Richmond River

The Richmond River is a river situated in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia.

Course and features

thumb|Junction of the Richmond and Wilson rivers at [[Coraki, New South Wales|Coraki, 2007]]

thumb|The lift span bridge in Wardell, NSW, which crosses the Richmond River

thumb|Richmond River at Ballina, with the Burns Point Ferry in the middle distance crossing from the West to South Ballina river banks, July 2025

thumb|Yacht racing on the Richmond River at Ballina, October 2023

thumb|The Richmond River entrance from the Southern Breakwater, April 2019.

thumb|Mouth of the Richmond River, New South Wales, Australia (aerial montage)

The river rises at the northern end of the Richmond Range, near its junction with the McPherson Range, on the Queensland/ New South Wales border, west of Mount Lindesay, and flows generally south east and north east, joined by twelve tributaries, including the Wilsons River, before reaching its mouth at its confluence with the Coral Sea of the South Pacific Ocean at Ballina, descending over its course. The final approximately 7km of the southern bank of the river, between Burns Point and the entry to the ocean, is also a nature reserve, the Richmond River Nature Reserve which covers an area of 256ha, and also extends south from the river mouth for some distance along South Ballina Beach.

The catchment area of the river is estimated at , which makes it the sixth largest catchment in New South Wales; and its floodplain has an area of over .

History

Aboriginal history

The traditional custodians of the land surrounding the Richmond River are the Aboriginal people of the Githabul, whose territory reached north to the current city of Toowoomba and included the current towns of Tenterfield and Warwick. One of the annual rituals of the Githabul people was the movement from the mountain ranges to the coast during the winter months, when the mullet were plentiful. The inland peoples from around brought black bean seeds with them to trade for the fish.

The river was a major transportation route from the 1840s until well into the 20th century. Soon after the first white settlers arrived they discovered the abundant supply of Australian red cedar in the Richmond Valley and immediately began logging. The river was vital in the transportation of this resource.

At the time of its discovery in 1828 and until the late 1890s the river had a treacherous mouth of shifting sand bars, and many ships and people died on it. Understandably, a decision was made to construct two breakwaters to channel the river's flow and these were completed in the early 1900s. The construction of the breakwaters also led to the formation of Shaw's Bay (after sand built up behind what is now called Lighthouse or Main Beach).

In 1846, a conflict between white settlers and local Aborigines in the river valley (the Richmond River massacre) caused the deaths of around 100 of the latter.

With the decline of shipping as a transport mode, owing to better roads and rail, and the closing of the North Coast Steam Navigation Company (the major shipping firm of the area) in 1954, the river became less important as a transportation route.

Originally, the arm of the river running through Lismore was known as the North Arm of the Richmond (hence, Lismore was also considered to lie on the Richmond River). In 1976 its name was changed to the Wilsons River, the name change reflecting that of the European owners of the original land holding that later became the City of Lismore.

Current usage

For boats, the river is navigable for a short way up its length, possibly as far as Casino. Wilsons River, which flows through the city of Lismore and is a major tributary of the Richmond, is navigable at least as far as Boatharbour, approximately upstream from Lismore.

The Richmond River is heavily used for irrigation along its length. Several weirs have been constructed in order to mitigate the effects of flooding, most notably at Casino.

Near its entrance to the Pacific Ocean, the sheltered estuary of the river provides several sandy beaches and opportunities for recreational activities including swimming, sun bathing, yachting, fishing and dog walking. It is also home to the Richmond River Sailing & Rowing Club, and provides access to the Ballina trawler harbour which is situated just off the river estuary, where the river is joined by Fishery Creek. One small area of residential canal estate development, the Ballina Quays, extends the available river frontage for housing so that each can then have individual moorings as desired, set back from the remainder of the river frontage.

Fauna

The freshwater reaches of the Richmond River once supported the endemic Richmond River Cod, similar to Murray cod and possibly a subspecies of Eastern Freshwater Cod. Unfortunately this unique native fish became extinct between the 1930s and 1950s due to habitat degradation and gross overfishing, including with dynamite during the building of the local railway line. The endangered Oxleyan Pygmy Perch has been recorded from the river.

References

External links

Rous County Council
Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority