Murray River

The Murray River is the longest river in Australia, about 2,508 km (1,558 mi). It starts high in the Snowy Mountains and flows mainly west. Near Morgan, the river turns south for the last 315 km (196 mi) and reaches Lake Alexandrina, which sometimes has salty water. The river water then flows through channels around Hindmarsh Island and Mundoo Island. It mixes with water from The Coorong (a large lagoon) and finally flows into Encounter Bay, part of the Southern Ocean, at the Murray Mouth, near Goolwa South. Even though the river sometimes carries a lot of water, the water at the Murray Mouth is usually slow and shallow.

Murray River
Mouth	Goolwa, South Australia
Length	2,575 km (1,600 mi)

The Murray is Australia's largest river

The Murray River in the mountains at Tom Groggin

For much of its length it forms the border between the states of Victoria and New South Wales. The border is along the top of the southern bank of the Murray River, not the middle of the river. This means the whole river, including the water and riverbed, belongs to New South Wales until it reaches South Australia.

Other rivers join the Murray, the Darling River, the Lachlan River, the Murrumbidgee River, the Warrego River, the Paroo River, and the Goulburn River. Together, these rivers make up the Murray–Darling basin, which covers about one-seventh of Australia. Because the river water is used for irrigation, this area is very important for farming.

Major towns

Major towns along the river, from its source to the Southern Ocean.

Town	Population	Data source
Albury-Wodonga	89,007
Yarrawonga–Mulwala	9,810
Echuca–Moama	18,526
Swan Hill	10,905
Mildura and Merbein	35,451
Renmark–Paringa	9,475
Berri	4,088
Loxton	4,568
Waikerie	1,632
Mannum	1,632
Murray Bridge	16,804

Lake Bungunnia

Between 2.5 million and 500,000 years ago, the Murray River ended in a very large freshwater lake called Lake Bungunnia. This lake was made when the earth moved and blocked the river near Swan Reach. At its biggest, Lake Bungunnia covered 33,000 km² (12,741 sq mi). It stretched from near the Menindee Lakes in the north to near Boundary Bend in the south. The lake drained about 600,000 years ago.

You can still see deep clay left by the lake in cliffs around Chowilla in South Australia. To keep such a big lake full, there must have been much more rain than today. When Lake Bungunnia drained, it marked the end of a wet time in the Murray–Darling Basin and the start of dry conditions like those we have now. A type of lungfish called Neoceratodus lived in Lake Bungunnia. Today, these lungfish live only in some rivers in Queensland.

Cadell Fault and the Barmah red gum forests

The uplifted land at the Cadell Fault

About 70,000 years ago, the Cadell Fault moved. This fault runs north to south. Because of this, the Murray River had to change its path. There have been many earthquakes since then, every 5,000 to 10,000 years. About 25,000 years ago an earthquake raised the eastern side by 8 to 12 m (26 to 39 ft) above the floodplain, and changed the river's course to where Echuca is now.

Part of the old Murray River channel behind the fault was left dry and is now called Green Gully. The fault also blocked the Goulburn River, making a natural lake. The Murray River flowed north around the fault, creating the Edward River channel, which still carries much of the Murray’s water today. Later, the natural dam on the Goulburn River broke, the lake drained, and the Murray River changed course again. It started flowing through the smaller Goulburn River channel, creating narrow parts called "The Barmah Choke" and "The Narrows," before joining the main Murray River channel again.

Because of the Cadell Fault, the Murray River splits and flows both north and south around the fault through the Edward and Goulburn channels, plus many small streams. This causes regular flooding in the low-lying areas nearby. These wet conditions are perfect for river red gum trees, which grew into large forests. The movement of the Cadell Fault 25,000 years ago helped create the famous Barmah red gum forests.

The Barmah Choke and The Narrows are narrow parts of the river that limit how much water can flow through. During floods or when there is a lot of irrigation water, most water goes through the Edward River channel and floods the red gum forests. The Murray River does not have enough power to naturally widen these narrow parts to carry more water.

You can see the Cadell Fault as a long, low dirt ridge when driving into Barmah from the west. It might look like it was made by people, but it is natural.

The meeting of the Darling (left) and Murray Rivers (right) at Wentworth, New South Wales

Indigenous peoples

For thousands of years, the Murray River has been known to Aboriginal Australians, who called it various names such as Millewa and Tongala. Roonka Flat, near Blanchetown, has been a place where people lived since at least 7000 BC.

The Murray River is very important to Aboriginal Australians because it is one of the biggest rivers in one of the driest places on Earth. The people near Lake Alexandrina tell a story about how the river was made. They say the Great Ancestor, Ngurunderi, created the river while chasing a big fish called Pondi, the Murray Cod. The chase started in the middle of New South Wales. Ngurunderi chased the fish on rafts made from red gum trees and kept throwing spears at it. But Pondi was clever and made a winding path, creating the river’s many smaller rivers. Ngurunderi had to stop and make new rafts as he moved along the river.

At a place called Kobathatang, Ngurunderi finally hit Pondi’s tail with a spear. The fish was shocked and jumped forward to a place near Tailem Bend called Peindjalang. Ngurunderi and his two wives waited on a cliff at Tailem Bend to catch Pondi again, but they failed. Ngurunderi chased Pondi again, but the fish dived into Lake Alexandrina and got away. Ngurunderi and the women stayed by the lake but had bad luck fishing because of a water spirit called Muldjewangk. They later moved to a better place near Ashville. The two peaks of Mount Misery are said to be the remains of Ngurunderi’s rafts and are called Lalangengall, meaning "the two watercraft."

This story about a hunter chasing a Murray cod that made the river is told in many versions by different Aboriginal groups living along the Murray River. For example, the Wotojobaluk people in Victoria tell about Totyerguil, who ran out of spears while chasing Otchtout, the cod, near Swan Hill.

Exploration

The river was later called the Hume River after it was visited by European explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell in November 1824. Explorer Charles Sturt renamed the river in January 1830 after a British politician, Sir George Murray. Sturt traveled down the rest of the Murray River until he reached Lake Alexandrina and the river’s end at the sea. Captain Collet Barker explored the area around the Murray Mouth more carefully in 1831.

The first three settlers on the Murray River were James Collins Hawker (an explorer and surveyor), Edward John Eyre (an explorer who later became Governor of Jamaica), and E. B. Scott (who was once the head of Yatala Labour Prison). Hawker sold his part of Bungaree Station, which he started with his brothers, and moved to a place on the river near Moorundie.

In 1852, the government offered a bonus of $8,000 for the first paddlesteamer to reach Echuca. This was achieved by both William Randell and Francis Cadell. In 1852, Francis Cadell prepared to start a steamer service by exploring the river in a small boat made of canvas. He traveled 1,300 miles (2,100 km) downstream from Swan Hill.

Randell built a steamboat the Mary Ann, named after his mother, to start trading in 1853. Soon it was racing Captain Francis Cadell's steamer and river trading began. This provided many new jobs and started new settlements and industries along the entire length of the river Murray system. G. B. Johnston sailed a steam boat as far as Albury in 1855. The river was very important for carrying people and goods until the railways took over. By 1900 the river trade was just about over.

In 1858, Charles Gavan Duffy, an Irish nationalist and founder of Young Ireland, started Carlyle Township on the Murray River. He named it after his close friend, Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle. The town had streets named "Jane Street" for Carlyle’s wife and "Stuart-Mill Street" for the thinker John Stuart Mill.

Also in 1858, Government Zoologist William Blandowski and Gerard Krefft explored the lower parts of the Murray and Darling rivers. They made a list of birds and animals they found.

In January 1881, George "Chinese" Morrison, who was 18 years old, traveled the river by canoe from Wodonga to the river’s end. It took him 65 days to complete the 1,555 miles (2,503 km) trip.

The Murray Mouth

Dredging at the Murray mouth

The Murray Mouth is where the Murray River flows into the sea. The water here is shallow and changes a lot, making the currents tricky and hard to predict. Between about 1855 and 1920, when the river was used by boats to move goods, the Murray Mouth was a big problem. Many boats got stuck or wrecked there.

Since the early 2000s, machines called dredgers have worked all day and night at the Murray Mouth. They move sand to keep the water flowing between the sea and the Coorong lagoon. Without this dredging, the mouth would fill with sand and close. This would stop fresh sea water from reaching the Coorong National Park, causing the water there to get warm, still, and unhealthy.

River Transport

The PS Murray Princess is the largest paddlewheeler operating on the Murray River.

The PS Melbourne passing through Lock 11 at Mildura

Ships cannot enter the Murray River from the sea because the river does not have a wide mouth (estuary). But in the 1800s, the river was used for trade with paddle steamers that had shallow bottoms. The first trips were in 1853 during a flood. Two boats from South Australia traveled the river: the Lady Augusta, led by Francis Cadell, reached Swan Hill, and the Mary Ann, led by William Randell, reached Moama near Echuca. In 1855, a steamer carrying gold-mining supplies reached Albury, but Echuca was usually where boats turned around. Smaller boats kept going to places like Tocumwal, Wahgunyah, and Albury.

Steamboats were helpful for farmers who had trouble moving goods because of poor roads and transport shortages during the gold rush. By 1860, about twelve steamers worked on the Murray and its smaller rivers during the high water season. When the railway reached Echuca in 1864, most wool from the Riverina area was sent by river to Echuca and then by train to Melbourne.

The steam paddleship Etona was made as a mission boat, replacing an older boat with the same name that had worked on the Murray since 1891. It was based at Murray Bridge and traveled between Goolwa and the Victorian border, stopping at towns like Mannum, Morgan, and Renmark, as well as small settlements and work camps. The front part of the boat was a chapel with an altar and organ, with room for 20 people. There was also a cabin. The minister on the boat, Rev. William Bussell, was also the captain. In August 1898, Etona reached Renmark, where the Bishop of Adelaide held church services. In September, the boat got stuck on a sandbank and had to stop service for a while. The boat’s boiler broke the year it was launched and was fixed at a cost of £87.

The Murray River had many "snags," which are fallen trees under the water that could damage boats. People worked hard to clear these snags using barges with steam winches. Recently, some snags have been put back into the river to help fish, as these trees provide places for fish to live and breed.

A paddle steamer passing another on the Murray at night, about 1880

In the late 1800s, the river trade made Echuca the second biggest port in Victoria. In the 1870s up to 30 steamers and many barges worked on the river during the season. River transport started to decline when railways reached many parts of the Murray. Because water levels changed a lot the river transport was unreliable, boats could not compete with trains and later trucks. But today, the river is mostly used for fun.

Now, most boats on the river are for recreation. People use small boats for water skiing and fishing. Houseboats are common, both for rent and privately owned. There are also historic paddle steamers and newer boats that offer cruises from half an hour to five days.

Water Storage and Irrigation

The Billabong pumping station near Mildura, 1905

People started to pump water from the Murray River in the 1850s. The first big pumping station was built at Mildura in 1887. These pumps helped farmers grow more crops and led to the creation of irrigation areas, like the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.

In 1915, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia agreed to build storage reservoirs in the river’s upper parts and at Lake Victoria near South Australia. They also built locks and weirs (barriers) along the river. These were meant to help boats travel even when water levels were low, but the amount of river transport was already going down because roads and railways were getting better.

Changing the river’s natural flow, farming runoff, and new pest fish like the European carp have caused serious harm to the river’s environment. Many people worry that the river will become too salty to use in the future. This is a big problem because the Murray provides 40% of Adelaide’s water. People are trying to fix these problems, but disagreements have slowed progress.

Non-native fish like carp, gambusia, weather loach, redfin perch, brown trout, and rainbow trout have also hurt native fish. Carp are the worst because they damage plants in the water and make the water cloudy. Carp are the most common fish and live in all parts of the river.

Murray River Media

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  Lower course of the Murray River at Murray Bridge

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  The confluence of the Murray River and Murrumbidgee River near the town of Boundary Bend

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  Murray Mouth viewed from Hindmarsh Island

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  A branch of the Murray in its middle reaches, near Howlong

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  Goolwa Barrage viewed from the freshwater side