|
Cooper Creek (formerly Cooper's Creek) () is one of the most famous rivers in Australia because it was the site of the death of the explorers Burke and Wills in 1861. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its tributaries and is one of three major Queensland river systems that flow into the Lake Eyre basin. The flow of the creek depends on monsoonal rains falling months earlier and many hundreds of kilometres away in eastern Queensland.〔 At in length it is the second longest inland river system in Australia after the Murray-Darling system.〔 ==History== Indigenous Australians have inhabited the area for approximately 20,000 years, with over 25 tribal groups living in the Channel Country area alone. A vast trade network had been stablished running from north to south with goods such as ochre sent north with shells and pituri moved south. Birdsville was once a major meeting place for conducting ceremonies and trade. Charles Sturt named the river in 1845 after Charles Cooper, the Chief Justice of South Australia. It was along Cooper Creek that the explorers Burke and Wills died in 1861. John King survived the expedition with the assistance of friendly Aborigines. Only ten years after the explorers' deaths, homesteads were being established on the watercourse. A station at Innamincka was the first permanent settlement in the area.〔 By 1880 the reliable water source had attracted more settlers to the point where the whole area was taken up and stocked with cattle.〔 This led to the displacement of local Aborigines from their traditional lands. By 1900 the population had reduced to 30 survivors, just 10% of the original number, as influenza and measles took their toll.〔 The waterway doesn't experience regular seasonal floods. Being ephemeral the creek is still prone to occasional flooding, in 1940 a vast area surrounding the Cooper was underwater with the creek being measured at over wide in places. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cooper Creek」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|