Bowen River
Formed by the confluence of the Broken River and the Little Bowen River roughly west of Bloomsbury, the Bowen River flows north-westerly along the base of the Normanby Range and then west and north-west again between the Herbert and Leichhardt Ranges to discharge into the Burdekin south southeast of Ravenswood. The river's 9,452 square kilometre catchment is primarily used for cattle grazing, with Collinsville, Glenden and the Newlands coal mine drawing their water supply from the Bowen River Weir, approximately 25 kilometres south of Collinsville.
The river was named in honour of Queensland's first governor, Sir George Ferguson Bowen, in 1861. Queensland government geologist Richard Daintree's systematic examination of the Bowen River identified the area's coal seams, leading to mines at Collinsville and the Bowen Basin.
At the top of a steep bank of the river west of Collinsville, the Bowen River Hotel dates back to 1865 and is now listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.
