Coomera River

Coordinates: 27°51′58″S 153°24′21″E / 27.86611°S 153.40583°E / -27.86611; 153.40583 (Coomera River (mouth))
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Coomera
Upper reaches of the Coomera River in Lamington National Park
Coomera River is located in Queensland
Coomera River
Location of Coomera River river mouth in Queensland
EtymologyAboriginal word kumera
Location
CountryAustralia
StateQueensland
RegionSouth East Queensland
Local government areasScenic Rim Region, City of Gold Coast
Physical characteristics
SourceMcPherson Range, Great Dividing Range
 • locationBinna Burra
 • coordinates28°13′3″S 153°11′9″E / 28.21750°S 153.18583°E / -28.21750; 153.18583 (Coomera River (source))
 • elevation524 m (1,719 ft)
MouthGold Coast Broadwater
 • location
Coomera (north branch), Paradise Point (south branch)
 • coordinates
27°51′58″S 153°24′21″E / 27.86611°S 153.40583°E / -27.86611; 153.40583 (Coomera River (mouth))
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length80 km (50 mi)
Basin size489 km2 (189 sq mi)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftGuanaba Creek, Wongawallan Creek, Baker Creek (Queensland), Bygon Creek, Yuan Creek, Oakey Creek (Queensland), Coomera River (North Branch)
 • rightBack Creek (Queensland), Price Creek (Queensland), Saltwater Creek (Gold Coast, Queensland), Coombabah Creek
National parkLamington National Park
[1][2]

The Coomera River is a perennial river in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim Region local government areas and covers an area of 489 square kilometres (189 sq mi).[3]

Course and features

Clagiraba, 2016

Rising in

Tweed Valley shield volcano. Downstream the river flows between Coomera and Oxenford. The Coomera River then enters the northern tip of the Gold Coast Broadwater at Paradise Point. The river descends 524 metres (1,719 ft) over its 80-kilometre (50 mi) course.[1]

The Coomera river catchment covers an area of 489 square kilometres (189 sq mi).[4] The river's length is approximately 80 km.[5] Freshwater parts reach mostly to a maximum of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) but some parts at waterholes and below waterfalls can exceed 2 metres (6 ft 7 in).[5]

The lower estuary area is a fast-growing residential area.

Sanctuary Cove and Santa Barbara are all becoming home to increasing numbers of people. A former sand mine near the Pacific Motorway
is being investigated for development of a rowing course.

The upper tidal areas are popular for

waterskiing and wakeboarding. The upper Coomera River is home 18 regionally significant species including the platypus.[5]

The river is crossed by the Pacific Motorway and the Gold Coast railway line between Upper Coomera and Oxenford. Further multiple road crossings of the river occur upstream.[1]

As of 2023 The Gold Coast Waterways Authority is improving access and connections to the waterways by dredging the Coomera River navigation channel from Sovereign Island to the Gold Coast Marine Industry Precinct at Coomera. Approximately 70,000 cubic metres of sand will be removed.[6]

History

In May 1827 Patrick Logan was the first non-Indigenous person to discover the river.[7] The waterway was originally named the Arrowsmith after a London cartographic firm by Robert Dixon, a government surveyor. However Thomas Mitchell, the Colonial Surveyor General, overruled this and other names, replacing them with Aboriginal names.[8] It was also known as the Kumera Kumera.[9]

The name Coomera comes from a

Bundjalung language (Ngaraangbal dialect) word kumera referring to a wattle tree, whose bark was used to stupify fish.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Map of Coomera River, QLD". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Coomera River Catchment". City of Gold Coast. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Coomera River – watercourse in Gold Coast City (entry 8183)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Pimpama/ Coomera Rivers Catchment and Estuary". Healthy Waterways. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Information sheet for the Coomera River". Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  6. ^ "How to Navigate Coomera River". www.ahimarine.com.au. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  7. ISBN 0-9587622-7-9
    .
  8. ISBN 0-947336-01-X
    .
  9. The Brisbane Courier
    . Vol. XLVIII, no. 10, 575. Queensland, Australia. 5 December 1891. p. 7. Retrieved 11 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
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