Kalgan River
Kalgan River | |
---|---|
Stirling Ranges | |
• elevation | 199 metres (653 ft)[1] |
Oyster Harbour, Albany, Western Australia | |
Length | 140 kilometres (87 mi) |
Basin size | 2,562 km2 (989 sq mi)[2] |
Discharge | |
• average | 1.69 m3/s (53,000 ML/a; 60 cu ft/s) |
The Kalgan River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
Geography
The river is 140 kilometres (87 mi) long and, along with the
The upper reaches of the Kalgan River lie within the National Park. These tributaries are marginally saline to brackish, suggesting the levels of salinity are natural. The loss of catchment vegetation (66% of the catchment is cleared) has increased salinity levels downstream.[4] The lower section of the Kalgan River is tidal; a rockbar at the Upper Kalgan bridge separates the upper section from the tidal lower section. The tributaries of the Kalgan River include Napier Creek, Boonawarrup Creek, Young River, Stony Creek and Gaalgegup Creek. The river flows through two pools of note: Meriwarbelup Pool and Noorubup Pool.
History
The Kalgan River was named the "Riviere des Francais" by the French Scientific Expedition in 1803, captained by French explorer Nicolas Baudin, in the ship Géographe, which anchored in what is now known as Frenchmans Bay, and was subsequently known as the "French River" by early settlers. The explorer Alexander Collie recorded the river as "Kal-gan-up" in April 1831. The name Kalganup is believed to be the Noongar word for "place of many waters".[5] Kalganup is also thought to mean "place of fishes" and there are still the remains of Aboriginal fish traps.[6] The traps, known as the Albany Fish Traps have been situated here for at least the last 7,500 years.[7]
Flora
The fringing
Fauna
The estuarine end of the Kalgan River is good fishing for many species including
The Kalgan River is renowned as being an excellent place to fish for bream and some of the state's largest bream have been caught in the river.[11] Smaller freshwater species that can be found in the Kalgan River include the western galaxias (Galaxias occidentalis), the common jollytail (Galaxias maculatus), the mud minnow (Galaxiella munda), Balston's pygmy perch (Nannatherina balston), nightfish (Bostockia porosa) and the western pygmy perch (Edelia vittata).[12] The river is home to a large population of birds. In the estuarine part of the river, species such as theBridges
The southern end of the Kalgan River has two bridges of note: the Upper Kalgan bridge and the Lower Kalgan Bridge. The Lower Kalgan Bridge was built from 1906 and opened in 1908. At 900 feet (274 m) in length, it was the longest of its kind over water in the state at the time. At this time, the bridge had a special navigation span, 40 feet (12 m) wide at the deepest part of the river. The original bridge remained in place until 1958, when it was replaced, but the navigation span trusses were removed for preservation and are now on display in the park at the western end of the bridge.[15]
The Government Jetty was also built in 1906 so that timber and other construction materials could be delivered adjacent to the Lower King Bridge site. The jetty was also later used as a landing point for tourist vessels that travelled upriver from Albany. It is now in a state of disrepair.[16]
Islands
The Kalgan River contains many small islands, particularly in the section below the Upper Kalgan bridge. The largest is Honeymoon Island (also called Elbow Island), which is slightly upstream of the Lower Kalgan bridge. This island has a small clearing and can be readily landed upon. A smaller island, Willie Island, is a little downstream of the Upper Kalgan bridge.
Dreamtime
The Kalgan River is a place of great significance to the local
Luke Pen Walk
The Luke Pen Walk is a track that follows the Kalgan River; it was constructed in 1997.[18] The walk is described as easy with the terrain being generally flat and even. With a total length of 9 kilometres (6 mi) it can take about 4 hours to complete the round trip.[19] The walk was named after Dr Luke Pen, a local scientist, who made significant contributions to the local community with his preservation work. The walk was named in 2002 following Pen's death.[20] The northern end of the walk is near the Upper Kalgan Bridge and is on the eastern bank of the river, the southern end of the walk is located at the end of East Bank road about 3 kilometres (2 mi) north of the lower Kalgan bridge.
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Kalgan River - Honeymoon Island
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Kalgan River southern end
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Kingfisher sculpture near end of Luke Pen Walk
References
- ^ "Bonzle Digital Atlas - Map of Kalgan River, WA". 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ "South Coast River Care - Kalgan River". 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ "About Australia: Kalgan River - Natural Attractions". 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ "WA Planning Commission - Lower Great Southern Strategy Background Paper - Water Resources" (PDF). 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ "History of river names – K". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ "Jinnunger vineyard website". 2007. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ "Oyster Harbour Fish Traps, Lower Kalgan". Albany Gateway. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
- ^ "Albany Waterways Resource Book". 1999. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Albany Visitor Centre - Wildflowers". 2007. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Albany Gateway - aquatic wonders". 2007. Archived from the original on 28 May 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Fishing WA - Kalgan River Bream". 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Native Freshwater Fishes of South-Western Australia". 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Eremaea Birds - Lower Kalgan River". 2007. Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Albany Waterways Resource Book: The Albany waterways and their catchments". 1999. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
- ^ "Lower Kalgan Progress Association". 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2007.
- ^ "Government Jetty". Heritage Council of Western Australia. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
- ^ "Noongars and whaling in the South-West" (PDF). 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2007.
- ^ "Southern Prospects 2004-2009" (PDF). 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Albany Local Knowledge". 2008. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ "Ecoplan News 2002". 2002. Retrieved 25 August 2008.[permanent dead link]
Further reading
- Muirden, Peter: Pen, Luke and Marnie Leybourne (2003) Stream and catchment hydrology in South West Western Australia Perth, W.A. Dept. of Environment. Department of Environment river restoration, 1442-6919; report no. RR19 ISBN 1-920849-24-6
- Pen, Luke J.(1999) Managing our rivers : a guide to the nature and management of the streams of south-west Western Australia (editor, June Hutchison) East Perth, W.A. : Water and Rivers Commission. ISBN 0-7309-7450-2