The Richmond River is one of the three major rivers in the north-eastern corner of New South Wales, Australia, the other two being the Clarence River to the south and the Tweed River to the north. It runs for approximately 170 km from the foothills of the Border Ranges past the towns of Kyogle, Casino, Coraki, Woodburn, where it turns northward and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Ballina. Hence Northern Rivers being the name for the region.

Captain James Cook didn't notice the river when he sailed up the east coast of the Australian mainland in 1770 and it wasn't until Captain Henry John Rous identified the mouth of the river in 1828 that it was discovered by Europeans. Rous entered the river and sailed about 32 km up river. He subsequently named the river Richmond after the fifth Duke of Richmond. Later that year the explorer Allan Cunningham reached the river by land.

The river was a major port from the 1840s - mid 20th century. Soon after the first white settlers arrived they discovered the abundant supply of Australian Red Cedar in the Richmond Valley and immediately began logging. The river was vital in the transportation of this resource.

At the time of its discovery in 1828 and until the late 1890s the river had a treacherous mouth of shifting sand bars, and many ships and lives were lost on it. Understandably, a decision was made to construct two breakwaters to channel the river's flow and these were completed in the early 1900s.

The construction of the breakwaters also led to the formation of Shaw's Bay (after sand built up behind what is now called Lighthouse or Main Beach).With the decline of shipping as a transport mode, owing to better roads and rail, and the closing of the North Coast Steam Navigation Company (the major shipping firm of the area) in 1954, the river became less important as a port.

More recently, however, there has been greater appreciation of the river and its place in Ballina (and NSW North Coast) history. For boats the river is only navigable for a short way up its length, possibly as far as Coraki, but a major tributary of the Richmond River is the Wilson River, which flows through the city of Lismore and is navigable at least as far as Lismore.

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