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Mount Emu Creek

Coordinates: 38°19′36″S 142°38′22″E / 38.32667°S 142.63944°E / -38.32667; 142.63944
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For Emu Creek, see Stokes River.

Mount Emu
(Tarnpirr)
The Mount Emu Creek flowing under a bridge that carries the Glenelg Highway, near Skipton.
Mount Emu Creek is located in Victoria
Mount Emu Creek
Location of the Mount Emu Creek mouth
in Victoria
Location
CountryAustralia
StateVictoria
RegionVictorian Midlands, Naracoorte Coastal Plain (IBRA), Western District
Local government areasPyrenees, Ararat, Moyne
TownsBeaufort, Skipton, Darlington, Terang, Panmure
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationnorth of Trawalla
 • coordinates37°20′27″S 143°31′48″E / 37.34083°S 143.53000°E / -37.34083; 143.53000
 • elevation405 m (1,329 ft)
Mouthconfluence with Hopkins River
 • location
near Cudgee, northeast of Warrnambool
 • coordinates
38°19′36″S 142°38′22″E / 38.32667°S 142.63944°E / -38.32667; 142.63944
 • elevation
28 m (92 ft)
Length250 km (160 mi)
Basin features
River systemGlenelg Hopkins catchment
Tributaries 
 • leftSpring Hill Creek, Baillie Creek, Blind Creek, Elingamite Creek
 • rightTrawalla Creek, Broken Creek (Victoria)
[1]
Bridge & township of Panmure on the Emu Creek, Victoria, c.1888 watercolour by Karl Heffner

The Mount Emu Creek (Aboriginal Australian:Tarnpirr[2]), a perennial creek of the Glenelg Hopkins catchment, is located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia.

Course and features

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The Mount Emu Creek is a 250-kilometre (160 mi) long and small meandering waterway. It is the longest creek in Victoria. The creek rises near Trawalla and flows generally south by southwest, joined by six tributaries, before reaching its confluence with the Hopkins River, northeast of Warrnambool. The river descends 377 metres (1,237 ft) over its 271-kilometre (168 mi) course.[1] Mount Emu Creek is the major waterway within the Hopkins basin.[citation needed] The main drainage area is from numerous small tributaries and gullies to the east and west of the waterway, including Darlington Creek.[3] The main tributary of Mount Emu Creek is Trawalla Creek, that drains the area of highest rainfall within the sub-catchment. Mount Emu Creek has a length of approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) through this sub-catchment, and passes through the township of Darlington.[citation needed]

The waterway starts as a series of creeks and waterways that merge to form the Mount Emu Creek, which flows through areas around Beaufort, Skipton, Darlington, Terang and Panmure. It joins the Hopkins River, which eventually leads out to sea at Warrnambool.

The Baillie Creek drains Lake Burrumbeet and flows into the Mount Emu Creek west of Snake Valley. The Elingamite Creek drains Lake Elingamite and flows into the Mount Emu Creek south of Terang.[4]

The creek is traversed by the Western Highway near Trawalla, the Glenelg Highway at Skipton, the Hamilton Highway at Darlington, and the Princes Highway near Terang.

Fishing

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The Mount Emu system is a very popular fishing stream with residents and visitors along its course, where trophy sized trout can be pursued. The creek is regularly stocked with brown trout from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (with the assistance of the Terang Angling Club). There is also a small population of native brown trout. Trophy size trout are there to be taken but most fish average around 1,000 grams (35 oz). Some of the more popular spots to be fished are McKinnons bridge, Castlecary Road bridge, Ayresford Road and Panmure bridge. Other fish to be caught include redfin, eels, tench, tupong and black fish.[5] In several locations between Pura Pura and Darlington, yellowbelly are known to be caught on worm (no float).

Platypuses

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Mount Emu Creek abounds in redfin and is the home of many platypuses.[6] Surveys in 1991[7][8] and 1996[9] confirmed that platypus are breeding successfully right in the heart of Skipton township, where on a bend in the creek at Stewart Park in the centre of town is a platform built on the banks of the creek from which to observe them.[10] An all night research session along the Mount Emu Creek was conducted by the Australian Platypus Conservancy in August 2003,[11] in collaboration with Skipton's Stewart Park Committee. A baby female was one of six platypuses found in the 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) section of the creek. Weighing in at 680 grams (24 oz), the tiny juvenile had probably[citation needed] only first ventured out of her burrow a week or so previously. Geoff Williams, a biologist with the Conservancy, said that the youngster was in really good condition and her presence confirmed that successful breeding is taking place in the township.[12]

Murdering Gully massacre

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The Murdering Gully massacre occurred in a gully on Mount Emu Creek, where a small stream adjoins from Mérida station (near Camperdown) in early 1839. Between 35 and 40 men, women and children of the Tarnbeere gundidj clan were shot dead by Frederick Taylor and other shepherds for the killing of several sheep.[13][14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Map of Mount Emu Creek, VIC". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  2. ^ Clark, Ian. "Aboriginal Placenames - Reconstruction of Aboriginal microtoponymy in western and central Victoria". press-files.anu.edu.au. ANU. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. ^ http://www.glenelg-hopkins.vic.gov.au/?id=subcatchmenth7
  4. ^ Webb, John; Raiber, Matthias; School of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences; Victorian Universities Earth and Environmental Science Conference (18th: 2004: Melbourne, Australia) (2004), Salt lakes and their influence on the salinity of surface waters in Mount Emu Creek and Fiery/Salt Creek, western Victoria, Geological Society of Australia, retrieved 17 February 2022{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Terang Angling Club". linux.gatewaybbs.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 February 2001.
  6. ^ "Reclusive platypuses enjoying fuller rivers". Ballarat Courier. Ballarat, Australia. 7 October 2016.
  7. ^ Scuffins, Martin J; Ballarat University College. Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences (1991), The population status and ecology of the platypus (Ornithorhnychus anatinus) in Mount Emu and Baillies Creeks, Western Victoria, Australia, The Author, retrieved 17 February 2022
  8. ^ Prevett, P. T. (Pat); Stephens, P. (Paul Henry); Marion, Allison; National Estate Grants Program (Australia); University of Ballarat (1994), Status, ecology and behaviour of the platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus in Mt. Emu and Baillies Creeks, Victoria, University of Ballarat, retrieved 17 February 2022
  9. ^ Hopf, Terri; University of Ballarat. School of Science (1996), Habitat use by platypus (Ornithorhychus anatinus) at Mt. Emu Creek, Skipton, Victoria, The Author, retrieved 17 February 2022
  10. ^ "6 reasons to visit Skipton". The Age. 3 March 2018. p. 6.
  11. ^ "Still in a Tangle" (PDF). Ripples: Newsletter of the Australian Platypus Conservancy (25): 2. September 2003. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  12. ^ "This webpage has been moved to WWW". Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  13. ^ "Museum Victoria [ed-online] Encounters". museumvictoria.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 September 2007.
  14. ^ "The vanishing: finding Private Jack.(Insight)", The Age (Melbourne, Australia), Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited: 21, 10 December 2016, ISSN 0312-6307
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