HUON RIVER

river in southern Tasmania, Australia, rising on the slopes of Mounts Wedge, Bowen, and Anne. It flows south and then, blocked by the Arthur Range, east to be joined by its tributaries, the Weld and Picton rivers, below Huon Gorge. Turning southeast, it passes Huonville at the limit of navigation and enters a wide estuary after a course of 105 miles (170 km). At Geeveston the estuary bends eastward to flow into the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. The river was named in 1792 by the French admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux for his second-in-command, Huon de Kermadec. Although only about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Hobart, the river's lower valley was not settled until the 1850s because of its heavily wooded and swampy character. The area, encompassing the Huon Peninsula, is now intensively cultivated and has some of the highest rural population densities in Tasmania. The island's leading apple-growing area is centred on Huonville, where there is a pulp mill using timber cut in the valley. A popular tourist region, with a large annual apple festival at Cygnet, the valley is accessible from Hobart via the Huon and Channel highways.