River, northwestern Tasmania, Australia. It is formed near Tullah by the confluence of the Macintosh and Murchison rivers. Rising on the western edge of the central highlands, it is about 70 mi (115 km) long and flows west to the Indian Ocean. There was some gold and tin mining in the area during the 1870s and 1890s. It was named for an infamous convict, Alexander Pierce (Jimmy the Pieman), who was recaptured at its mouth after escaping from the Macquarie Harbour penal colony