Patawalonga River
| Patawalonga | |
| Patawalonga Creek | |
| River | |
 The Patawalonga River near its mouth
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| Nickname: The Pat | |
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| State | South Australia |
| Region | Mid North |
| District | Adelaide Plains |
| Towns | Glenelg |
| Source | |
| - location | near Adelaide Airport |
| Mouth | Gulf St Vincent |
| - location | Glenelg North |
| - elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| - coordinates | 34°58′12″S 138°30′49″E / 34.9700°S 138.5136°ECoordinates: 34°58′12″S 138°30′49″E / 34.9700°S 138.5136°E |
| Length | 7 km (4 mi) |
| Basin | 210 km2 (81 sq mi) |
 Location of the river mouth in South Australia
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The Patawalonga River is a river located in the Adelaide Plains district of the Mid North region in the Australian state of South Australia.
The Patawalonga River, sometimes called Patawalonga Creek, and known to local residents as the Pat, is a short river of roughly 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) in length that was, before European settlement, a tidal estuary. The river is serviced by a 210-square-kilometre (81 sq mi) catchment area that exists in metropolitan Adelaide, with its mouth at the suburb of Glenelg.
The Patawalonga serves as an outlet for several creeks including the Keswick, Brownhill Creeks and Sturt Creek (also known as Sturt River), the latter being a former natural creek comprising for a significant part of its length now as a large concrete storm-drain.
The catchment includes the Warriparinga Wetlands (opened 16 December 1998), an artificial wetlands situated near the suburb of Marion designed to filter stormwater before it flows through Sturt Creek to the Patawalonga.
At its mouth the River's flow is regulated by barrages at Glenelg North and then flows past the Holdfast Shores marina development.
The first advocate for damming the Patawalonga was Thomas King MP, a member of State Parliament, who introduced a Bill to enable the Corporation of Glenelg to construct such a dam in 1876. Damming, apart from enabling the Patawalonga to be navigable and thus a safe harbour for yachts and other recreational watercraft, was seen as a means of reducing or removing the odour from the estuary of the river. The dam was ultimately constructed in ca. 1885. King's service to his community is commemorated by a street and bridge over the river connecting Glenelg North with Glenelg, the "King Street Bridge".
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Wikipedia