The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring 1,472 kilometres (915 mi) from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous
The Darling River is the third longest river in Australia, measuring 1,472 kilometres (915 mi) from its source in northern New South Wales to its confluence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longest contiguous tributaries it is 2,844 km (1,767 mi) long, making it the longest river system in Australia.
Aerial view of the Darling River near Menindee
The Darling is a major tributary of the Murray-Darling system
|State||New South Wales|
|Cities||Bourke, Wilcannia, Menindee, Wentworth|
|Source||confluence of Barwon and Culgoa Rivers|
|⁃ location||near Brewarrina, NSW|
|⁃ elevation||119 m (390 ft)|
|Mouth||confluence with Murray River|
|35 m (115 ft)|
|Length||1,472 km (915 mi)|
|Basin size||609,283 km2 (235,245 sq mi)|
|⁃ average||100 m3/s (3,500 cu ft/s)approx.|
|River system||Murray River, Murray-Darling basin|
|⁃ left||Barwon River, Little Bogan River|
|⁃ right||Culgoa River, Warrego River, Paroo River|
The Darling River is the outback's most famous waterway. The Darling is in poor health, suffering from over-allocation of its waters, pollution from pesticide runoff and prolonged drought. During drought periods in 2019 it has barely flowed at all. The river has a high salt content and declining water quality. Increased rainfall in its catchment in 2010 has improved flow, but the health of the river will depend on long-term management.
Aboriginal peoples have lived along the Darling River for tens of thousands of years. The Barkindji people called it Barka, "Barkindji" meaning "people of the Barka".
The Queensland headwaters of the Darling (the area now known as the Darling Downs) were gradually colonized from 1815 onward. In 1828 the explorers Charles Sturt and Hamilton Hume were sent by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Ralph Darling, to investigate the course of the Macquarie River. He visited the Bogan River and then, early in 1829, the upper Darling, which he named after the Governor. In 1835, Major Thomas Mitchell travelled a 483-kilometre (300 mi) portion of the Darling River. Although his party never reached the junction with 