Darling River

The Darling River is Australia's longest river. It is part of the Murray-Darling river system, one of the largest in the world, drains all of New South Wales west of the Great Dividing Range, much of northern Victoria, southern Queensland and parts of South Australia.

Darling River
Mouth	joins the Murray River at Wentworth
Length	2,739 km (1,701 mi)

History

In 1828 the explorer Charles Sturt was sent by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Ralph Darling, to find the path of the Macquarie River. He visited the Bogan River and in 1829, the Darling, which he named after the Governor. In 1835 Major Thomas Mitchell traveled the whole length of the Darling.

The Darling does not have an even flow of water. It often dries up, and it sometimes floods. It flows through very dry parts of Australia. In the 1860's the Darling was used by the farmers of western New South Wales to send their wool by boat paddle steamer from Bourke and Wilcannia to South Australia where it could be loaded onto trains at Morgan and Murray Bridge.

Darling River Media

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  The flood in the Darling, 1890, oil on canvas by William Charles Piguenit

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  Darling River at Louth

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  Old North Bourke bridge, in flood, northern side, North Bourke (2021)

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  Old North Bourke bridge, in flood, southern side, North Bourke (2021)

Other websites

• Article about Darling River