Dawson River
Dawson River https://maps.app.goo.gl/R6cHVe8nzR4xLzrTA
From headwaters at the eastern end of the Carnarvon Range, the Dawson River flows through Yiman, Wuli Wuli, and Gangalu Country through Theodore, and Baralaba to combine with the Mackenzie River to form the Fitzroy northeast of Duaringa. Sixty-four tributaries join the Dawson over its 735-kilometre course, which drains a 50,800 square kilometre catchment.
Ludwig Leichhardt named the river in honour of Robert Dawson, one of his financial backers in 1844.
Reprisals following the Hornet Bank massacre near Taroom massacres that decimated the Yiman people.
Weirs constructed along the lower Dawson River to provide water in the region date back to the 1920s when former Queensland Premier E. G. Theodore launched an irrigation program to provide soldiers returning from World War I with arable land to develop into farms. The scheme was abandoned after the soil proved unsuitable for farming, and the returning soldiers lacked agrarian skills.
Sources:
Encyclopedia Britannica: Dawson River https://www.britannica.com/place/Dawson-River
Theodore Water: History https://theodorewater.com.au/history/
Wikipedia: Dawson River (Queensland) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_River_(Queensland)
