page_title: Flinders River
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Flinders River / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Arrival of Burke &amp; Wills at Flinders River, painting, oil on canvas, 89.6 x 131.6 cm, by Edward Jukes Greig
context_page_description: The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately 1,004 kilometres. It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in North West Queensland and flows generally north-west through the Gulf Country, across a large, flat clay pan, before entering the Gulf of Carpentaria.
context_section_description: The traditional owners of the area are the Kalkadoon, Mitakoodi, Kukatj, Guthaarn, Mayi-Yapi, Mayi-Kulan, Mayi-Thakurti, Ngawun, Wanamara, Mbara, Yirandali and Gugu-Badhun peoples, who have inhabited the area for thousands of years.
  Jirandali (also known as Yirandali, Warungu, and Yirandhali) is an Australian Aboriginal language of North-West Queensland, particularly the Hughenden area. The language region includes the local government area of the Shire of Flinders, including Dutton River, Flinders River, Mount Sturgeon, Caledonia, Richmond, Corfield, Winton, Torrens, Tower Hill, Landsborough Creek, Lammermoor, Hughenden, and Tangorin.
  Wanamarra (also known as Maykulan and Wunumura) is an Australian Aboriginal language in North West Queensland. The language region includes areas within the Shire of McKinlay, Shire of Cloncurry and Shire of Richmond, including the Flinders River area, and the towns of Kynuna and Richmond.
  Dalleburra (also known as Dalebura, Dal-leyburra, Yirandali) is a language of North-West Queensland, particularly Lammermoor Station via Hughenden. The Dalleburra language region includes the local government boundaries of the Flinders Shire Council.
  The Flinders River was named in 1841 by Captain Wickham and Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of HMS Beagle, in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. Stokes charted and surveyed the estuary of the Flinders and Albert rivers, and named many other features in the area, including Disaster Inlet, Morning Inlet and the Van Diemen River.
  Robert O'Hara Burke, William John Wills and Charles Gray reached the river delta in 1861, completing the goal of their expedition to cross the continent from south to north. Gray died on the journey back to Cooper Creek, and both Burke and Wills died after reaching the creek to find their depot abandoned.
  The first pastoralist to stock country along the Flinders was James Gibson who established Prairie Station in 1861. In 1864 more cattle stations were established by Gibson including Millungera and Taldora Stations.
  Massive flooding occurred along the river in July 1870. One station lost over 4,000 sheep and roads were cut. In 1917 even larger floods were recorded, with Hughenden inundated several people drowned. More heavy flooding occurred in 1955, 1960, 1974, 1991 and 2000.
  In 2003, licences to take water from the river were first released when a pastoralist, Corbett Tritton, applied for an irrigation licence. He successfully grew crops like sorghum and cotton on his cattle station and soon other graziers were interested. A moratorium on the issuing of licences followed, but was lifted in 2013.
  Heavy rainfall in Queensland in early 2019 resulted in major flooding along the Flinders, considered the worst in half a century. The broad flood plain has allowed the Flinders to stretch as wide as 60 km. The rising water also caused devastation to farmers with heavy losses to cattle herds.
caption: Edward Jukes Greig - Arrival of Burke & Wills at Flinders River, 1862
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