Border Rivers (Australia)

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The Border Rivers refers to a group of rivers and the associated region near the border between New South Wales and Queensland, states of Australia.

The Border Rivers are a group of small rivers which form the headwaters of the Darling River, draining the western side of the Great Dividing Range. The eastern boundary of the Border Rivers catchment area extends along the Great Dividing Range divide from Stanthorpe, Queensland to Guyra, New South Wales.

Several branches of the river ( using different names ) form part of the border between New South Wales and Queensland, between Tenterfield and Mungindi.

Unhelpfully, the same names ( Macintyre and Severn ) are each used for two separate streams, one in each State.

The border rivers converge into the Macintyre River, which in turn becomes the Barwon River, then the Darling River, and eventually joins the Murray River.

Between Mungindi and Boggabilla, the state border runs along the Macintyre River. Upstream from the junction of the Macintyre River and the Dumaresq River ( which is a few kilometers east of Boggabilla), the border follows the Dumaresq River upstream, and the upper Macintyre River flows wholly within New South Wales.

The following streams drain into the Macintyre/Dumaresq border stream from the Queensland side:

Weir River joining near Mungindi
Macintyre Brook joining the Dumaresq near Yelarbon and draining the Inglewood district
Pike Creek joining the Dumaresq and including Glenlyon Dam.
Severn River (Queensland), joining the Dumaresq and draining the Stanthorpe district.

The Mole River joins the Dumaresq from the New South Wales side near Bonshaw.

The main tributary of the upper Macintyre within New South Wales is the Severn River, which includes Pindari Dam.

The main activities in the Border Rivers region is agriculture. Crops are grown in areas with suitable conditions and the rest of the area is used for grazing. Because the rivers are quite small and erratic in flow, there is only small-scale irrigation.

The largest town in the western part of the Border Rivers region is Goondiwindi, Queensland where the Newell Highway crosses the Macintyre River at the state border.

The towns of Stanthorpe, Queensland and Tenterfield, Glen Innes and Inverell in New South Wales lie along the New England Highway on the eastern edges of the Border Rivers Basin.

The central part of the Border Rivers region is rather underpopulated with no large towns, major transport routes, or significant industries other than agriculture. Small towns in the region include: