DARLING  , a

river of Australia . It rises in Queensland and flows into New South Wales, forming for a considerable distance the boundary of the two colonies ; in its upper reaches it is known as the Barwon, but from Bourke to its junction on the Victorian border with the river Murray, it is called the Darling . Its length is 116o m., and with its affluents it drains an area of about 200,000 sq. m . During the dry season its course is marked by a series of shallow pools, but during the winter, when it is subject to sudden floods, it is navigable as far as Bourke for steamers of light draft . Excepting a narrow strip on the banks of the river, the country through which it passes is, for the most part, an arid plain .