The Murray-Darling is the world’s 16th-longest river at 2,310 miles. It is actually two rivers that are taken together. Both begin far inland and flow to the Southern Ocean.The Murray-Darling drainage area is one of the largest in the world and certainly the largest on the continent, draining most of inland Victoria, New South Wales, and southern Queensland.The Murray-Darling system is one of the least changed things in all of Nature. Its drainage pattern has remained in virtually the same place for millions of years. The river was first explored in 1824 by William H. Hovell and Hamilton H. Hume. It wasn’t until five years later, however, that Charles Sturt navigated both rivers enough to determine that they were indeed the same river system.Paddleboats were being used by this team, and steamers came later, carrying wool, wheat, and other goods up and down the river. Since settlement of the river basin was so late, the invention of the railroad came much sooner in the life of settlement of the river, meaning that the river didn’t ever really find itself a booming source of trade.                                      This Information WAS FOUND ON:http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/geography/murraydarlingriver.htm