Editing Murray River (section)

==History==
[[Roonka Flat]], near [[Blanchetown, South Australia|Blanchetown]], was a site of occupation since at least 7000BC.

===European exploration===
The first Europeans to encounter the river were [[Hume and Hovell expedition|Hamilton Hume and William Hovell]], who crossed the river where [[Albury]] now stands in 1824: [[Hamilton Hume|Hume]] named it the ''Hume River'' after his father. In 1830, [[Charles Sturt|Captain Charles Sturt]] reached the river after travelling down its tributary the [[Murrumbidgee River]] and named it the ''Murray River'' in honour of the then British [[Secretary of State for War and the Colonies]], [[George Murray (British Army officer)|Sir George Murray]], not realising it was the same river that Hume and Hovell had encountered further upstream.

Sturt continued down the remaining length of the Murray to finally reach [[Lake Alexandrina (South Australia)|Lake Alexandrina]] and the river's mouth. The vicinity of the Murray Mouth was explored more thoroughly by Captain [[Collet Barker]] in 1831.

The first three settlers on the Murray River are known to have been [[James Collins Hawker]] (explorer and surveyor) along with [[Edward John Eyre]] (explorer and later [[Governor of Jamaica]]) plus E.B. Scott (onetime superintendent of [[Yatala Labour Prison]]). Hawker is known to have sold his share in the [[Bungaree, South Australia|Bungaree Station]], which he founded with his brothers, and relocated alongside the Murray at a site near [[Blanchetown|Moorundie]].<ref name="Obituary2">{{cite news |title=The LateMr. J. C. Hawker. An Interesting Career|newspaper=The Register|date=16 May 1901|location=Adelaide}}</ref>

In 1852, [[Francis Cadell (explorer)|Francis Cadell]], in preparation for the launch of his steamer service, explored the river in a canvas boat, travelling {{convert|1300|miles}} downstream from [[Swan Hill]].<ref>{{Cite news| newspaper = South Australian Register | title = Present condition and prospects of south australia. | date = 14 September 1852 | page = 1S | access-date =4 November 2010 | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13308357}}</ref>

In 1858, while acting as Minister of Land and Works for New South Wales, Irish nationalist and founder of [[Young Ireland]], [[Charles Gavan Duffy (Australian politician)|Charles Gavan Duffy]], founded Carlyle Township on the Murray River, after his close friend, Scottish historian and essayist [[Thomas Carlyle]]. Included in the township were "Jane Street", named in honour of Carlyle's wife [[Jane Carlyle]] and "Stuart-Mill Street" in honour of political philosopher [[John Stuart Mill]]<ref>{{cite web |url= https://archive.org/details/conversationswit01duff/page/n9/mode/2up |title= Conversations with Carlyle |first= Charles | last= Gavan Duffy  |date= 1892 |website= Internet Archive |publisher= [[Charles Scribner's Sons]]|page= 204 |access-date= 28 February 2021 }}</ref>

In 1858, the Government [[Zoologist]], [[William Blandowski]], together with [[Gerard Krefft]], explored the lower reaches of the Murray and Darling rivers, compiling a list of birds and [[mammal]]s.

[[George Ernest Morrison|George "Chinese" Morrison]], then aged 18, navigated the river by canoe from [[Wodonga]] to its mouth, in 65 days, completing the 1,555-mile (2,503&nbsp;km) journey in January 1881.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pearl|first=Cyril|title=Morrison of Peking|publisher=Angus & Robertson|place=Sydney, Australia|date=1967|pages=11–12}}</ref>