The Broken River is a minor river in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 that is a part of the larger Murray-Darling Basin

Murray-Darling Basin

The Murray-Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, whose name is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River. It drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural...

. It flows into the Goulburn River

Goulburn River (Victoria)

The Goulburn River is a major inland river in Victoria, Australia.The headwaters of the Goulburn River rise in the western end of the Victoria Alps, near Mount Buller. The Eildon Dam creates Lake Eildon, a major storage of water for irrigation...

 near Shepparton

Shepparton, Victoria

Shepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia approximately north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The estimated population of Shepparton's statistical area is 48,926.It began as a sheep station...

. The origin of the name is likely to have come from the fact that the river in times of drought would be reduced to a series of water holes.
The Broken River should not be confused with Broken Creek

Broken Creek

Broken Creek is a creek in northern Victoria, Australia. The creek diverges from Broken River immediately downstream from the former Lake Mokoan near Benalla and flows in a north-west direction. The creek passes through the towns of Numurkah and Nathalia before entering the Murray River upstream...

, another nearby watercourse flowing into the Murray River near Barmah

Barmah, Victoria

Barmah is a town in Victoria, with the distinction of being located north of the southerly border with New South Wales. At the 2006 census, Barmah had a population of 201....

.
The Broken River (when at its maximum capacity) is the fastest flowing river in Australia.

The town of Benalla

Benalla, Victoria

Benalla is a city of just over 9,000 people located just off the Hume Freeway in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, about southwest of Wangaratta. Its Local Government Area is the Rural City of Benalla.- Overview :...

on the river was known as Broken River into the 1850s.