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Gwydir River

The Gwydir River is a large river in the northern part of the Australian state of New South Wales.

The river rises on the southern part of the New England plateau near the town of Uralla, and flows generally north west and then west onto the plains where it eventually joins the Barwon River. It passes the towns of Bingara and Moree. Moree itself is situated on the Mehi River - a branch of the Gwydir River that divides from the main Gwydir River upstream of Moree. The Copeton Dam on the Gwydir River stores water for towns, stock, domestic use and irrigation. A lot of irrigated cotton is grown near Moree, as well as many other crops, livestock and agricultural enterprises.

The Gwydir was named by the explorer Allan Cunningham after his patron Lord Gwydir, who took his title from Gwydir Castle in Wales. The Commonwealth Electoral Division of Gwydir, which was created in 1901 and will cease to exist from 2007, is named for the Gwydir river. In Australia the name is pronounced to rhyme with "wider," whereas the Welsh name is pronounced roughly "Gwidd-eer."

The Gwydir River splits into two anabranches west of Moree - the "Big Leather Watercourse" is the southern channel and the "Gingham Channel" is the northern branch. The Gingham Channel flows west, joining the Ballone Creek before it flows into the Big Leather Watercourse. The Big Leather watercourse then joins the Mehi River to the south. The Mehi River joins the Barwon River near the township of Collarenebri.

Before the advent of Copeton Dam and much diversionary work, the Gwydir River flowed into the Gingham and Lower Gwydir Wetlands.

• Origin of the name "Gwydir"

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