Hastings River

Hastings River (Doongang)
Mooraback Creek
Open/trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary
North Coast railway bridge over the Hastings River at Wauchope
Name origin: In honour of 1st Marquess of Hastings
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
IBRA	New England Tablelands, NSW North Coast
Districts	Northern Tablelands, Mid North Coast
local government area	Port Macquarie-Hastings
Tributaries
- left	Forbes River, Pappinbarra River, Mortons Creek, Thone River
- right	Fenwicks Creek, Tobins River, Ralfes Creek, Ellenborough River
City	Port Macquarie
Source	Great Dividing Range
- location	southwest of Kemps Pinnacle, within Oxley Wild Rivers National Park
- elevation	1,040 m (3,412 ft)
- coordinates
Mouth	Tasman Sea, South Pacific Ocean
- location	Port Macquarie
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
- coordinates
Length	180 km (112 mi)
Depth	1.9 m (6 ft)
Volume	52,686 m3 (1,860,589 cu ft)
Basin	3,658 km2 (1,412 sq mi)
Area	30 km2 (12 sq mi)
National Parks	Oxley Wild Rivers, Werrikimbe, Cottan-Bimbang

Hastings River (Aboriginal: Doongang), an open and trained intermediate wave dominated barrier estuary, is located in the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia.

Course and features

Hastings River rises in the Great Dividing Range, southwest of Kemps Pinnacle, in the area surrounding Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and Werrikimbe National Park and flows generally south, southeast and east, joined by seven tributaries including the Tobins, Forbes, Ellenborough, Pappinbarra and Thone rivers, before reaching its mouth, flowing into the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean, at Port Macquarie. The river descends 1,040 metres (3,410 ft) over its 180 kilometres (110 mi) course.

The course of the river flows adjacent to the settlements Ellenborough, Long Flat, Beechwood, Wauchope and Port Macquarie. The Oxley Highway is generally aligned with the middle and lower reaches of the river. West of Port Macquarie, the Pacific Highway crosses the Hastings River.

History

The river was first charted by European explorers in 1818, after its discovery by John Oxley who named the river for the then Governor-General of India, Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings.

On 19 November 2002, two anglers found the dismembered body of murdered Sydney drug dealer, Tony Falconer. Investigations revealed that Falconer had died three days beforehand, after his corpse had been cut up and dumped in the Hastings River by Anthony Perish and his criminal gang associates.

Recreation, flora and fauna

The Hastings River gives its name to the Hastings River wine region and to an endangered species of mammal, the Hastings River Mouse (Pseudomys oralis).

Fishing opportunities on the Hastings River exist for freshwater bass and catfish in the upper reaches to estuarine species such as bream, flathead and luderick near the river mouth.

See also

• Rivers of New South Wales
• List of rivers in New South Wales (A-K)
• List of rivers of Australia

Gallery

• 

  Hastings River, flooded, west of Ellenborough, 2009.