Olive River

The Olive River is a river in the Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland, Australia.

The headwaters of the river rise in the Richardson Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, on the Cape York Peninsula. The river initially flows south-easterly and then veers north east and continues across the mostly uninhabited coastal plain and then white sand dunes eventually discharging into Temple Bay and the Coral Sea, north of. The river descends 55 m over its 70 km course.

The river has a catchment area of 2056 km2 of which an area of 43 km2 is composed of estuarine wetlands.

The traditional owners of the area are the Wuthahti and Kuuku Ya’u peoples, who maintain strong spiritual connections with their country. In 2009 the Federal Court granted native title rights over 1980 km2 of land and waters north of the town of Lockhart River and north to the mouth of the Olive River, inclusive of part of the Wuthara Island National Park, the Mitirinchi Island National Park and the Piper Islands National Park. The area was visited by as part of a hydrographic survey conducted by the Admiralty in 1893 it is thought to either have been named after a mayor of Cooktown or the characteristic tea-coloured water in the river.

The riparian vegetation are home to many species only found on Cape York Peninsula including the threatened cycad plant, Cycas silvestris.