Gawler River (South Australia)

This article is about the river in South Australia. For other uses, see Gawler River (disambiguation).

Gawler Metta Watte[1]
Location of the river mouth in South Australia
Location
Country	Australia
State	South Australia
Region	Mid North
District	Adelaide Plains
Towns	Gawler, Angle Vale, Virginia
Physical characteristics
Source confluence	South Para River and North Para River
• location	Gawler
• elevation	52 m (171 ft)
Mouth	Gulf St Vincent
• location	between Port Gawler and Buckland Park
• coordinates	34°40′30″S 138°28′25″E
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	41 km (25 mi)
Basin size	883 km^2 (341 sq mi)[2]
Discharge
• location	Port Gawler
• average	10.3 gigalitres per year (8,400 acre-feet per year)[2]
Basin features
National park	Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary
[3]

The Gawler River is a river located in the Adelaide Plains district of the Mid North region in the Australian state of South Australia.

The district surrounding the river produces cereal crops and sheep for both meat and wool, as well as market gardens, almond orchards and vineyards.

Course and features

Formed by the confluence of the North Para and South Para Rivers in the town of Gawler, the river flows generally west onto the Adelaide Plains. The mouth is in the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park—Winaityinaityi Pangkara, which consists primarily of mangroves in the tidal flats as the river empties into Gulf St Vincent. The outflow represents the boundary between the suburbs of Port Gawler on the northern bank and Buckland Park on the southern bank. The river descends 50 metres (160 ft) over its 41-kilometre (25 mi) course.[3]

The Angle Vale Bridge, located over the river on Heaslip Road in Angle Vale, was a laminated timber deck arch bridge built in 1876. It was the only surviving bridge of its type in Australia. The bridge collapsed in 2023, due to heavy rainfall.[4]

Flooding

The Gawler is subject to periodic flood events and the cause of occasional flash flooding (during 1:10 to 1:50 year flood events). Major overtopping in large floods occurs along much of the river length. Significant flooding commences within Gawler township from both the North and South Para Rivers.[5]

Angle Vale

• 
  Angle Vale Bridge
• 
  September 2010
• 
  September 2016

• 
  Heaslip Road Bridge
• 
  September 2016

Baker Road ford, Virginia

• 
• 
• 

September 2016[6]

• 
• 
• 

See also

• Rivers of South Australia

References

1. "Placename Details: Mette Watte". Property Location Browser. Land Services, Government of South Australia. 4 January 2011. SA0000252. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
2. Pattiaratchi, Charitha; Jones, Rhys (July 2005). "Physical oceanographic studies of Adelaide coastal waters using high resolution modeling, in-situ observations and satellite techniques" (PDF). ACWS Technical Report No. 8 prepared for the Adelaide Coastal Waters Study Steering Committee. Centre for Water Research, University of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
3. "Map of Gawler River, SA". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
4. "Historic bridge collapses in Adelaide's north - InDaily". www.indaily.com.au. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
5. Australian Water Environments (15 September 2015). "Gawler River Floodplain Mapping Report" (PDF). Gawler River Floodplain Management Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
6. "SA weather: Gawler flooding in wake of severe storms as river levels peak". ABC News. abc.net.au. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.