Campaspe River

River reaches of the Campaspe River

Campaspe River in Elmore

Template: Infobox River / Obsolete

The Campaspe River is a river in the center and north of the Australian state of Victoria and was named by Major Mitchell to Campaspe, a playmate of Alexander the Great. The Aborigines of the area around Rochester the river Yalooka said.

River

From its source in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, the river flows north and empties into the Murray River at Echuca.

Headwaters

The Campaspe River rises in the Wombat State Forest northwest of Bullengarook and southwest of Macedon, not far from Firth Park, a local camping and historical site. From there, the river flows west into the city Woodend, where he turns his course to the north and the town of Kyneton crosses. There he also crosses the Calder Highway (Melbourne - Bendigo via Kyneton ).

Middle reaches

The middle reaches of the river is dominated by the Lake Eppalock, an artificial lake, which is also the main tributary of the Campaspe River, the Coliban River receives.

In this area, the small towns are Redesdale (above the Lake Eppalock ) and Axedale (below Lake Eppalock ) on the river. There also the McIvor Highway (Melbourne - Bendigo on Heathcote ) crossing the river.

Underflow

The towns of Elmore and Rochester are located on the lower reaches of the Campaspe River. There, crossing the Midland Highway ( Bendigo - Shepparton ) and the Northern Highway (Melbourne - Echuca ) the river.

In Echuca the flow in the Murray River empties.

History

Many thousands of years Aboriginal people lived in the area around the Campaspe River. The settlers came from Europe in 1834 to the upper reaches.

After the Europeans had colonized the area around Kyneton, they removed the original vegetation and planted instead willows and hawthorn hedges, of which some are still to be seen.

For several years, volunteers from the area were busy, through and remove the pastures again. On the shore graze free sections indigenous tree species were planted again. Hiking and biking trails are created on a river bank, so a small recreation area for Kyneton arose.