Source of the Murray

[sleeper]

The cairn is about 600m ESE of the end of the Black-Alan Line. Some comment is appearing under that subject.

[ribuck]

Curiously, the map shows the end of the straight line to be not the source we found, but the junction of three creeks upstream of the creek fed by the soak.

I visited that spot (the creek junction at the end of the border's "straight line") many years ago. These creeks would only flow immediately after decent rainfall. Visually, it "feels" like this spot is the top of a watercourse, because the dry tributary creeks have a greater slope. Water could never "flow" along them; rather it would "trickle" or "tumble".

If you were walking upstream looking for the head of the river, you would get to this point after many days in the bush and would be tempted to "call it a day". Two of tributaries look very similar; there would be no way to select the "main" one. And really the tributaries are not much more than little dents in the ground. And yet I feel that every river really starts at a watershed, which would be the saddle at the top of one of those tributaries.

[davidmorr]

The definition of the border is the source of the tributary closest to the point on the coast at the other end. This should determine which of several possible tributaries is the one.

[ribuck]

The definition of the border is the source of the tributary closest to the point on the coast at the other end. This should determine which of several possible tributaries is the one.

Well I reckon they got it wrong then!

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[davidmorr]

That's what I thought!

[ribuck]

I'm amused that the border is officially defined by a hole drilled into a rock which is buried three feet below the cairn. Presumably no-one has seen this hole, or measured its position, since it was buried.

[Guru Adrian]

Do you have any photos of the source ? ( Gal pole )

[davidmorr]

Do you have any photos of the source ? ( Gal pole )

Not that I can publish here. Sorry.