River · Australia
Darling River
The Darling River winds south-west across the dry west of New South Wales until it joins the Murray at Wentworth. Together with its longest headwater rivers it forms the longest river system in Australia.
Picture credit: Grahamec (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Grahamec (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Darling River?
The river starts here: Confluence of the Culgoa and Barwon rivers, New South Wales, Australia.
It ends in the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales.
Countries on the river: Australia.
The story behind it
The Aboriginal Barkindji people call the river Baaka or Barka, and their own name means 'people of the Barka'. In 1829 the explorer Charles Sturt named it after Ralph Darling, the governor of New South Wales. The Darling is a river of extremes. In wet years it spreads across its wide plains, but in droughts it can almost disappear: between 1885 and 1960 it ran dry at Menindee 48 times, and in 1902 and 1903 it stayed dry for 364 days. In the 1800s, shallow paddle steamers carried wool from river towns such as Bourke and Wilcannia, and up to 240 of these boats travelled on the Darling, the Murray and their tributaries. In the late 1880s, Wentworth was Australia's busiest inland port. The river is home to the Murray cod, Australia's largest freshwater fish, which can grow longer than 1.8 metres.
Questions children ask
How long is the Darling River?
The Darling River is about 1 472 km long, although some sources give about 1 570 km. Counted with its longest headwater rivers, it measures about 2 844 km, the longest river system in Australia.
Can the Darling River dry up?
Yes. Between 1885 and 1960 the Darling ran dry at Menindee 48 times, and in 1902 and 1903 it stayed dry for 364 days.
What is the Aboriginal name of the Darling River?
The Barkindji people call the river Baaka or Barka. Their name, Barkindji, means 'people of the Barka'.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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