Richmond River

river, New South Wales, Australia

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Article History

Richmond River, principal river of the North Coast district, New South Wales, Australia, rising on Mt. Lindesay, in the McPherson Range, and flowing southeast through Casino and Coraki, at which point it is joined by the Wilson River. The river then turns northeastward, entering the Pacific Ocean at Ballina, 360 miles (580 km) north of Sydney. With a total length of 163 miles, it is navigable as far upstream as Casino. Henry Rous, a British naval officer, was the Richmond’s first European explorer (1828). The river crosses a district first settled by lumbermen and pastoralists in the 1840s. The area, also drained by the Clarence and Tweed rivers, yields sugarcane, bananas, dairy products, corn (maize), millet, and timber.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.