Macquarie River

The Macquarie River is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia. Its headwaters rise in the central highlands of New South Wales near the town of Oberon. The river travels generally northwest past the towns of Bathurst, Wellington, Dubbo, Narromine, and Warren to the Macquarie Marshes. The Macquarie Marshes then drain into the Darling River via the lower Barwon River.

Burrendong Dam is a large dam (capacity 1,190,000 Megalitres) near Wellington which impounds the waters of the Macquarie River and its tributaries the Cudgegong River and the Turon River for flood control and irrigation. The dam creates Lake Burrendong.

The river was first discovered near Bathurst by European explorer, George Evans in 1812 and named in honour of Lieutenant-Colonel Lachlan Macquarie, who served as the last autocratic Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, from 1810 to 1821.