Abercrombie River

river in New South Wales, Australia

The Abercrombie River is a river in New South Wales, Australia. It flows west from Mount Werong to the Wyangala Dam near Cowra.[1] The river is a tributary of the Lachlan, which it joins at Wyangala lake.

Abercrombie River
Goulburn-Oberon Road bridge

The Abercrombie River is 130 km (81 mi) in length, and passes through the Abercrombie River National Park. It provides habitat for platypus and rakali.[2] The Goulburn-Oberon Road crosses the Abercrombie River in the steep-sided Abercrombie Gorge.

The first people to live alongside the river were Aborigines of the Wiradjuri and Gundungara tribes. They may have used the river as a trading route.[3] The first European to visit the river was explorer Charles Throsby on 5 May 1819, during an expedition from Sydney to the Central West of New South Wales.[1] Alluvial gold was discovered in and along the river in 1851. This started a small gold rush. It was difficult to find gold because of the rough terrain, and changing water levels in the river.[4] Early miners found up to 3 oz (85 g) of gold a day along the river.[5] By 1862 about 45 mining parties were working at Milburne Creek, a minor tributary of the Abercrombie.[6] It is the furthest east of the inland flowing rivers.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "Geographical Names Register: Abercrombie River". Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. July 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  2. "Abercrombie River National Park". NSW National Parks and Wildlife service. July 2009. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  3. "Abercrombie River National Park: Culture and History". New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change. 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  4. "The Wentworth Diggings". The Argus. Argus Office, Melbourne, Victoria. 24 September 1851. p. 4. Retrieved 2009-07-13.[permanent dead link]
  5. "The Gold Fields". The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser. Thomas William Tucker and Richard Jones, Maitland NSW. 1 Dec 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 2009-07-13.[permanent dead link]
  6. "New South Wales: The Lachlan". The Argus. Argus Office, Melbourne, Victoria. 1 February 1862. p. 7. Retrieved 2009-07-13.[permanent dead link]


34°01′S 149°28′E / 34.017°S 149.467°E / -34.017; 149.467