Moorabool River
River in Victoria, Australia
title: "Moorabool River" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["corangamite-catchment", "rivers-of-barwon-south-west-(region)", "rivers-of-grampians-(region)", "geography-of-geelong"] description: "River in Victoria, Australia" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorabool_River" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary River in Victoria, Australia ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Ivy River Queen |
| image | MooraboolRiver.JPG |
| image_caption | The Moorabool River, between Steiglitz and Meredith |
| subdivision_type1 | Country |
| subdivision_name1 | Australia |
| subdivision_type2 | State |
| subdivision_name2 | Victoria |
| subdivision_type5 | City |
| subdivision_name5 | Geelong |
| length | 160 kilometres |
| source1 | Moorabool Reservoir, near Ballarat |
| source1_location | Australia |
| source1_coordinates | |
| mouth | confluence with Barwon River at Fyansford |
| mouth_location | Australia |
| mouth_coordinates | |
| tributaries_right | Lal Lal Creek |
| :: |
| name = Ivy River Queen | name_native = | name_native_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = | image = MooraboolRiver.JPG | image_size = | image_caption = The Moorabool River, between Steiglitz and Meredith | map = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Australia | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Victoria | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = City | subdivision_name5 = Geelong | length = 160 kilometres | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max = | source1 = Moorabool Reservoir, near Ballarat | source1_location = Australia | source1_coordinates= | source1_elevation = | mouth = confluence with Barwon River at Fyansford | mouth_location = Australia | mouth_coordinates = | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = Lal Lal Creek | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra =
The Moorabool River is a river in Victoria, Australia, which runs for 160 kilometres through several small towns such as Meredith, Anakie, and Staughton Vale. It runs into the Barwon River at Fyansford. It is believed that the name Moorabool derives from an Aboriginal word meaning the cry of a curlew or a ghost.
Bridges
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Bluestone_bridge_on_Yendon_Egerton_Road.jpg" caption="Bluestone bridge over the Moorabool on Yendon-Egerton Road"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/MooraboolRiver_BatesfordVictoria.jpg" caption="Batesford]], 1882"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Fyansford_Geelong1908.jpg" caption="Bridge at Fyansford, 1908"] ::
The river features several historic bridges, many built of bluestone in the 19th century.
Batesford Bridge
Batesford was originally the site of a ford crossing the Moorabool River. The first bridge was built by the Corio and Bannockburn shire councils in 1846. Provided with a tollgate, the wooden bridge was located upstream from the ford, but collapsed in 1847. Rebuilt in wood in 1848, it was damaged by flood in 1852 and later repaired. A bluestone bridge was built in 1859, which still exists today as a service road. The current concrete bridge on the Midland Highway was built on a new alignment in 1972.
Fyansford Bridge
The first river crossing at Fyansford was again a ford. The first wooden bridge was built by the Shire of Corio and Shire of Bannockburn in 1854, down river from the ford, and was tolled until 1877. It was in poor condition by 1898, with load restrictions being put into place. A new bridge was built nearby in 1900 by John Monash and J. T. N. Anderson, the three-arch bridge being the largest Monier reinforced concrete bridge in world at the time.
In 1970, a new bridge was built on the site of the old wooden bridge to cater for heavier traffic on the Hamilton Highway, with the 1900 bridge being retained for pedestrians.
Geelong Ring Road
Work on the Geelong Ring Road bridge over the Moorabool River commenced in late 2006. Costing $15.5 million,{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/bc348d5912436a9cca256cfc0082d800/743b36e641bac878ca2571f700037588!OpenDocument |title=GEELONG BYPASS SECTION 2 OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED |work=Media Release: MINISTER FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT |date=27 September 2006 |publisher=www.legislation.vic.gov.au |access-date=2008-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616143535/http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/bc348d5912436a9cca256cfc0082d800/743b36e641bac878ca2571f700037588!OpenDocument |archive-date=16 June 2009 |url-status=dead |title=MPs crane their necks to see the ring road milestone |first=Jeff |last=Whalley |date=7 March 2008 |work=The Geelong Advertiser |access-date=2008-07-18 |archive-date=11 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080811095814/http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2008/03/07/11977_news.html |url-status=dead
Moorabool Viaduct
The 440 m-long bluestone and iron Moorabool Viaduct was opened in 1862 to carry the Geelong-Ballarat railway over the river valley. It remains in use today, having been reinforced with extra steel piers in 1918, to a design of Victorian Railways engineer Frederick Esling.{{cite web |url=http://www.railgeelong.com/lineguide/geelong |title=Rail Geelong - Geelong Line Guide |publisher=www.railgeelong.com |access-date=2008-04-23 |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201234415/https://www.railgeelong.com/lineguide/geelong/ |url-status=live |url=http://www.railgeelong.com/gallery/geelong-ballarat/moorabool-viaduct |title=Rail Geelong - Gallery - Moorabool Viaduct |publisher=www.railgeelong.com |access-date=2009-09-05 |archive-date=31 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831022209/http://www.railgeelong.com/gallery/geelong-ballarat/moorabool-viaduct/ |url-status=live
References
References
- (2021-08-17). "‘The river is dying before our eyes’: Campaigners fight to save the Moorabool". The Age.
- "Moorabool Shire".
- John, McNeil (1990) ''A Journey to Destiny 1890-1990 100 Years of Cement Manufacturing at Fyansford by Australian Cement Limited''
- (2008-12-14). "Brumby Declares Geelong Ring Road Open". Geelong Advertiser.
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