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History of River Names - G


The following information is a summary of the origins for river names in Western Australia. Please select the first letter of the river you wish to see.
Please note: The names of all river names are being added progressively to the database.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

GAIRDNER RIVER – there are two Gairdner River’s in WA, one in the Kimberley, and one in the south west. This Gairdner River is located in the west Kimberley, and is a 42km long tributary of the Glenelg River. It was named by the explorer Captain George Grey in 1838, most likely after Gordon Gairdner Esq of the Colonial Office in London. The other Gairdner River and Gairdner Range near Geraldton are also named after this person.


GAIRDNER RIVER – the second of the Gairdner Rivers is located in the Great Southern Region, rising near Lake Magenta, and flowing 110km south easterly into the Gordon Inlet near Bremer Bay on the South Coast. This river was named by Surveyor General J S Roe in 1848 after Gordon Gairdner of the Colonial Office, London


GARDNER RIVER – the Gardner River is located in the south west forest area, rising north east of Northcliffe and flowing generally south for 47km to the Southern Ocean east of Windy Harbour. The river was probably named by Governor Stirling sometime between 1833 and 1835, possibly after Captain Sir Alan Gardner RN. The mouth of this river was reported by Lieutenant William Preston, who camped near it in 1831 during a voyage by whaleboat along the south coast, however, he did not name it. It was believed for a time to be the outlet of the Gordon River and appeared on early plans with that name. By 1835, this error had been corrected and it was shown on subsequent maps as Gardner River.


GASCOYNE RIVER – the Gascoyne River, Western Australia’s longest river, was named in 1839 by the explorer Captain George Grey, after a Captain Gascoyne, a friend of his. The Gascoyne River rises as the Gascoyne River (North Branch) in Three Rivers Station near the Great Northern Highway, and flows generally westerly for about 865km to the Indian Ocean at Carnarvon. In his exploration journal Grey states ‘the river which I named the Gascoyne in compliment to my friend, Captain Gascoyne’. Gascoyne was most likely a fellow officer in 83rd Regiment of Foot.


GASCOYNE RIVER MIDDLE – this 15km long middle branch of the Gascoyne was probably named by a surveyor in 1886.


GASCOYNE RIVER NORTH – the Gascoyne River North is about 125km long, rising near the Collier Range and joining the Gascoyne at the foot of Mt Pleasant. The river was traversed by surveyor T Beasley in 1886.


GASCOYNE RIVER SOUTH – the 15km long southern branch of the Gascoyne flows north from near Doolgunna homestead, and was named by surveyor Beasley in 1886.


GEORGE RIVER – the George River is located in the Pilbara region, rising in the Chichester Range and flowing generally northwards for 45km to its junction with the Little Sherlock River east of Roebourne. The George was named by the surveyor/explorer Francis T Gregory, leader of the North West Australian Exploring Expedition in 1861, but it is not known after whom.


GERVASE RIVER – the Gervase River is a 5km long tributary of the Collie River which it joins in Wellington Dam. The river was probably named by Marshall Waller Clifton, Chief Commissioner of the Western Australian Land Company, after his son, Gervase Clifton. The nearby Worsley River is named after another son of Clifton, Leonard Worsley Clifton. The names of these rivers were first recorded by surveyor H M Ommanney in 1845 during surveys for the WA Land Company.


GIBB RIVER – the Gibb River is located in the central Kimberley region, and is a 112km long tributary of the Drysdale River. It was named by surveyor Charles Crossland in 1901 after Andrew Gibb Maitland (1864-1951), the Government Geologist who was accompanying Crossland when the river was sighted. Maitland was Government Geologist from 1896 to 1926. He was formerly Assistant Government Geologist in Queensland.


GLENELG RIVER – the Glenelg River is located in the west Kimberley, commencing in the Elizabeth and Catherine Ranges, and flowing generally north east for about 85km into Maitland Bay, George Water. It was named by the explorer Captain George Grey in 1838 ‘in compliment to the Right Hon Lord Glenelg, to whom we were all under great obligations’. Charles Grant, Lord Glenelg (1778-1866), was born in Bengal, India, and went to England with his family in 1790. He was M.P. for Inverness from 1811 until raised to the peerage in 1835, when he took the title Baron Glenelg, the name of his estate in Scotland. He was Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1835 to 1839 and it was under his auspices that Grey undertook his Australian explorations. Grey's first volume contains a dedication to Lord Glenelg.


GLIDDON RIVER – the Gliddon River is a 74km long tributary of the Margaret River located in the Kimberley region, the name being first recorded as Glidden River by a team from the Geological Survey of Western Australia in 1965. The name was probably supplied by Ian Thom of Moola Bulla Station after Reginald Frank Howard Gliddon (1882-1962), part owner of Mt Amhurst Station until 1957. The spelling was amended to Gliddon River in 1991 following research into the naming by Kim Epton.


GOODGA RIVER – The Goodga River is a small 10km long stream which flows into Moates Lake close to the coast east of Albany. The name which is most likely of Aboriginal origin, was first recorded by a surveyor in 1913.


GORDON RIVER – the Gordon River was named by Surveyor General J S Roe during an exploration from Perth to Albany in 1835. It is named after the George Hamilton Gordon (1784-1860), 4th Earl of Aberdeen and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1834-35. He was also Prime Minister of England, 1852-1855. The river rises near Broomehill and flows generally westerly for 121km into the Frankland River.


GREENOUGH RIVER – the Greenough is located in the mid west region, rising in Jingemarra Station and flowing generally south westerly for about 340km to the Indian Ocean near Cape Burney about 9km south of Geraldton. It was named by the explorer George Grey in 1839 after George Ballas Greenough, President of the Royal Geographical Society in 1837 at the time Grey’s expedition was equipped.

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