Roper

History

The traditional owners of the Roper River are the Ngalakgan, Alawa, Mangarrayi, Ngandi, Marra, Warndarrang, Nunggubuyu, Ritharrngu-Wagilak and Rembarrnga peoples.

The first European to explore the Roper River was Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845 as he made his way from Moreton Bay to Port Essington. Leichhardt crossed the river at Roper Bar, a rocky shelf which conveniently lies at the high tide limit on the river. He named the river after John Roper, a member of the expedition stating: "I found myself on the banks of a large fresh water river from 500 to 800 yards broad, with not very high banks... it was the river Mr Roper has seen two days before, and I named it after him, as I had promised to do."

Location and features

Formed by the confluence of the Waterhouse River and Roper Creek, the Roper River rises east of Mataranka in the Elsey National Park and flows generally east for over 400 km (250 mi) to meet the sea in Limmen Bight on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The river is joined by fifteen tributaries, including the Chambers, Strangways, Jalboi, Hodgson and the Wilton Rivers. The river descends 126 m (413 ft) over its 400 km (250 mi) course and has a catchment area of 81,794 km2 (31,581 mi2), which is one of the largest river catchment areas in the Northern Territory. The Roper River is navigable for about 145 kilometres (90 mi), until the tidal limit at Roper Bar, and forms the southern boundary of the region known as Arnhem Land.