Lachlan River
|
|
The Lachlan River is a significant river in central New South Wales, Australia. The headwaters of the Lachlan, the Carcoar River, the Belubela River and the Abercrombie River rise in the central highland of New South Wales, part of the Great Dividing Range. They combine to form the Lachlan near the town of Cowra. Minor trubutaries include the Morongla Creek.
Wyangala Dam was built near Cowra to regulate the flow of the river. However, the Lachlan, unlike the Murrumbidgee River and the Murray River further south, does not have its source in the snowfields and does not enjoy the large and reliable spring flow from the melting snow from which those rivers benefit. The Lachlan River is not a large river.
The Lachlan River flows west and then south, eventually joining the Murrumbidgee River between Hay and Balranald. There is some irrigation in the middle reaches of the Lachlan.
History
The Lachlan River was first encountered by European settlers about 1819 and named after Lachlan Macquarie, the Governor of the New South Wales colony.
In the early days of the colony of New South Wales, the southern part of the Lachlan was knows as Fish River. It was only after further exploration that it was realsied that these two rivers were the same river and the name Fish River was dropped.
Towns
Towns on the Lachlan River Are: