The overall objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of selected furrow irrigation models for field conditions in south-east Australia. The other important aspects which were examined during this study include: developing a methodology for estimating of infiltrating characteristics, assessing the applicability of the Manning and other similar equations for flows in furrow irrigation, investigating the variation of shape factor during irrigation developing methodology for estimation of recession time and exploring the sensitivity of the models to the input parameters. Field experiments were conducted at Walla Park in northern N.S.W. and on two selected paddocks at the University Farm, Richmond, in western Sydney,Australia, over a period of three years. The validity of the assumption that the shape factor of advancing water front during furrow irrigation varies between 0.7 and 0.8 was investigated using field data collected from irrigation events monitored in the study. It was found that the average values of the shape factor varied from 0.96 to 1.80 at Walla Park site, from 0.56 to 0.80 at Field Services unit paddock site and from 0.78 to 0.84 at Horticulture Farm paddock site. The value of shape factor was affected by uniformity of furrow cross section along the length, the value and uniformity of furrow slope, furrow length and infiltration characteristics of soil. This means it is difficult to recommend a typical value for the shape factor for a given field situation.The performance of the models for prediction of advance and recession characteristics and runoff were evaluated using different indices of performance. In general, it was found that the Walker-HD and ZI model was the most satisfactory for the field conditions encountered in this study. This finding can provide a basis for initiating work on developing design criteria and management strategies for furrow irrigation in south-east Australia. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)