| Name etymology | In honour of Hugh Mosman[1] |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| State | Queensland |
| Region | Far North Queensland, Cape York Peninsula |
| Length | 24 km (15 mi) |
| Discharge1 location | Near mouth |
| Discharge1 avg | 5.1 m3/s[2] |
| Source 1 | Great Dividing Range |
| Source1 location | below Devil's Thumb |
| Source1 coordinates | 16.42951°S 145.25384°E |
| Source1 elevation | 1,050 m (3,440 ft) |
| Mouth | Trinity Bay, Coral Sea[3] |
| Mouth location | between Newell and Cooya Beach |
| Mouth coordinates | 16.43474°S 145.40533°E[3] |
| Mouth elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Custom label | National park |
| Custom data | Daintree National Park |
| Extra | [4] |
The Mossman River (gvn: Jinkalmu)[5] is a river in lower Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.[6]
Geography
The headwaters of the river rise under Devils Thumb on the Mount Carbine Tableland in the Great Dividing Range. The river flows through a deeply incised valley in the Mount Lewis Forest Reserve in an easterly direction and then through the Mossman Gorge, part of the Daintree National Park,[7] and onto the coastal plain past the township of Mossman, where the river is crossed by the Captain Cook Highway. The river eventually discharges into Trinity Bay and the Coral Sea between Newell and Cooya Beach. The river descends 1,050 metres (3,440 ft) over its 24-kilometre (15-mile) course.[4]
The river has a catchment area of 472 square kilometres (182 sq mi) of which an area of 16 square kilometres (6 sq mi) is composed of estuarine wetlands.[8]
History
The traditional language area of Kuka-Dyangan (also known as Djangun, Gugu Djangun and Kuka Djangun) includes landscape within the local government boundaries of the Douglas Shire and Cook Shire.[9]
Yalanji (also known as Kuku Yalanji, Kuku Yalaja, Kuku Yelandji, and Gugu Yalanji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of Far North Queensland. The traditional language region is Mossman River in the south to the Annan River in the north, bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the east and extending inland to west of Mount Mulgrave. This includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Douglas, the Shire of Cook and the Aboriginal Shire of Wujal Wujal and the towns and localities of Cooktown, Mossman, Daintree, Cape Tribulation and Wujal Wujal. It includes the head of the Palmer River, the Bloomfield River, China Camp, Maytown, and Palmerville.[10]
The river was named by the explorer George Dalrymple in 1873 after Hugh Mosman who discovered gold in Charters Towers. Dalrymple wrote "I named this river the Mossman River, after Mossman, an explorer and mining man, member of a very prominent mining family."[1][11]
See also
References
- ^ Hodes, Jeremy. "Far North Queensland Place names mo – my". Queensland History. Archived 3 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ "East Coastal Watersheds". Archived 5 November 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ^ "Layers: Locality; Mountains and ranges; Contours; Watercourses". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Archived 19 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "Map of Mossman River, QLD". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Archived 20 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ "Language is the road map of a Culture". tourismportdouglas.com.au. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
- ^ Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "About Mossman Gorge". Mossman Gorge, Daintree National Park. Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing, Queensland Government. 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ^ "Mossman River drainage basin". WetlandInfo. Queensland Government. Archived 1 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ "Indigenous languages map of Queensland". State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ "Yalanji". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ "Nomenclature of Queensland.—200.". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 21 May 1936. p. 14. Archived 3 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 July 2015.