The Victoria River is a river in the bioregion of Victoria Bonaparte in the Northern Territory of Australia. It flows for 560 km from its source south of the Judbarra / Gregory National Park to the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf in the Timor Sea.

History

On 12 September 1819, Philip Parker King came to the mouth of the Victoria and, twenty years later, in 1839, Captain J. C. Wickham arrived at the same spot in HMS Beagle and named the river after Queen Victoria. Crew members of the Beagle followed the river upstream into the interior for more than 200 km. In August 1855 Augustus Gregory sailed from Moreton Bay and at the end of September reached the estuary of the Victoria River. He sailed up the river and carried out extensive exploration. In 1847 Edmund Kennedy went on an expedition to trace the route of the "River Victoria" of Thomas Mitchell with a view to finding whether there was a practical route to the Gulf of Carpentaria. This "River Victoria" was later renamed the Barcoo River.

Location and features

Flowing for 560 km from its source, south of the Judbarra / Gregory National Park, until it enters Joseph Bonaparte Gulf in the Timor Sea, the Victoria River is the longest singularly named permanent river in the Northern Territory. It is the second longest permanent river in the Northern Territory, as defined by international standards, the longest being the Katherine/Daly River. Important wetlands are found in the lower reaches of the river with forming suitable habitat for waterfowl breeding colonies and roosting sites for migratory shorebirds. Large areas of rice-grass floodplain grasslands are also found along the river. Part of the area adjoining the river mouth has been identified as the Legune (Joseph Bonaparte Bay) Important Bird Area because of its importance for waterbirds.

Tributaries

The river has 56 tributaries including the Camfield River, Wickham River, Battle Creek, Angalarri River, Gidyea Creek, and Armstrong River. The river also flows through several waterholes, such as Catfish waterhole and Four Mile Waterhole. It has a mean annual outflow of 5000 GL,

Cattle stations

Several large cattle stations are found along the length of the river, including Riveren where the river originates, Victoria River Downs, Coolibah Station, and Wave Hill Station, which is known for the historic strike known as the "Wave Hill walk-off" in the 1960s to the 1970s.

Eponyms

A species of turtle, Emydura victoriae, is named after the Victoria River.

Footnotes