Fitzroy River
Formed by the confluence of the Mackenzie and Dawson Rivers, the Fitzroy River (Darumbal: Toonooba) rises near Duaringa and drains a 142,665 square kilometre catchment — the largest on Australia's east coast — passing through Darumbal country before discharging into Keppel Bay forty kilometres southeast of Rockhampton — bounded by the Burdekin catchment to the north, the Burnett to the south.
The catchment's northern boundary lies beyond Nebo in the headwaters of the Connors and Isaac Rivers. Its western limit is near Blair Athol and Bogantungan, and its southern extreme is around the headwaters of the Nogoa, Comet, and Dawson Rivers in the Carnavon Ranges. However, despite the catchment's size, it does not produce as much runoff as the Burdekin's smaller catchment delivers to Upstart Bay 530 kilometres northwest of the Fitzroy estuary; just as well — Rockhampton's residents experience frequent floods with significant inundation as it is.
Pastoralists Charles and William Archer named the river after New South Wales Governor Sir Charles FitzRoy on 4 May 1853.
While Rockhampton, around forty kilometres from the river's mouth, developed as a port in the 1860s, rocky bars across the river just upstream from the new settlement prevented ships from navigating further inland. The river's lower reaches became less viable for shipping as the vessels engaged in the coastal trade became larger. After unsuccessful attempts to establish a port downstream from Rockhampton at Broadmount, the city's port facilities ended up more than fifty kilometres away at Port Alma in the Fitzroy delta.
Missing links:
Mackenzie River
Dawson River
Duaringa
Burnett River
Connors River
Blair Athol
Bogantungan
Nogoa River
Comet River
Dawson River
Carnavon Ranges
Charles and William Archer
Broadmount
POrt Alma
