Border Rivers

The Border Rivers refers to a group of rivers and the associated region near the border between New South Wales and Queensland, states of Australia.

The rivers rise in the New England Tablelands bioregion and together they form the headwaters of the Darling River, draining the western side of the Great Dividing Range. The eastern boundary of the Border Rivers catchment area extends along the Great Dividing Range divide from Stanthorpe in the north, to Guyra and Uralla, in the south. The western boundary of the region converges near the New South Wales town of Mungindi.

Branches

Several branches of the river (using different names) form part of the border between New South Wales and Queensland, located in New South Wales between Tenterfield at its most eastern point, to Mungindi at its most western point. Unhelpfully, several rivers have been given the same name to separate watercourses located in each state.

Generally speaking, within Queensland, the following rivers are considered to comprise part of the river group and region:

• Severn River (Queensland), draining the Stanthorpe district, and flowing into New South Wales
• Pike Creek, including Glenlyon Dam, and flowing into New South Wales
• Macintyre Brook, draining the Inglewood district, and flowing into New South Wales, near Yelarbon
• Weir River, draining the Southern Downs district, and flowing into New South Wales, near Mungindi

In New South Wales, the following rivers either mark the boundary with Queensland, or are fully located within the state and are considered to comprise part of the river group and region:

• Mole River, draining the Bonshaw district
• Dumaresq River, receiving flows from the Severn River (Queensland), Pike Creek, and the Mole River
• Severn River (New South Wales), draining the Glen Innes district, including the Pindari Dam
• Macintyre River, receiving flows from the Severn River (New South Wales), and forming through the confluence of the Dumaresq River and Macintyre Brook. The Macintyre River variously flows in both New South Wales and Queensland

Within New South Wales, both the Macintyre and Weir rivers drain to become the Barwon River, a major tributary of the Murray-Darling basin.

The Dumaresq River forms the border between Queensland and New South Wales, generally south-east of Bonshaw and Boggabilla. The Macintyre River forms the border west of Boggabilla to Mungindi.

Towns

The main activities in the Border Rivers region is agriculture. Crops are grown in areas with suitable conditions and the rest of the area is used for grazing. Because the rivers are quite small and erratic in flow, there is only small-scale irrigation.

The largest town in the western part of the Border Rivers region is Goondiwindi, Queensland where the Newell Highway crosses the Macintyre River at the state border.

The towns of Stanthorpe, in Queensland and Tenterfield, Glen Innes in New South Wales lie along the New England Highway on the eastern edges of the Border Rivers Basin. Inverell lies to the west on the western edge of the New England Tablelands

The central part of the Border Rivers region is rather underpopulated with no large towns, major transport routes, or significant industries other than agriculture. Small towns in the region include Texas, Inglewood, Ashford, Yetman, Bonshaw, Emmaville.

References

• Map of the Queensland portion of the Border Rivers drainage basin - Queensland government website
• Gywdir & Border Rivers catchment management agency - NSW Government website
• River information for the Border Rivers - NSW Government website