gorge Road, South Australia
Gorge Road is a South Australian secondary road, connecting the Adelaide suburbs of Campbellltown and Athelstone with the towns of Cudlee Creek, Chain of Ponds, Kersbrook, Williamstown and Lyndoch...
.
Water flow
Depression (geology)
A depression in geology is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions may be formed by various mechanisms.Structural or tectonic related:...
s bounded by large gum
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
trees. Flowing through the area where the city of Adelaide is sited the river was sometimes invisible beneath its gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
stream bed
Stream bed
A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream, river or creek; the physical confine of the normal water flow. The lateral confines or channel margins, during all but flood stage, are known as the stream banks or river banks. In fact, a flood occurs when a stream overflows its banks and flows onto...
. It frequently flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ed in winter and did not reach the sea, instead ending at coastal dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s where its waters created a vast but shallow freshwater wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s. These wetlands, known as The Reedbeds after the dominant vegetation, occupied a large area of the western Adelaide Plains
Adelaide Plains
The Adelaide Plains is the area in South Australia between the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east and Gulf St Vincent on the west. The plains are generally fertile with annual rainfall of about per year....
and was also fed by other waterways. The river only flowed to the sea through the Port River
Port River
The Port River is the western branch of the largest tidal estuary on the eastern side of Gulf St Vincent. It extends inland through the historic Inner Harbour of Port Adelaide, to the constructed salt-water West Lakes in the north-western suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia...
, 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...
, and Patawalonga River
Patawalonga River
The Patawalonga River is a short river that was, before European settlement, a tidal estuary...
following heavy rain.Try: http://www.amlrnrm.sa.gov.au/Caring_for_Water_Seas/Creeks_Rivers/River_Torrens.aspx Retrieved on 9 September 2009.
The river’s catchment area of approximately 500 km² (193 sq mi) is the largest of any waterway within the Adelaide region. The upper reaches are used to create a potable water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
supply for metropolitan
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
Adelaide with the river supplying three of Adelaide’s eight reservoirs. The upper catchment has an average annual rainfall of between 575 millimetres (22.6 in) at its eastern end to 1025 millimetres (40.4 in) near Uraidla
Uraidla, South Australia
Uraidla is a small town in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, Australia. At the 2006 census, Uraidla had a population of 461.-History:Once the home of the Peramangk Aboriginal people, European settlement commenced in the mid nineteenth century, a primary school opened in 1871 and the town was...
. The Torrens has a very variable flow leaving early settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s to use trial and error in determining bridge heights, with many bridges consequently being washed away. Due to the variability of Adelaide's climate
Climate of Adelaide
Adelaide has a hot Mediterranean climate , which generally means mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Of all the Australian capital cities, Adelaide is the driest. Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer...
, flow rates can change from a trickle to flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
conditions quickly. On 5 June 1889, prior to major flooding, the flow rate before it entered the suburbs was 0.7 m³/s(cubic metres per second
Cubic metres per second
A cubic metre per second is a derived SI unit of flow rate equal to that of a stere or cube with sides of one metre in length exchanged or moving each second...
), rising to 129.1 m³/s, 8 days later.
Since settlement it has repeatedly flooded, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Adelaide's western suburbs were especially prone to flooding due to their location on the river's alluvial fan. As development of Adelaide progressed the amount of rainfall required for flooding decreased and consequent damage increased. Increased stormwater
Stormwater
Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...
runoff, modification of the river's banks and other changes all served to exacerbate the problem. Work done by various groups to minimise flooding was often counter productive with the creation of levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
s, moving and widening channels and other works simply shifting the flooding elsewhere.
Two early floods were, 18 September 1841 which resulted in two people drowning
Drowning
Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....
while trying to cross the river at Klemzig
Klemzig, South Australia
Klemzig is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is the location of the first settlement of German emigrants to Australia in the 19th century and is named after a village near the city of Zuellichau in southeastern Brandenburg in the German state of Prussia, where they...
, and 22 September 1844, the largest recorded since settlement began, when "Shands' Brewery" was washed away after the river undermined its foundations
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. The 1899 flood was particularly widespread with extensive flooding of both the river and its tributaries
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
, after a year with 785.6 millimetres of rain compared to the Adelaide average of 530 millimetres. The river flooded market gardens
Market gardening
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
and farms throughout its hills course causing extensive damage. Norwood
Norwood, South Australia
Norwood is a suburb of Adelaide, about 4 km east of the Adelaide city centre. The suburb is in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, the oldest South Australian local government municipality, with a city population over 34,000.-History:...
was inundated to The Parade
The Parade, Adelaide
The Parade is an Adelaide road in the eastern suburbs, running East-West from the Adelaide city centre to the foothills, connecting to suburbs such as Kent Town, Norwood, Beulah Park, Rosslyn Park, Auldana and Skye...
, Adelaide to Pirie and Rundle
Rundle Street, Adelaide
Rundle Street is a street in the East End of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street in the west to East Terrace, where it becomes Rundle Road. Its former western extent, which ran to King William Street, was closed in 1972 to form the pedestrian street of Rundle Mall...
Streets, and many areas west of the city were left in a shallow lake. The river ran 9 feet (2.7 m) deep over the weir near Thorndon Park Reservoir, 3 foot (0.9144 m) over the Torrens Lake Weir and 1 foot (0.3048 m) over the Morphett Street
Morphett Street, Adelaide
Morphett Street is a main road in the west of the central business district of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs north-south, between North and South Terraces....
Bridge. The Underdale
Underdale, South Australia
Underdale is a suburb of South Australia's capital city Adelaide. It has a high school. The suburb is located near the River Torrens.-History:...
(or Holbrooks) Bridge was destroyed, the Torrens Lake weir's bridge damaged, and the Felixstow Bridge
Felixstow, South Australia
-References:...
over the Fourth Creek washed away.
Discovery and naming
The first European sighting of the river was in November 1836 by an exploration party comprising Lieutenant W.G. Field, John MorphettJohn Morphett
Sir John Morphett was a South Australian pioneer, landowner and politician.-Early life:Morphett was born in London, the second son of Nathaniel Morphett, a solicitor, and his wife Mary, née Gliddon, of Cummins, Ide, Devon, and was educated at Plymouth and Highgate Grammar Schools...
and George Strickland Kingston
George Strickland Kingston
Sir George Strickland Kingston arrived in South Australia on the Cygnet in 1836. He was the Deputy Surveyor to William Light, engaged to survey the new colony of South Australia.-Early life:...
. The river was named "The Yatala" by the party but later renamed by Surveyor General Colonel William Light
William Light
Colonel William Light was a British military officer and the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia...
after Colonel Robert Torrens, chairman of the South Australian colonisation commissioners. On 29 December 1836 Light announced the location of the new city of Adelaide, 6 miles (9.7 km) inland on the river's banks .
In recent years the river has been dually known by the indigenous Kaurna people’s name of Karra wirra-parri (meaning river of the Red Gum
Red Gum
Red Gum may refer to any of a number of species of Eucalyptus or the closely related Corymbia, including*Corymbia calophylla, Red Gum or Marri, native to Western Australia*Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Red Gum, Murray Red Gum or River Red Gum...
forest), referring to the dense eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
forest that lined its banks prior to clearing by early settlers. This name, alternatively Karra-weera, only referred to the lake section of the river, between Adelaide and North Adelaide. It was known as Karrundo-ingga at Hindmarsh
Hindmarsh, South Australia
Hindmarsh is an inner urban suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Charles Sturt.-History:The suburb is named after South Australia's first Governor, Sir John Hindmarsh....
, Witoingga near the reed beds, and Yertala everywhere when in flood. Yertala has been translated as "water running by the side of a river" and has survived as Yatala in the naming of various places in Adelaide.
Changes after 1836
During early years of colonisation, the surrounding trees were cut down and the river’s gravelGravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
used in road making and construction of buildings. As the natural environment was removed, the banks were eroded and the riverbed gradually levelled as waterholes filled. By 1878 the river was noted to be a malodorous, black sewer rather than the sylvan stream of the 1830s.
Much of the river's catchment area consists of cleared farmland with run-off captured in private dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s to sustain farming over Adelaide's dry summer. Combined with the river's use for potable water this has greatly reduced the overall flow especially in the lower river.
Flood mitigation
A flood mitigation bill was passed in 1917 to not only combat the damage caused by floods but also the public health risk due to the lack of mains sewerageSanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
in the western suburbs. Popular opinion favoured diverting the flood waters into their "natural" outlets of the Port and Patawalonga
Patawalonga River
The Patawalonga River is a short river that was, before European settlement, a tidal estuary...
Rivers. The chief engineer of the department of works favoured a cutting through sand dunes near Henley Beach
Henley Beach, South Australia
Henley Beach is a seaside suburb of Adelaide in the City of Charles Sturt local government area , South Australia.-External links:*...
, allowing the river an outlet, mitigating floods and preventing silting of the Port River. He also advocated the construction of a reservoir where the Kangaroo Creek Reservoir
Kangaroo Creek Reservoir
Kangaroo Creek Reservoir is a 19,160 megalitre artificial water storage reservoir in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It was built from 1966 to 1969, by damming the River Torrens east of Cudlee Creek. The stored water is used to maintain the Hope Valley Reservoir's level via discharge...
is now, to both mitigate floods and provide summer irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
water for market gardens. Unfortunately the bill lapsed with no action as the government
Government of South Australia
The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
and local councils
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
were unwilling to fund the works. The Millbrook Reservoir
Millbrook Reservoir
Millbrook Reservoir is a 16,000 Megalitre artificial water storage reservoir in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It was built during from 1914–1918 during World War I to control water flows in the upper River Torrens and provide gravity fed water to Adelaide's eastern suburbs.It is...
opened in 1918 as a summer water source, and flood mitigator if required. A bill was passed in 1923 to enact the earlier plan of cutting through the dunes and adding an upstream regulating weir. Again the bill lapsed due to a lack of commitment from parties on payment.
Cubic metres per second
A cubic metre per second is a derived SI unit of flow rate equal to that of a stere or cube with sides of one metre in length exchanged or moving each second...
) (13,000 ft³/s), covering a 1 in 60 year flood. The work was partly financed by a Commonwealth Government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
grant with the State Government
Government of South Australia
The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
arranging for the balance. The State Government, western and eastern local councils and the Municipal Tramways Trust
Municipal Tramways Trust
The Municipal Tramways Trust was established in 1907 to operate Adelaide's street tram network. The MTT ceased to exist in 1975 upon the establishment of the State Transport Authority Bus and Tram Division.-History:...
shared interest costs. The scheme was enacted in 1935 and largely completed by 1939 with the creation of the "Breakout Creek" channel. The scheme involved diversion of the river at Lockleys
Lockleys, South Australia
Lockleys is a suburb of the city of Adelaide, South Australia.-History:The area was subdivided for housing after being an area renowned for its market gardens and greenhouses. The Hank family held substantial holdings...
(near Adelaide Airport), with the original channel blocked and a new channel created to the sea. The reedbeds and swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s were subsequently drained and some of their area is now the site for the suburb of 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...
.
Based on recommendations in a 1925 report on flood mitigation, work began in the 1960s on the building of the Kangaroo Creek Reservoir, opened in 1969 with a capacity of 24.4 megalitres It remains the only reservoir damming the river rather than being fed from weirs. The "River Torrens Committee" was formed in 1964 to advise the minister of works on preserving and enhancing the river's natural beauty, and developing it for recreational uses. The "River Torrens Acquisition Act 1970-72" was passed, authorising the purchase of land, in some cases 60 metres back from the top of the river's banks.
By 1980, further development along the riverbanks and removal of levées had reduced the outlet's capacity to a 1 in 35 year flood. A study showed that a 1 in 200 year flood would inundate 13,000 properties; so the Kangaroo Creek dam's level was raised, its spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
modified, the breakout creek channel capacity increased and some bridges reinforced. A development plan was approved in 1981 to purchase land along the length of the river, create a flood mitigating linear park
Torrens Linear Park
The Torrens Linear Park was completed in 1997 as the first of its kind developed in Australia where it is the largest hills-to-coast park. It began as a flood mitigation scheme along the River Torrens running from the Adelaide Hills, through the city of Adelaide, to the sea...
and also to modify the Kangaroo Creek dam further. The sea outlet was enlarged to a capacity of 410 m³/s which now covered a 1 in 200 year flood. When the O-Bahn Busway
O-Bahn Busway
The Adelaide O-Bahn Busway is a guided busway located in Adelaide, South Australia. The O-Bahn – from the Latin omnibus and the German bahn – was conceived by Daimler-Benz to enable buses to avoid traffic congestion by sharing tram tunnels in the German city of Essen.The route was introduced in...
was opened, the bridges were designed to cope with this scale of flood, although the two bridges in St Peters would likely be awash.
Torrens Lake
Elder Park, Adelaide
Elder Park is a public open space in the city of Adelaide, South Australia on the southern bank of the River Torrens and that is bordered by the Adelaide Festival Centre and North Terrace....
and modification of the river’s bank and surrounds into an English formal park. The lake forms a centrepiece of many Adelaide events and postcard scenes. Elder Park
Elder Park, Adelaide
Elder Park is a public open space in the city of Adelaide, South Australia on the southern bank of the River Torrens and that is bordered by the Adelaide Festival Centre and North Terrace....
with its iron rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
was opened on 28 November 1882. The Rotunda is a largely Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
built 9 metre high iron bandstand which was funded by Sir Thomas Elder Smith, the park being named after him.
In 1867, prison labour from Adelaide Gaol
Adelaide Gaol
Adelaide Gaol was an Australian prison located in Thebarton, South Australia, Australia. The gaol was the first permanent one in South Australia and operated from 1841 until 1988...
was used to build a wooden dam near the site of the current weir. The dam was poorly constructed and almost immediately the Torrens washed it away. Construction of a permanent concrete weir was begun in November 1880 and completed, at a cost of £7,000, in 1881. The sluice gates were closed to begin filling the 12 hectares (30 acre) Torrens Lake on 1 July 1881. At the lake's official opening on 21 July 1881 an estimated 40,000, almost the entire population of Adelaide, attended. During the 1889 flood, the weir was overwhelmed, its gates jammed, and in trying to free them the weir's designer John Langdon was crippled. The weir was rebuilt from 1928 to 1929 with its footbridge relocated and the centre section replaced. The gates can now be fully raised and the river allowed to flow unimpeded.
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
that operate on the lake between Elder Park and the Adelaide Zoo
Adelaide Zoo
Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo, and the only major metropolitan zoo in Australia to be owned and operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium...
. The first boat was launched on the Torrens Lake by Gordon Watts in 1935. It was a 25 feet (7.6 m) boat, built on the banks of the Torrens to hold up to 20 passengers and named Popeye 1. Watts purchased a former Glenelg
Glenelg, South Australia
Glenelg is a popular beach-side suburb of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Located on the shore of Holdfast Bay in Gulf St Vincent, it has become a popular tourist destination due to its beach and many attractions, home to several hotels and dozens of restaurants.Established in 1836, it is...
cruise boat in 1948 and placed it in service as Popeye 2. Over the next two years three new jarrah
Jarrah
Eucalyptus marginata is one of the most common species of Eucalyptus tree in the southwest of Western Australia. The tree and the wood are usually referred to by the Aboriginal name Jarrah...
hulled boats were built at 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...
; carrying 40 passengers each they were numbered Popeye 3 through Popeye 5. Trips on the Popeyes from Elder Park to the zoo became a treasured family outing and the boats hosted weddings and other events. In March 1962 Keith Altman, owner of riverside eatery "Jolley's Boathouse", took over the Popeyes and introduced recreational paddle boats
Pedalo
A paddle boat or "pedalo" is a form of waterborne transport, primarily for recreational use, powered through the use of pedals....
to the river. The Popeyes had a brush with royalty in March 1977 with Popeye 5 ferrying Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
followed by a choir in Popeye 4. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
officially launched three new fibreglass models named Popeyes I, II and III in 1982 as the wooden boats' replacements.
Water use
In the early days of Adelaide, the Torrens was used for bathing, stock watering, rubbish disposal, water supply and as a de-facto sewer and drainage sump. This led to a range of health issues until finally, in 1839, when a dysentery outbreak killed 5 children in one day, Governor Gawler forbid bathing, clothes washing and the disposal of animal carcases in the Torrens within 1 miles (1.6 km) of town. The quality of the river's water was not helped by water supply methods. Carters used to drive water carts into the Torrens to refill. To prevent this the State Government built a facility with steam powered pumps and water storage in 1852, from which the carters then filled.The "Waterworks Act" of 1856 was passed to enable damming of the upstream Torrens for water supply purposes. The resulting "Water Commission" arranged the following year for foundations to be laid for a water supply weir. Poor construction materials and techniques led to them being washed away, and the weir not completed. Government then created a Waterworks Department, which started construction of a weir and reservoir in 1859, at Thorndon Park partway through the river’s suburban flow. The weir was completed on 4 June 1860 and the reservoir began supplying piped water in December. The water was captured at the weir, piped for storage to the Thorndon Park Reservoir then to a water tank at Kent Town. Water from Kent Town storage was distributed via a manually controlled water system, unmetered for its first six years. Within six years 20,000 citizens in Adelaide and Port Adelaide were connected to reticulated water from the Torrens. By 1872, the 2840 megalitre Hope Valley Reservoir
Hope Valley Reservoir
The Hope Valley Reservoir is a 2840 megalitre service reservoir in Hope Valley, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.When completed in 1873 it was the second reservoir constructed in Adelaide; it is the oldest still in use in South Australia. It covers and is retained behind a ...
in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills was completed as a storage reservoir, supplied via an aqueduct and tunnel.
Public baths were built in 1861 just north of the current Parliament House
Parliament House, Adelaide
Parliament House, on the corner of North Terrace and King William Road in Adelaide city centre, is the seat of the Parliament of South Australia. It was built to replace the adjacent and overcrowded Parliament House, now referred to as "Old Parliament House"...
. They were supplied with reticulated water from the Torrens and progressively upgraded with the last change a 1940 remodelling including an Olympic size swimming pool and diving tower. The baths were demolished in 1970 to make way for the Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide Festival Centre
The Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre, was built in 1973 and opened three months before the Sydney Opera House. The Festival Centre is located approximately 50 metres north of the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, lying near the banks of the River...
. The 16,500 megalitre Millbrook Reservoir was constructed high in the Adelaide Hills from 1913 to 1918 submerging the town of Millbrook. An earth bank dam fed by mile long tunnel from a weir on the river at Gumeracha
Gumeracha, South Australia
Gumeracha is a town near Adelaide, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area. At the 2006 census, Gumeracha had a population of 731.-History:...
, its elevation allows gravity supply of water to Adelaide's eastern suburbs.
Bridges
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
which proved a dangerous practice in spring and winter. The first bridge was one of timber built in 1839 approximately 500 metres west of the current City bridge, but destroyed by floods in September 1844. In 1849 £6000 was allocated to bridge the Torrens. Within four years three wooden bridges had been built and subsequently destroyed in floods. In June 1856 the English manufactured, iron City Bridge was opened, extending King William Street
King William Street, Adelaide
King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide . It was named by the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837 after King William IV, the then reigning monarch, who died within a month...
to North Adelaide
North Adelaide
North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.-History:...
. It was widened in 1877 then converted into a two-lane bridge in 1884. The bridge was replaced in 1931 with a concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
arch structure.
The Victoria Bridge extends from Morphett Street and crosses the rail lines from the Adelaide Railway Station
Adelaide Railway Station
Adelaide Railway Station is the central terminus of the Adelaide Metro railway system. It is at on the north side of North Terrace, west of Parliament House. The Adelaide Casino is in part of the building that is no longer required for the station....
and the river. The first bridge was opened on 21 June 1871, and over time various bridges have been built on the same site. The current bridge, a prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete...
box girder bridge
Box girder bridge
A box girder bridge is a bridge in which the main beams comprise girders in the shape of a hollow box. The box girder normally comprises either prestressed concrete, structural steel, or a composite of steel and reinforced concrete. The box is typically rectangular or trapezoidal in cross-section...
, was opened in March 1968 by Don Dunstan
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
and Lord Mayor Walter Lewis Bridgland. The bridge is constructed as two bridges joined to appear continuous. The first spans North Terrace
North Terrace, Adelaide
North Terrace is one of the four terraces that bound the central business and residential district of the city of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It runs east-west, along the northern edge of the CBD.-North Side of North Terrace:...
and the rail lines, and the second the river. The bridge was designed without a central pillar in the river, allowing three lanes of rowers
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
to compete without interference.
The Albert Bridge is adjacent to the Adelaide Zoo
Adelaide Zoo
Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo, and the only major metropolitan zoo in Australia to be owned and operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium...
and carries Frome Road
Frome Road, Adelaide
Frome Road is a connecting road in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It starts from North Terrace in the Adelaide city centre, running in a northerly direction past the University of South Australia, the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science and the...
over the river. A timber bridge was constructed in 1859, west of the current bridge, and named the Old Frome Bridge. The current bridge was named after Prince Albert, later King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, and opened in his presence on 7 May 1879. The wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
structure is made from three parallel, scalloped girders that were manufactured in England. It is 120 feet (36.6 m) long with a cantilevered span
Cantilever bridge
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...
of 60 feet (18.3 m). The bridge is 43 feet (13.1 m) wide and originally had a timber deck, which was replaced with concrete in 1922. The bridge is listed on the "City of Adelaide Heritage Register", the "South Australian Heritage Register" and the "Register of the National Estate
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
". A complete restoration was finished in 1982, with the bridge now appearing as it did at the 1879 opening.
Torrens River Park Pedestrian Bridge east of the zoo, was opened in late 2009 and is well patronised by cyclists.
The Hackney Bridge was first known as the "Second Company Bridge" as the South Australia Company built it. It was built so that wheat farmers from the northern side could access the South Australian Company's flour mill which stood where the Hackney Hotel was later built. The current bridge is the third at the same site; in 1845 "Prescott's Crossing" was built as a timber beam bridge, 1860 saw it replaced with a four span, trussed timber bridge and 5 December 1885 with a 126 feet (38.4 m) long, 34 feet (10.4 m) wide truss arch bridge
Truss arch bridge
A truss arch bridge combines the elements of the truss bridge and the arch bridge. The actual resolution of forces will depend upon the design. If no horizontal thrusting forces are generated this becomes an arch-shaped truss, essentially a bent beam — see moon bridge for an example...
.
University Footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
connects Victoria Drive, at the rear of University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, with University Oval
University Oval (Park 12), Adelaide
University Oval, referred to as Park 12 by the University of Adelaide, Adelaide University Sports Association and various other groups, is a part of Park 12 in the Adelaide Parklands located across the River Torrens opposite the University of Adelaide...
, War Memorial Drive. The bridge was conceived in 1928 by an engineering undergraduate at the university and funded with a £26,000 grant from Adelaide City Council. It was designed by university staff under the supervision of Robert Chapman, chief engineer of the South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 to the incorporation of its non-urban railways into the Australian National Railways Commission in 1975, together with the former Commonwealth Railways and the former Tasmanian Government Railways...
. Construction was delayed until 1937 due to the economic effects of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. The bridge has an arch spanning 152 ft (46.3 m), 20 ft (6.1 m) over the river, and was the first welded
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
bridge in South Australia. A murder that occurred in the vicinity of the bridge on 10 May 1972 resulted in calls to reform South Australia's laws regarding homosexuality. University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
law lecturer Dr George Duncan was thrown into the river. A plaque on the bridge commemorates his death and the subsequent decriminalisation of homosexuality in South Australia.
Various other bridges have spanned the Torrens including:
- Railway Bridge, Built in 1856 to carry the Port and Gawler Town railway lines. The bridge was constructed 1.5 km from Adelaide Railway StationAdelaide Railway StationAdelaide Railway Station is the central terminus of the Adelaide Metro railway system. It is at on the north side of North Terrace, west of Parliament House. The Adelaide Casino is in part of the building that is no longer required for the station....
. - Felixstowe Bridge, built in 1873 on OG Road and reconstructed in 1892, 1901, 1924 and 1961. The first bridge was narrow, and hay-laden carts often damaged posts while brushing past them.
- Tennyson Bridge, built 1877 on Stephen Terrace, St Peters, replacing a ford at the same site.
- Ascot Bridge, built in 1970 to connect Ascot Avenue and Lower Portrush Road.
- Dickson's Crossing, built on Darley Road in 1977 to replace a ford.
Flora and fauna
Common yabby
The common yabby, Cherax destructor, is an Australian freshwater crustacean in the Parastacidae family. It is listed as a vulnerable species of crayfish by the World Conservation Union , though the validity of this listing is questionable; wild yabby populations remain strong, and have expanded...
, mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
s and small fish, however the reduction in water quality, changing of the river’s habitat, and introduction of European fish species has led to a reduction in fauna quantity and diversity. Exotic pest species such as the European Carp
Common carp
The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...
, Redfin Perch
European perch
The European perch, Perca fluviatilis, is a predatory species of perch found in Europe and Asia. In some areas it is known as the redfin perch or English perch, and it is often known simply as perch. The species is a popular quarry for anglers and has been widely introduced beyond its native area,...
and trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
have greatly reduced native fish populations like the Big Headed gudgeon
Gudgeon (fish)
Gudgeon is a common name for a number of small freshwater fishes of the families Cyprinidae, Eleotridae or Ptereleotridae. Most gudgeons are elongate, bottom-dwelling fish, many of which live in rapids and other fast moving water....
(Philypnodon grandiceps) but native waterfowl
Anatidae
Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...
are common along the river with Pacific Black Duck
Pacific Black Duck
The Pacific Black Duck is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the north and French Polynesia in the east. It is usually called the Grey Duck in New Zealand...
s, Australian Wood Duck
Australian Wood Duck
The Australian Wood Duck, Maned Duck or Maned Goose is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus Chenonetta...
s, Black Swan
Black Swan
The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic...
s, ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
, egret
Egret
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...
s and heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s amongst the more than 100 species seen. The number of exotic waterfowl species such as Mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
s has reduced in recent years. In places the steep banks of the river are an ideal habitat for long-necked tortoise
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
s.
The river, and its tributaries, had a population of Water Rats (Hydromys chrysogaster) and Australian Swamp Rat
Australian Swamp Rat
The Australian Swamp Rat is a species of rat occurring around the coast of south and eastern Australia. It occurs in lowland country from Fraser Island down the coast of New South Wales and Victoria to the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia...
s (Rattus lutreolus). Water rats remain in reduced numbers, but the introduced Black Rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
(Rattus rattus) and Brown Rat
Brown Rat
The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Brown Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat is one of the best known and most common rats....
(Rattus norvegicus) have largely supplanted the natives. The House Mouse
House mouse
The house mouse is a small rodent, a mouse, one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus.As a wild animal the house mouse mainly lives associated with humans, causing damage to crops and stored food....
(Mus musculus) is now the most common mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
of the Torrens environ.
Widely found native reeds
Phragmites
Phragmites, the Common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species...
, sedges
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
and rushes
Juncus
Juncus is a genus in the plant family Juncaceae. It consists of some 200 to 300 or more species of grassy plants commonly called rushes...
along the upper river are bulrush
Typha
Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...
, knobby club rush, spike rush, common reed, sea rush and pale rush. River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and Blue Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon
Eucalyptus leucoxylon
Eucalyptus leucoxylon, commonly known as the Yellow Gum, Blue Gum or White Ironbark, is a small to medium-sized tree with rough bark on the lower 1-2 metres of the trunk, above this, the bark becomes smooth with a white, yellow or bluish-grey surface...
) trees are found along the riverbanks, although sparser than the forest that was seen by European discoverers. Still present are many of the original vegetation species like: Sheoak (Casuarina
Casuarina
Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...
Stricta), Native Cherry (Exocarpos cupressiformis), Native Pine (Callitris
Callitris
Callitris is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae . There are 15 species in the genus, of which 13 are native to Australia and the other two native to New Caledonia. Traditionally the most widely used common name is cypress-pine, a name shared by the closely related genus Actinostrobus...
preissii) and Australia's floral emblem the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha)
Today's river
Birdwood, South Australia
Birdwood is a town near Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area.- Origin of the name :Formerly known as Blumberg, the German town name was anglicized during World War I, along with many others in the region in 1917...
and Gumeracha
Gumeracha, South Australia
Gumeracha is a town near Adelaide, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area. At the 2006 census, Gumeracha had a population of 731.-History:...
. It then continues down through Torrens Gorge entering suburban Adelaide at Athelstone
Athelstone, South Australia
Athelstone is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Campbelltown. It was established in the 19th century but has only became part of suburban Adelaide in the second half of the 20th century....
with some of its path paralleled by the O-Bahn Busway
O-Bahn Busway
The Adelaide O-Bahn Busway is a guided busway located in Adelaide, South Australia. The O-Bahn – from the Latin omnibus and the German bahn – was conceived by Daimler-Benz to enable buses to avoid traffic congestion by sharing tram tunnels in the German city of Essen.The route was introduced in...
. It passes between the city-centre
Adelaide city centre
The Adelaide city centre is the innermost locality of Greater Adelaide, known by locals simply as "The City" or "Town". The locality is split into two key geographical distinctions: the city "square mile", bordered by North, East, South and West Terraces; and that part of the Adelaide Parklands...
and North Adelaide, forming the Torrens Lake between the Adelaide Zoo
Adelaide Zoo
Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo, and the only major metropolitan zoo in Australia to be owned and operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium...
and a weir opposite Adelaide Gaol
Adelaide Gaol
Adelaide Gaol was an Australian prison located in Thebarton, South Australia, Australia. The gaol was the first permanent one in South Australia and operated from 1841 until 1988...
. The river then continues the remaining eight kilometres to the sea at Henley Beach South, emptying into Gulf St Vincent via a constructed outlet.
Hope Valley
Hope Valley Reservoir
The Hope Valley Reservoir is a 2840 megalitre service reservoir in Hope Valley, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.When completed in 1873 it was the second reservoir constructed in Adelaide; it is the oldest still in use in South Australia. It covers and is retained behind a ...
, Millbrook
Millbrook Reservoir
Millbrook Reservoir is a 16,000 Megalitre artificial water storage reservoir in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It was built during from 1914–1918 during World War I to control water flows in the upper River Torrens and provide gravity fed water to Adelaide's eastern suburbs.It is...
and Kangaroo Creek Reservoirs, which provide water storage for Adelaide, capture the river’s flow. These reservoirs form part of the Adelaide Hills catchment, which supplies 60% of Adelaide's water needs in an average year. Adelaide City Council
City of Adelaide
The City of Adelaide is a local government area in the metropolitan area of Adelaide, South Australia. It covers the original Adelaide city centre settlement, , North Adelaide, and the Adelaide Park Lands which surround North Adelaide and the city centre.Established in 1840, the organisation now...
uses water from the lower river to irrigate the city's surrounding parklands
Adelaide Park Lands
The Adelaide Park Lands are the parks that surround the centre of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. They measure approximately 7.6 square kilometres in a green belt encircling the city centre....
. Rubbish
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
accumulation in the lower river is controlled with numerous collection racks, and sediments and other pollutants are filtered through constructed wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s.
Torrens Linear Park
The Torrens Linear Park was completed in 1997 as the first of its kind developed in Australia where it is the largest hills-to-coast park. It began as a flood mitigation scheme along the River Torrens running from the Adelaide Hills, through the city of Adelaide, to the sea...
in Australia bounds the suburban end of the river. The park is 35 km long with numerous playgrounds walkways and bicycle tracks. On the south bank of the lake, adjacent to the Adelaide Festival Centre
Adelaide Festival Centre
The Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre, was built in 1973 and opened three months before the Sydney Opera House. The Festival Centre is located approximately 50 metres north of the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, lying near the banks of the River...
, Elder Park
Elder Park, Adelaide
Elder Park is a public open space in the city of Adelaide, South Australia on the southern bank of the River Torrens and that is bordered by the Adelaide Festival Centre and North Terrace....
is used for the annual Tasting Australia
Tasting Australia
Tasting Australia is a biannual Australian wine and food festival held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in October. It was launched in 1997 by Ian Parmenter and David Evans, for which they were awarded a Jaguar Award for Excellence in 2001 from the Gourmet Traveller...
festival, mass singing of christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
s at the annual "Carols by Candlelight", and other public events throughout the year. The Popeye tourist boats, small paddle boats and Black Swans of the lake are icons of the area and frequently featured in postcard photographs of the city. Due to now-limited natural river flow and stormwater
Stormwater
Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...
born organic material, the lower river, (particularly the lake), is often polluted
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
with algal bloom
Algal bloom
An algal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments. Typically, only one or a small number of phytoplankton species are involved, and some blooms may be recognized by discoloration...
s and significant levels of E. coli bacteria
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
in spring and summer. Numerous taskforces have been formed to improve the river’s water quality
Water quality
Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...
, including one created in 2006 by the Minister for the Environment and Conservation.
The river is a used by many for recreation, with the footpaths on the riverbanks often filled with cyclists and joggers. Rowers use the lake for training all year round, and many clubs such as the Adelaide University Boat Club
Adelaide University Boat Club
The Adelaide University Boat Club is a rowing club affiliated with the University of Adelaide. The club was founded in 1881, and in 1896 helped to form the Adelaide University Sports Association. The main clubrooms, donated by Robert Barr Smith in 1909, are located on the north bank of the River...
, the Adelaide Rowing Club
Adelaide Rowing Club
The Adelaide Rowing Club is a rowing club located in Adelaide, South Australia. The Patron of the ARC is the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Mr Michael Harbison....
, and the boat houses of the secondary schools which participate in the annual Head of the River are located upon its banks. Several rowing regattas are held on the Torrens Lake course in the summer months of each year, contested by both club and school crews.