Length 89 km Country Australia | Mouth Timor Sea | |
Main source Elizabeth and Catherine Range
227 metres (745 ft) River mouth Maitland Bay, Timor Sea
sea level | ||
The Glenelg River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The headwaters of the river rise in the Elizabeth and Catherine Range. The river flows in a north-westerly direction past the Whately Range and discharges into Maitland Bay then through George Water, into Doubtful Bay and finally the Timor Sea.
The McRae River is a tributary of the Glenelg River.
It was first explored in 1838 by a party led by George Grey, but they were poorly prepared and ill-equipped. Grey named the river on 2 March 1838 after Lord Glenelg who was Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1835 to 1839 and under whose auspices Grey undertook his explorations.
On 31 March 1929, en route from Sydney to England, the Southern Cross with Charles Kingsford Smith at the helm made an emergency landing on a mudflat near the mouth of the river. The Southern Cross was found and rescued after a fortnight's searching, with George Innes Beard, Albert Barunga and Wally from Kunmunya Mission the first overland party to reach the downed aircraft.