Canning River Explained

Canning River
Name Other:fn=lang_xx_italic |code=nys | Djarlgarra
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:Australia
Subdivision Type2:State
Subdivision Name2:Western Australia
Subdivision Type5:City
Subdivision Name5:Perth
Length:110km (70miles)
Source1 Location:Wandering[1]
Mouth:Swan River
Mouth Location:Melville Water
Tributaries Left:Bull Creek, Bannister Creek, Lambertia Creek, Southern River, Churchmans Brook
Tributaries Right:Yule Brook, Bickley Brook, Ellis Brook, Stoney Brook, Stinton Creek

The Canning River ('''Djarlgarra'''[2] [3] or '''Dyarlgarro'''[4]) is a major tributary of the Swan River in the South West Land Division of Western Australia. It is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species.

Source and route

With headwaters on the Darling Scarp, the Canning meanders through suburbs of Perth on the Swan Coastal Plain, including Cannington, Thornlie, Riverton, Shelley, Rossmoyne and Mount Pleasant, before joining the Swan at Melville Water just downstream of the Canning Bridge.[5]

Bridges

Points

History

The first European contact was in 1801 when a French exploring party spotted the mouth. The crew subsequently named the mouth Entrée Moreau after Charles Moreau, a midshipman with the party.

The Canning River received its contemporary name in 1827 when Captain James Stirling aboard following an examination of the region in March 1827 named the river after George Canning, an eminent British statesman who was Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time and whose government facilitated the funds for the expedition.

In November 1829, just five months after the founding of the Swan River Colony, an exploring party led by now Governor James Stirling chose a site for a new town named Kelmscott[6] on the banks of the Canning River.

Convicts

Convicts partly constructed and maintained the Canning River Convict Fence.[7] [8] [9] [10] This structure is still a notable landmark to this day. It was built primarily for the use of barges carrying timber from Mason's Timber Mill in the Darling Ranges.

Algae bloom

Algal blooms occur naturally in the Canning River system; they are caused by a buildup of nutrients in the river. Human activities including farming, residential gardens and parklands are the major causes of increases in levels; the blooms are potentially toxic to both mammal and marine life. The Swan River Trust monitors the levels of nutrients and growth of the algae, issuing warnings and closing sections of the river to all activities. The Trust also operates cleanup programs to reduce the amount of nutrients reaching the river, as well phosphorus removal and oxygenation in areas were blooms have been identified.[11]

The Trust is encouraged by the appearance of Azolla carpets on sections of the Canning River as this fern is known to reduce the amount of sunlight available to the algae as well as absorbing large amounts of phosphorus and other nutrients from the water. However, it is possible that Azolla carpets can cause deoxygenation and emit a strong sulphur smell.[12]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About the river system. Parks and Wildlife Service. 18 October 2018.
  2. Book: Kinsella, John. Polysituatedness: A Poetics of Displacement. Oxford University Press. 2017. 978-1526113375.
  3. Book: Rivers of emotion : an emotional history of Derbarl Yerrigan and Djarlgarro Beelier : the Swan and Canning rivers. 2012. ARC Centre of Excellence History of Emotions. Broomhall, Susan., Pickering, Gina., Australian Research Council. Centre of Excellence. History of Emotions., National Trust of Australia (W.A.). 9781740522601. [Crawley, W.A.]. 820979809.
  4. Web site: Discover the Swan and Canning rivers Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions . 2023-06-02 . www.dbca.wa.gov.au.
  5. Web site: About Australia . Canning Dam . 6 June 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090703152904/http://www.about-australia.com/travel-guides/western-australia/perth/attractions/natural/canning-river/ . 3 July 2009 . dead .
  6. Web site: European Settlement . 2009-06-06 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090608164836/http://www.armadale.wa.gov.au/about_armadale/history/european_settlement/ . 8 June 2009 .
  7. Book: Carde, F.G. . Along the Canning: A History of the City of Canning, Western Australia, Covering its progress from Roads Board to Shire, to Town, to City . City of Canning . 2nd . 1968 . 1991.
  8. McQueen . Jeanette . Pioneers of the Canning District . Graylands Teachers' College . 1963 . 13.
  9. The Convict-Built 'Fence' in the Canning River . D. . Hutchison . Dianne . Davidson . Records of the Western Australian Museum . 8 . 1 . 1979 . 147–159 . 2024-06-16.
  10. Book: LePage, J.S.H. . Building A State: The Story of the Public Works Department of Western Australia 1829-1985 . Water Authority of Western Australia . Leederville . 1986 . 211 . 978-0-7244-6862-1.
  11. Web site: Algal Bloom - Swan River Trust media statement. 16 March 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20080411053309/http://portal.environment.wa.gov.au/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/ADMIN_SRT_MEDIA/MEDIA_REPOSITORY/ALGAL%20UPDATE.PDF. 11 April 2008. 5 April 2014.
  12. Web site: Native fern on Canning River - Swan River Trust media statement. 6 March 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20080411053306/http://portal.environment.wa.gov.au/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/ADMIN_SRT_MEDIA/MEDIA_REPOSITORY/AZOLLA.PDF. 11 April 2008. 5 April 2014.

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