Hastings River

Hastings River (Doongang[1])
Mooraback Creek[1]
Open/trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary[2]
North Coast railway bridge over the Hastings River at Wauchope
Name origin: In honour of 1st Marquess of Hastings[1]
Country Australia
State New South Wales
IBRA New England Tablelands, NSW North Coast
Districts Northern Tablelands, Mid North Coast
local government area Port Macquarie-Hastings
Tributaries
 - left Forbes River, Pappinbarra River, Mortons Creek, Thone River
 - right Fenwicks Creek, Tobins River, Ralfes Creek, Ellenborough River
City Port Macquarie
Source Great Dividing Range
 - location southwest of Kemps Pinnacle, within Oxley Wild Rivers National Park
 - elevation 1,040 m (3,412 ft)
 - coordinates 31°25′54″S 152°22′4″E / 31.43167°S 152.36778°E / -31.43167; 152.36778
Mouth Tasman Sea, South Pacific Ocean
 - location Port Macquarie
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
 - coordinates 31°25′48″S 152°55′12″E / 31.43000°S 152.92000°E / -31.43000; 152.92000Coordinates: 31°25′48″S 152°55′12″E / 31.43000°S 152.92000°E / -31.43000; 152.92000
Length 180 km (112 mi)
Depth 1.9 m (6 ft)
Volume 52,686 m3 (1,860,589 cu ft)
Basin 3,658 km2 (1,412 sq mi)
Area 30 km2 (12 sq mi)
National Parks Oxley Wild Rivers, Werrikimbe, Cottan-Bimbang
[3]

Hastings River (Aboriginal: Doongang[1]), an open and trained intermediate wave dominated barrier estuary,[2] is located in the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia.

Course and features

Hastings River rises in the Great Dividing Range, southwest of Kemps Pinnacle, in the area surrounding Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and Werrikimbe National Park and flows generally south, southeast and east, joined by seven tributaries including the Tobins, Forbes, Ellenborough, Pappinbarra and Thone rivers, before reaching its mouth, flowing into the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean, at Port Macquarie. The river descends 1,040 metres (3,410 ft) over its 180 kilometres (110 mi) course.[3]

The course of the river flows adjacent to the settlements Ellenborough, Long Flat, Beechwood, Wauchope and Port Macquarie. The Oxley Highway is generally aligned with the middle and lower reaches of the river. West of Port Macquarie, the Pacific Highway crosses the Hastings River.

History

The river was first charted by European explorers in 1818, after its discovery by John Oxley who named the river for the then Governor-General of India, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings.[1]

On 19 November 2002, two anglers found the dismembered body of murdered Sydney drug dealer, Tony Falconer. Investigations revealed that Falconer had died three days beforehand, after his corpse had been cut up and dumped in the Hastings River by Anthony Perish and his criminal gang associates.[4][5]

Recreation, flora and fauna

The Hastings River gives its name to a surrounding wine district and to an endangered species of mammal, the Hastings River Mouse (Pseudomys oralis).

Fishing opportunities on the Hastings River exist for freshwater bass and catfish in the upper reaches to estuarine species such as bream, flathead and luderick near the river mouth.

See also

Gallery

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hastings River". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 Roy, P. S; Williams, R. J; Jones, A. R; Yassini, I; et al. (2001). "Structure and Function of South-east Australian Estuaries". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 53: 351–384. doi:10.1006/ecss.2001.0796.
  3. 1 2 "Map of Hastings River, NSW". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  4. ↑ Duffy, Michael (2012). Bad: the true story of the Perish brothers and Australia's biggest ever murder investigation (paperback). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. p. 290. ISBN 9781743312964.
  5. ↑ Robbo (13 August 2012). "Anthony Perish aka Badness". Aussie Criminals Blog. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

External links

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