Bunyip River

Bunyip (Banib[1])
Main Drain, Buneep, Bunnip[2]
River[2]
Name origin: Bunyip: from Aboriginal mythology[3]
Country Australia
State Victoria
Regions South East Coastal Plain (IBRA), West Gippsland
Local government area Cardinia
Part of Western Port catchment
Tributaries
 - left Tea Tree Creek, Ryson Creek
 - right Back Creek (Victoria), Diamond Creek (Cardinia, Victoria), Cannibal Creek
Source Mount Beenak, Yarra Ranges
 - location near Tomahawk Gap
 - elevation 477 m (1,565 ft)
 - coordinates 37°53′43″S 145°40′27″E / 37.89528°S 145.67417°E
Mouth confluence with the Tarago River to form the Main Drain
 - location north of Bunyip
 - elevation 40 m (131 ft)
 - coordinates 38°4′55″S 145°45′13″E / 38.08194°S 145.75361°ECoordinates: 38°4′55″S 145°45′13″E / 38.08194°S 145.75361°E
Length 27 km (17 mi)
Nature reserve Bunyip State Park
Mouth of the Bunyip River in Victoria
[2][4]

The Bunyip River is a perennial river of the Western Port catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.

Location and features

The Bunyip River rises below Mount Beenak, part of the southern portion of the Yarra Ranges within the Bunyip State Park, near Tomahawk Gap, and flows generally south by east then south, at times via an aqueduct, joined by four minor tributaries, before reaching its confluence with the Tarago River to form the Main Drain. From there the river used to flow into the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp, the largest wetland in Victoria, covering an area of 40,000 hectares (98,842 acres), before flowing into Western Port. The river descends approximately 437 metres (1,434 ft) over its 27 kilometres (17 mi) course.[4]

At the confluence of the Bunyip and Tarago Rivers, the rivers are traversed by the Princes Freeway, north of the locality of Bunyip.[4]

Etymology

In the Australian Aboriginal Boonwurrung language the name for the river is Banib, meaning "a fabulous, large, black amphibious monster".[1]

The river is named after the bunyip, an Aboriginal mythological and legendary character from lakes and swamps.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Bunyip River: 12037: Traditional name: Banib". Vicnames. Government of Victoria. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Bunyip River: 12037". Vicnames. Government of Victoria. 2 May 1966. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Reed, A. W. (1973). Place names of Australia (1st ed.). Frenchs Forest: Reed Books. p. 49. ISBN 0-589-50128-3.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Map of Bunyip River, VIC". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 7 March 2014.