Burnett River, river in southeastern Queensland, Australia, rising on the western slope of the Burnett Range, east of the Eastern Highlands. The river flows southwest to Eidsvold and turns east at Mundubbera and then northeast through Gayndah and Bundaberg to enter the Pacific Ocean at Burnett Heads, after a course of 270 mi (435 km). It has a catchment area of 12,440 sq mi (32,220 sq km). The chief tributaries are the Auburn and Boyne rivers and Barambah Creek. Its upper reaches water beef-cattle country, whereas further downstream sugarcane and dairy farms predominate. Navigability is limited to the 10 mi below Bundaberg. The river was named after the surveyor J.C. Burnett, who explored it in 1847.