234 



H. G. McKINNEY. 



rivers which are neither navigable themselves nor affect others 

 which are navigable, but notwithstanding this limitation the field 

 for inquiry which is opened by the use of the word " reasonable " 

 in the first section quoted, is much wider than might at first sight 

 be imagined. Consideration of the existing conditions and of the 

 potentialities of the river Murray and its tributaries makes this 

 point sufficiently clear. In fact, the extent and importance of 

 the question of intercolonial water rights are little understood and 

 generally greatly under-estimated. 



In 1891, Sir Henry Parkes, who had a clear conception of the 

 importance of the subject, instructed the present writer to prepare 

 a map of the drainage area of the river Murray, and the accom- 

 panying map was the result. In view of the fact that compara- 

 tively little information was available regarding the positions of 

 the natural features of large portions of the country, and that a 

 map shewing merely the great extent of such a catchment area 

 as that of the river Murray, was likely to give a very incorrect 

 impression regarding the quantity of water which might be 

 expected to flow off, as good an approximate division as practicable 

 was made between the effective and non-effective portions of the 

 catchment. There is, of course, no actual boundary between 

 these, but it may fairly be assumed that the parts of the various 

 tributary catchments which are shown on the map by horizontal 

 shading, constitute the effective drainage area, while the great 

 central area (unshaded) contributes practically nothing to the 

 supply of water in the rivers. 



This great drainage area of 414,255 square miles includes 

 portions of four colonies as follows : — 



Colony. 



Catcbment in Square Miles. 



Effective. 



Non-effective. 



Total. 



New South Wales 

 Queensland 



Victoria 



South Australia ... 



Totals 



75,500 

 67,690 

 16,700 



158,860 

 36,835 

 34,280 

 24.390 



234,360 



104,525 



50,980 



24,390 



159,890 



254,365 



414,255 



