Broken River (Victoria)

The Broken River, a minor inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Alpine and Northern Country/North Central regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The headwaters of the Broken River rise in the western slopes of the Victorian Alps, near Bald Hill and descend to flow into the Goulburn River near Shepparton. The river is impounded by the Nillahcootie Dam to create Lake Nillahcootie and Benalla Dam to create Lake Benalla.

Location and features
The river rises below Bald Hill on the western slopes of the Victorian Alps, within the Mount Buffalo National Park in the Shire of Mansfield. The river flow generally west, then north, then west passing through or adjacent to the regional cities of and, joined by ten minor tributaries, before reaching its confluence with the Goulburn River within Shepparton. The river descends 1070 m over its 225 km course.

When at maximum capacity, the Broken River is the fastest flowing river in Australia.

The town of, located adjacent to the river, was known as Broken River into the 1850s. It was the location of the Battle of Broken River.

Etymology
In the local Aboriginal language, Ngurai-illam-wurrung, the river at its junction with the Goulburn River is named Marangan, meaning "deep pond, lagoon".

The origin of the river's current name is originally thought to be derived from the fact that in dry seasons the river bed is broken into a series of water holes.