Georges River
Georges River Tucoerah River Macarthur | |
---|---|
• coordinates | 34°15′00″S 150°49′48″E / 34.25000°S 150.83000°E |
• elevation | 350 m (1,150 ft) |
Chipping Norton Lakes | |
[3][4] |
The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River,
The river travels for approximately 96 kilometres (60 mi) in a north and then easterly direction to its mouth at Botany Bay, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the Tasman Sea. The Georges River is the main tributary of Botany Bay; with the Cooks River being a secondary tributary.
The total catchment area of the river is approximately 930.9 square kilometres (359.4 sq mi) and the area surrounding the river is managed by various local government authorities and NSW Government agencies across Sydney.
The land adjacent to the Georges River was occupied for many thousands of years by the
Geography
From its source east of Appin within
Major tributaries include O'Hares Creek, Bunbury Curran Creek, Cabramatta Creek, Lennox River (proposed), Prospect Creek, Salt Pan Creek and the Woronora River. The Georges River is popular for recreational activities such as water skiing and swimming. The banks of the river along the lower reaches are marked by large inlets and indentations overlooked by steep sandstone ridges and scarps, many being home to expensive residential properties.
The Georges River features some artificial lakes in the suburb of
Liverpool Weir now forms the uppermost tidal limit and presence of salt water on the Georges River.
[From Appin to Glenfield, a large corridor has been protected as part of the Georges River Regional Open Space Corridor. Council reserves allow for access to natural sections of the river at Simmo's Beach,[6] Ingleburn Reserve, Keith Longhurst Reserve,[7] and Frere's Crossing.[8]
Botany Bay Community River Health Monitoring Program is a community-based initiative to monitor ecosystem health catchment.[9]
History
Aboriginal history
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Georges River was formerly known as Tucoerah (or Toggerai / Tuggerah) River[
To the south of Tocoerah are the traditional lands of the
European history
The Georges River was given its English name in honour of
One of the earliest contacts between British settlers and Aboriginal people occurred on 20 January 1788. Arthur Philip and Philip Gidley King, leading a party of seamen from the First Fleet rowing two open boats, explored the 'South-West Arm of Botany Bay' (now Georges River). They are now thought to have gone as far as Lime Kiln Bay, where they landed at two locations there, the first of which they called 'Lance Point'—thought to be modern-day Gertrude Point, Lugarno—where an altercation with local people occurred. Later the same day, there was a peaceful meeting at what is now thought to have been the head of Lime Kiln Bay. They are also now believed to have entered the estuarine mouth of the Georges Rivers' tributary, Woronora River. Not finding enough freshwater, around Botany Bay and its two 'arms', the colonists moved on to Port Jackson, where the settlement of Sydney began six days later.[11][12]
The river was explored by
A dam was constructed by David Lennox using convict labour at Liverpool in 1836, as a water supply to Liverpool.[13]
In February 2007, Liverpool and Campbelltown City Council were awarded a $2 million grant from the
Since the 2010s, the Mandaean community in the Greater Sydney region has been using the Georges River for their ritual baptisms, called masbuta. Along with the Nepean River, it is one of the few ritual rivers (called yardna in Mandaic) that they use for their baptism and ablution rituals.[16][17][18]
Crossings
Bridges over the Georges River include from east to west:
- Captain Cook Bridge (connecting Sans Souci to Taren Point), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists.
- Tom Uglys Bridge (connecting Blakehurst to Sylvania), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists.
- Old Como railway bridge, now for pedestrians and cyclists.
- , for trains.
- Alfords Point), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists.
- East Hills rail bridge at East Hills, for the Airport & South Line
- Voyager Point footbridge, for pedestrians and cyclists.
- M5 South Western MotorwayGeorges River East Bridge
- Milperra Bridge (Newbridge Rd connecting Moorebank to Milperra), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists.
- Governor Macquarie Drive bridge (connecting Warwick Farm to Chipping Norton), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists.
- Liverpool Weir – built 1836
- Liverpool footbridge (now demolished which utilised the footing of the decommissioned railway bridge to Holsworthy).[19]
- Newbridge Rd (connecting Liverpool to Chipping Norton), for cars, pedestrians and cyclists.
- M5 South Western Motorway Georges River West Bridge
- Airport & South Line rail bridge (connecting Holsworthy to Glenfield), for trains.
- Cambridge Ave Causeway (connecting Holsworthy to Glenfield), for cars.
- King Falls Bridge[20]
Fish
The Georges River is a popular area for recreational fishing. Species present in the river include bass, bream, whiting, yellowtail, jewfish and flathead. The river is also host to a number of commercial oyster farms. The upper ends of the Georges River are abundant with Bass during the summer months and during the winter months these bass migrate down to the lower ends of the river towards the salt water to breed. Waste water inflows to the river are carefully managed to maintain the estuarine habitat.
See also
- Dharawal National Park
- List of rivers in Australia
- List of rivers in New South Wales (A-K)
- Rivers of New South Wales
- Geography of Sydney
- Oyster farming on Georges River
References
- ^ a b "Georges River". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ ISBN 0-207-14495-8.
- Office of Environment and Heritage. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ "Georges River information page". Campbelltown City Council. Archived from the original on 2008-07-30.
- .
- ^ "Simmo's Beach Reserve". Macarthur Branch: Activities. National Parks Association of NSW. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ "Bushwalkers Basin". Macarthur Branch: Activities. National Parks Association of NSW. 2011. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ "Freres Crossing". Macarthur Branch: Activities. National Parks Association of NSW. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ River Health Monitoring Program Archived 2021-01-27 at the Wayback Machine Georges Riverkeeper
- ISBN 0-86840-756-9.
- ^ Hayworth, Robert (2012). "The several 'discoveries' of Sydney's Georges River: precursors to the Tom Thumb expedition". ResearchGate. University of New England / Journal of Colonial History. Retrieved 19 Dec 2023.
- ^ "Gertrude Point · Lugarno NSW 2210, Australia". Google Maps. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
- ^ "Liverpool Weir". Heritage Branch, New South Wales waling Department of Planning. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
- ^ Project Summaries - 2006 Urban Sustainability Major Program Grants NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change
- ^ "Downloading [PEPart1070403.PDF]". Archived from the original on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ "23rd Biennale of Sydney, River Project". Georges Riverkeeper. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ Ly, Philip (2015-11-04). "Mandaeans to baptise in Georges River". dailytelegraph. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ Hromas, Jessica (2020-03-27). "Keeping the faith: Sydney's Mandaeans perform baptism rituals – in pictures". the Guardian. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ "Georges River Bridge". Roads and Traffic Authority, New South Wales. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
- ^ "Kings Falls Bridge over Georges River". Roads and Traffic Authority, New South Wales.
External links
- "Georges River catchment" (map). Office of Environment and Heritage. Government of New South Wales.
- "Georges River". Dictionary of Sydney. 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2015. [CC-By-SA] Series of articles about Georges River history
- "Simmos Beach". Dictionary of Sydney. 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2015. [CC-By-SA]
- Catie Gilchrist (2014). "The Cocky Bennett Story". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 2 October 2015. [CC-By-SA]
- Guide to Sydney Rivers site