Passengers leaving the Silver Star river steamer ferry at Coffee Point (site of the South of Perth Yacht Club), with the old Canning Bridge in the background. ca. 1906.

The Canning River is a major tributary of the Swan River in southwestern Western Australia. A tributary is a Stream or River which flows into a mainstem (or parent river The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. With headwaters on the Darling Scarp, the Canning meanders through suburbs of Perth on the Swan Coastal Plain, including Cannington, Thornlie, Riverton, Shelley, Rossmoyne and Mount Pleasant, before joining the Swan at Melville Water just downstream of the Canning Bridge. The Darling Scarp (previously known as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges) is a low Escarpment running north-south to the east of the Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature that lies directly west of the Darling Scarp, and which contains the Swan River Cannington is a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Canning. Thornlie Western Australia is a residential Suburb located in the south east of Perth, Western Australia. Riverton is a suburb of Perth in Western Australia. Location Riverton is situated about 14km or 15 minutes from Perth Shelley is a suburb of Perth Western Australia, located within the City of Canning. Rossmoyne is a suburb of Perth Western Australia, within the City of Canning. Mount Pleasant is a suburb of Perth Western Australia, located within the City of Melville. Melville Water is a section of the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia. Canning Bridge is a traffic bridge which is the most downstream crossing of the Canning River in the city of Perth, Western Australia

The Canning River was named after George Canning, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1827 whose government facilitated the expedition by James Stirling to establish the Swan River Colony. George Canning (11 April 1770 &ndash 8 August 1827 was a British statesman and Politician who served as Foreign Secretary and is at present the shortest serving The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Year 1827 ( MDCCCXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Bold text' ]] ==Family background==He was the fifth son of eight of the fifteen children of Andrew Stirling Esq Swan River Colony was a British settlement established at the Swan River on the west coast of Australia in 1829 Canning's name is honoured by a number of other features in Western Australia.

Convicts constructed the Canning River Convict Fence for the use of barges carrying timber from Mason's Timber Mill in the Darling Ranges^{[1][2][3][4][5]} is a notable landmark still to this day.

The Canning River is at the back of a very famous book called "My Place" by Sally Morgan. Sally always comes and plays in the dam which then leads to Canning River. Sally loves Wild Life and this is a great way to find it, in this river.

The river is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species.

Algae Bloom

Algal blooms occur naturally in the Canning River system, they are caused by a buildup of nutrients in the river. Human activities including farming, residential gardens and parklands are the major causes of increases in levels, the blooms are potentially toxic to both mammal and marine life. The Swan River Trust monitors the levels of nutrients and growth of the algae issuing warnings and closing sections of the river to all activities. The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. The Trust also operates cleanup programs to reduce the amount of nutrients reaching the river, as well phosphorus removal and oxygenation in areas were blooms have been identified. ^[6]

The Trust is encourage by the appearance of Azolla carpets on sections of the Canning River as this fern is known to reduce the amount of sunlight available to the algae as well as absorbing large amounts of phosphorus and other nutrients from the water. Azolla ( mosquito fern, duckweed fern, fairy moss, water fern) is a Genus of seven species of aquatic The benefits of Azolla also raise concerns about deoxygenation of the water and omit a strong sulphur odor. ^[7]

Canning River without the Azolla in February 2006. Azolla ( mosquito fern, duckweed fern, fairy moss, water fern) is a Genus of seven species of aquatic

Same location covered in a carpet of Azolla March 2007.

See also

• Head of the River (Australia)
• Mount Henry

Further reading

• Brearley, Anne (2005). The Head of the River is a name given to six annual Australian rowing Regattas held in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania History The Noongar people have been acknowledged as the traditional owners of this area Ernest Hodgkin's Swanland : estuaries and coastal lagoons of South-western Australia. Crawley, W. A. : University of Western Australia Press for the Ernest Hodgkin Trust for Estuary Education and Research and National Trust of Australia (WA),. ISBN 1-920694-38-2.  
• Burningham, Nick (2004). Messing About in Earnest. Fremantle Arts Centre Press. ISBN 1-920731-25-3.  
• Richards, Oline. (199). Canning River Regional Park, Western Australia : historical survey. Perth, W. A. : Dept. of Planning and Urban Development. ISBN 0-7309-3249-4.  
• Seddon, George (1970). Swan River Landscapes. Crawley, W. A. : University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 0-85564-043-X.  
• Carden, F. G. (1st Edition 1968, 2nd edition, 1991,). Along the Canning: A History of the City of Canning Western Australia, Covering its progress from Roads Board to Shire, to Town, to City City of Canning,.  

References