Bite Size Facts
about the
Murray River
Bite 1
The Murray River is 2508 kilometres in length (Geoscience Australia’s calculations 2008) from its source near Mount Kosciuszko in the Snowy Mountains of NSW to its mouth at the Southern Ocean, near Goolwa in South Australia.
Bite 2
The Murray River has eight major tributaries and hundreds of smaller ones. Unlike rivers in Western Australia is also has distributaries – more commonly known as anabranches.
In addition, the river twists and turns markedly. Over time the river cuts through these bends, shortening its course. The old course of the river then often forms an oxbow lake or what is known as a billabong.
Bite 3
The Murray River supplies water to more than 1.5 million homes plus many businesses and farms.
Bite 4
The Murray River has four major dams, 16 storage weirs and 15 navigable locks.
Bite 5
Many, many websites will tell you that the Murray River is the third longest navigable river on the planet (they copy each other – what a shock!) It’s not!! Combined with the Darling, Culgoa Balonne and Condamine rivers it is the world’s 16th longest river. By itself the Murray is the world’s 40th longest river.
And navigable by what? Ocean going ship – Mississippi River 2897km, longer than the total length of the Murray. Or kayak – Nile River 6800 km. If the world’s longest river is navigable by kayak, given the massive cataracts/rapids and the nearly impenetrable swamps (The Sudd) encountered in its middle distance, then every other river in the world is navigable. This clearly places the Murray as the world’s 40th longest navigable river. A long way from third!
Shame on the SA Dept of Environment for disseminating false information that it is the third longest!
The Murray River is navigable by most types of boats from the mouth, across Lake Alexandrina, and then upriver past many locks to Yarrawonga where the weir prevents access to Lake Mulwala and river beyond. This is a navigable length of 1898 kilometres.
Bite 6
The Murray River spans New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
Bite 7
The Murray River is home to the Murray cod, Australia’s largest freshwater fish species, weighing from 5-22kg. The largest ever Murray Cod caught measured 1830mm in length and weighed 113 kilograms.
Bite 8
Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) comprises 22 catchments that span more than one million square kilometres, about 14 per cent of the total area of Australia.
Bite 9
The Murray-Darling Basin produces 54 per cent of Australia’s apples – and 95 per cent of its oranges.
Bite 10
Records for journeys along Murray are maintained in the Inland Rivers National Marathon Register, overseen by the National Trust, Goolwa. Entry into the Register is by application only by those arriving at Goolwa from points above the SA border in the Murray, or those departing Goolwa upstream to any river destination beyond the SA border.
Bite 11
European discovery of the Murray River was in 1824 by Hamilton Hume and William Hovell.
Bite 12
The Murray River has 37 golf courses along its banks.
Bite 13
Five years after Hume and Hovell saw the river (see Bite 11), explorer Charles Sturt navigated down the Murrumbidgee River and some days later he encountered ‘a broad and noble river’ that he named the Murray, after Sir George Murray, a British politician and Colonial Secretary at the time.
The Murray River in WA that starts around Wandering and empties into the Peel Inlet is named after the same bureaucrat. In those days sycophantic sucking up to powerful bureaucrats had its rewards. Not much has changed.
Bite 14
River beaches form on the inside of a bend. Some of these are magnificent recreation spots. See more here:
https://www.visitthemurray.com.au/places-to-go/central/suncountry/things-to-do/explore-the-land/beaches
Bite 15
The border between Victoria and New South Wales is the top of the southern or left bank of the Murray River. That means that the river is in NSW – until MacCabe Corner where (notionally) NSW, Victoria and South Australia meet.
Between MacCabe Corner and this unnamed point 4 km further downriver where just Victoria and South Australia meet the border is determined to be in the centre of the river.
Bite 16
There are more bridges across the Swan River in the 64 kilometres from Upper Swan Bridge, Great Northern Highway to Fremantle than in the 2150 km of the Murray River from Hume Weir to the mouth.
There are 37 bridges (including the Hume Weir which is now access restricted) and 12 ferries to Southern Ocean.
Bite 17
There are no rapids of any consequence on the Murray River below Hume Weir. The Bitch and Pups Rapids presented a challenge to paddle steamers and similar craft of yore.
Bite 18
The Murray has the world’s largest redgum forest on its banks. The Eucalyptus camaldulensis, commonly known as the river red gum, is renowned for dropping branches or just simply falling over. A very real hazard for campers.
Bite 19
The Murray spiny freshwater crayfish is the second-largest freshwater cray in the world and is permitted to be fished only in winter. Apparently in tastes better in June. Probably because that is the only time you are allowed to catch it.
Bite 20
The Darling River is the longest tributary of the Murray at 1545 km in length, although if all its tributaries are taken into account it would be 2740 km in length, 232 km longer than the Murray River.
Bite 21
The Victorian town of Robinvale is about halfway from Hume Dam to the Southern Ocean.
Bite 22
The Murray River has distributaries, or anabranches, the longest of which is the Edward River at 420 km in length. It leaves the Murray at Picnic Point and rejoins it at Kyalite. At times more water flows down the Edward than down the Murray.
Interestingly, this anabranch also has an anabranch – the Wakool.
Bite 23
Wentworth in NSW is one of the biggest towns on the Murray River with a population of 7500. Sited at the confluence of the Darling and Murray rivers, it is known as the Gateway to the Outback.
Bite 24
Flows in the River Murray vary widely depending on rainfall, inflows, evaporation, and demand for water for human use, among other factors. At any given time, water flowing through the river is used for irrigation, industry, communities, the environment, and meeting South Australia’s flow entitlement. The exact mix of these flow components is determined by demand and water availability.
Bite 25
The grade or fall of the Murray varies from 140mm per kilometre near Albury, to about 25mm on the last 160 kilometres to the sea.
Bite 26
Counter-intuitively the highest flows in the Murray River (other than floods) are during summertime.
Bite 27
A number of towns on the banks of the Murray River upriver of South Australia have a ‘twin’ on the opposite bank. Some examples are:
Albury (NSW) – Wodonga (Vic)
Mulwala (NSW) – Yarrawonga (Vic)
Moama (NSW) – Echuca (Vic)
Barham (NSW) – Koondrook (Vic)
Euston (NSW) – Robinvale (Vic)
Bite 28
The biggest town on the Murray is Albury and then Mildura. Albury is just 20 kilometres downriver from the Hume Weir and has a population of 56,000. Mildura is just over halfway along the length of the river and has a population of 33,000.
© 2023-2025 Kim Epton
1194 words
Feel free to use any part of this document but please do the right thing and give attribution to adventures.net.au. It will enhance the SEO of your website/blog and Adventures.
See Terms of Use.