RROAR Scope

Purpose

Description

The Richmond River has a catchment area of 6900 square kilometres. The river rises in the McPherson Range near Mt Lindsay in Border Ranges and flows southerly through Kyogle towards Casino. The Richmond below Casino flows in a south-easterly direction to Coraki where it is joined by the Wilsons River and a further five kilometres downstream by Bungawalbin Creek. The river flows in a generally north-easterly direction, entering the South Pacific Ocean at Ballina.

The main tributary of the Richmond River is the Wilsons River, which contributes around 60% of the flows in the lower river. Other important tributaries are Eden Creek west of Kyogle and Shannon Brook and Bungawalbin Creek, which drain the southern part of the catchment and enter the tidal reach of the river. Understandings of the river and catchment in terms of Indigenous Knowledges, and scientific, cultural and historical records will be sought.

This archive is centred on the Richmond River and its tributaries: Findon, Ford’s, Lynch’s, Fawcett’s and Eden Creeks, Wilsons River, Leycester, Goolmangar, Terania, Cooper’s and Wilson’s Creeks, Bungawalbin Creek, Myall and Myrtle Creeks. The Richmond also has an extensive tidal zone that extends beyond Tatham on the Richmond River and Lismore on the Wilsons River. The repository is also inclusive of the coastal catchment of the Evans River which is connected to the Richmond River at Woodburn by a canal, operated to mitigate flooding and improve drainage in the mid-Richmond River area.

Attention is also directed to the catchment regarding land use activities that impact water quality and water management. Water storage, water use, regulation and restoration and the relationship between people and the river expressed in creation stories, formation, land clearing, agricultural use, urban development, and recreation inform our collection policy. In the other direction, the collection will include materials related to the effect of the river on land use, the economy, urban development and flooding.

The repository will include records that relate directly to the Richmond River and its ecosystem, its reaches and drainage area, riparian zones, floodplains, estuaries and deltas, artificial canals and channels.

However, the archive will not include the collection of resources documenting the social, economic and political history of the region more generally, already available through other agencies.

The mission of the Richmond River Open Access Repository is to facilitate the health of the River and its tributaries and catchment, to create awareness of its geographical diversity, to protect natural and cultural resources for the future and create opportunities for research and understanding. The collection will include audio and video recordings, artistic works, reports, research papers, maps and media focussing on the river and its tributaries and catchment, produced up to the present time.