Yarra River

Geobox | River
name = Yarra
other_name = Birrarung
other_name1 =
other_name2 =
other_name3 =
other_name4 =
other_name5 =
category =

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image_caption = The Yarra River as it flows north-west towards central Melbourne, passing underneath the Swan Street Bridge.
etymology = Wurundjeri
nickname = "The Yarra"
country = Australia
country1 =
country2 =
country3 =
country4 =
country_

state = Victoria
region = Central Victoria
district =
commune =
municipality =
parent =
tributary_left = Maribyrnong River
tributary_left1 = Merri Creek
tributary_left2 = Darebin Creek
tributary_left3 = Plenty River
tributary_right = Gardiners Creek
tributary_right1 = Koonung Creek
tributary_right2 = Mullum-Mullum Creek
city = Melbourne
landmark =
source = Yarra Ranges
source_location = Great Dividing Range
source_region = Victoria
source_country =
source_elevation = 1200
source_lat_d =
source_lat_m =
source_lat_s =
source_lat_NS =
source_long_d =
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source_long_EW =
mouth =
mouth_location = Port Phillip
mouth_country = Australia
mouth_elevation = 0
mouth_lat_d =
mouth_long_d =
length = 242
length_note =
length_round = +1
width =
depth =
watershed = 4078
watershed_note = approx.
watershed_round = +1
discharge = 718000
discharge_round = +1
discharge_location = mouth
free =


map_caption =
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statistics =
website =
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The Yarra River is a river in southern Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835. It begins its life in the Yarra Ranges and flows 242km west through the Yarra Valley, winding its way through Greater Melbourne before emptying into Hobsons Bay in northernmost Port Phillip. The river and the surrounding banks and hills were a source of gold throughout the Victorian gold rush and in many places its course was modified or disrupted for mining purposes, such as the Pound Bend Tunnel in Warrandyte.

Today, the river is used mostly for kayaking, canoeing, rowing and swimming, despite high levels of pollution in its lower stretches through Melbourne, primarily caused by leaking septic tanks, animal feces and other waste, the upper reaches remain a relatively healthy ecosystem. It was originally called "Birrarung" by the Wurundjeri people, however its current name is borrowed from another Wurundjeri term "Yarra Yarra" meaning "waterfall" or "flow", descriptive of any river or creek in the area, which was misunderstood by early European settlers.

Etymology

The river was called "Birrarung" by the Wurundjeri people who occupied the Yarra Valley and much of Central Victoria prior to European settlement. It is thought that "Birrarung" is derived from Wurundjeri words meaning "ever flowing". Another common term was "Birrarung Marr", thought to mean "river of mist" or "river bank". Upon European arrival it was given the name "Yarra Yarra" by John Helder Wedge of the Port Phillip Association in 1835, in the mistaken belief that this was the Aboriginal name for the river, however it is believed that "Yarra" means "waterfall" or "flow", descriptive of any river or creek in the area, not just the Yarra. Of their contact with local Wurunderi people in 1835, John Wedge wrote:

:"On arriving in sight of the river, the two natives who were with me pointed to the river, and called out at it "Yarra", "Yarra", which at the time I imagined to be its name. But I afterwards learnt that the words were what they used to designate a waterfall, as they gave the same designation to a small fall in the Werribee River, as we crossed it on our way back to Indented Head." - John Helder Wedge

History

The area surrounding the Yarra River and modern day Melbourne was originally inhabited by the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. It is believed that the area was occupied by indigenous Australians for at least 30,000 years. The river was an important resource for the Wurundjeri people and several sites along the river and its tributaries were important meeting places where "corroborees" were held between indigenous communities. In 1835, the area that is now central and northern Melbourne was explored by John Batman, a leading member of the Port Phillip Association, who negotiated a transaction for 600,000 acres (2,400 km²) of land from eight Wurundjeri chiefs. He selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village".

After European Settlement

In 1803, the first Europeans sailed up the river, a surveying party led by Charles Grimes, Acting Surveyor General of New South Wales, sailed upstream to Dights Falls where they could no longer continue due to the nature of the terrain. The river was instrumental in the establishment of Melbourne along its banks from 1835. It provided shelter for the first ships and drinking water for the first inhabitants; it drained the neighbouring land; it was a ready made sewer; and it gave the early industries the large volumes of water necessary in their processes, this led to a steady deterioration in water quality during the 19th century. Over the years, the mouth of the river was completely transformed by realignment, creating Coode Island, widening, deepening and in some cases, vast areas of land were excavated, such as Victoria Dock, in order to give ease of access for cargo and container ships.

Gold was first discovered in Victoria near the Yarra River in Warrandyte. The find was made by Louis Michel in 1851 at a tributary of the river, Anderson's Creek and marked the start of the Victorian gold rush. The approximate location of the site is marked by a cairn on Fourth Hill in the Warrandyte State Park. The river was drained and diverted in various areas throughout the gold rush to aid gold miners. An example of this is the tunnel at Pound Bend in Warrandyte. The river was partially dammed at Pound Bend near Normans Reserve at its eastern entrance and near Bob's wetlands at its western exit. Miners then blasted a 300m long tunnel through solid rock. The river was then fully dammed at the entrance and exit to the tunnel and water was diverted through 300m and out the other side leaving an astonishing 3.85km of riverbed around Pound Bend exposed to the sun and the miners picks.

Prior to the construction of the Upper Yarra Dam in the 1940's, the river occasionally flooded. This was not considered a problem in the floodplains near Yarra Glen and Coldstream, however it caused much trouble further downstream in settlements such as Warrandyte, Templestowe, Bulleen, Heidelberg and Ivanhoe. In the 1840's a wier was built at Dights Falls to power a flour mill and to give some control over the river downstream from there. Today, the river almost never floods and much of the surrounding vegetation is lacking in the silt and soil deposits that would otherwise be provided by the floods.

Coode Island

The "Fisherman's Bend" channel was first cut from 1880-1886, this created an island which was known as Coode Island, named after the engineer in charge of the excavation and dock construction works, Sir John Coode. The channel was widened and deepened (81m to 131m) in 1910, and again sometime before the 1940's. By 1942, 650m of the old course of the Yarra River had been filled in, by the 1950's it had been completly filled and land parcels were allocated. Swanson Dock was constructed between 1966 and 1972 and remains a busy port today, particularly used for produce cargo.

Victoria Dock

Initially known as "West Melbourne Dock", over 3 million cubic yards of material was excavated and the dock was eventually opened in 1892, the material that was removed was subsequently used to fill in part of the West Melbourne Swamp, it took 6 days for water from the Yarra River to fill the dock. In 1916, the central pier was completed which provided 6 additional shipping berths and cargo sheds. By the 1970's, shipping in Victoria Dock had decreased and today the dock is no longer used for industrial or cargo purposes and is undergoing urban re-development. The suburb of Melbourne Docklands now occupies the land surrounding Victoria Dock and hosts the highest concentration of urban development in Melbourne. Recently, it has been renamed again, this time to Victoria Harbour.

Geography

The Yarra River is fed by a number of small unnamed creeks and streams in the Yarra Ranges as well as 49 named tributaries, most of which are creeks. The river's lower reaches travel through central Melbourne. It is approximately convert|242|km|mi| in length, with a mean annual flow of convert|718000|ML|impgal U.S.gal|lk=on. It is the most westerly snow fed river in Australia. The total catchment area is approximately convert|4000|km2|sqmi|.

Water

The muddy brown colour of the Yarra is caused by the easily eroded clay soils of its catchment area. The water was clear at the time of the first European settlements, but intensive land clearing and development since the mid 1800s has resulted in the presence of microscopic clay particles. The particles are kept suspended by the turbulence in some parts of the middle and lower sections of the river. When the river water combines with marine salts as it enters Port Phillip, the suspended particles clump together and sink. The presence of clay particles is not a major factor in the pollution of the river.

Tributaries and geographic features

The Yarra's major tributaries are the Maribyrnong River, Moonee Ponds Creek, Merri Creek, Darebin Creek, Plenty River and the Mullum-Mullum Creek. The river hosts many geographical features such as; bends, rapids, lakes, islands, floodplains, billabongs and wetlands. Most features have been named after translated Wurundjeri phrases or have European, particularly British, origins. Some of the river's more prominent features include; Coode Island and Fishermans Bend, Victoria Harbour, Herring Island, Yarra Bend, Dights Falls, Upper Yarra Dam and Reservoir and many river flats and billabongs.

Course

Upper reaches

The river's source is a series of swamps in the upper reaches of the Yarra Ranges National Park, directly to the west of the Mt Baw Baw plateau, a thickly forested subalpine park, which is entirely closed-off to all except the employees of Melbourne Water. The park features extensive stands of mountain ash, a very tall eucalypt, tree ferns, as well as patches of remnant rainforest.

The Upper Yarra Dam, one of a number of dams in the Yarra Catchment that supply a large part of Melbourne's water, is the furthest upstream point on the river visible to the general public (though the dam itself is closed off). The first settlement the still-young river passes through is the small town of Reefton, but most of the river is surrounded by hills covered temperate forest until the timber and resort town of Warburton. The Woods Point Rd follows the river through this section.

Downstream of Warburton, the Yarra Valley gradually opens out and farms begin to appear, including beef and dairy farms, and by the town of Woori Yallock and the river's turn north, increasingly large areas are covered by vineyards, forming the Yarra Valley wine region. At Healesville, the river turns west again and the stream bed becomes increasingly silty, reducing the clarity of the water, and by the commuter town of Yarra Glen it begins to take on the brownish colour that the lower reaches are known for.

Middle reaches

The river enters Melbourne's suburbs proper at Chirnside Park, but virtually all the river's length is surrounded by parkland, much retaining (or having been replanted with) extensive native vegetation. A bicycle and walking trail known as the Main Yarra Trail begins at Warrandyte and becomes the Yarra River Trail, and in the lower reaches, the Capital City Trail. The river is used extensively for kayaking at Templestowe, and canoes can often be seen throughout the suburban section. Whilst the water is not particularly clear, its quality is sufficient for edible fish to swim within it. Some small hobby farms are located in the floodplain area of the river, surprisingly close to central Melbourne and almost completely surrounded by suburbs.

Heidelberg formed the home of the Heidelberg School, widely considered the first European painters to accurately capture the Australian landscape and its distinctive features. The walking trail features placards displaying some of their paintings at the settings they were actually painted; some features depicted remain clearly recognisable today.

Lower reaches

Below Dights Falls at Yarra Bend Park in inner Melbourne, the river becomes increasingly estuarine as it passes along the southern side of the central business district. This area forms the venue for the annual "Moomba" festival, which notably features an annual water skiing competition which attracts a huge crowd. The lower stretch of the river from Docklands to the Melbourne Cricket Ground was part of the final path of the Queen's Baton Relay of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Many of Melbourne's private schools, located close to the river, train their rowing crews on it.

The lower reaches feature a number of boat cruises, using especially low-roof boats to go under the many bridges across this section of the Yarra. Herring Island is a small island at South Yarra which has a punt which takes people on to the park. The area in front of old Customs House, Melbourne is a former turning basin for ships. It is the point which was once known as "Freshwater Place" and once had a set of cascades which prevented both salt water and larger ships from going further upstream. This series of rocks, originally used to cross the river, and referred to as the "Yarra Falls" was removed using explosives and divers in 1883.

The final section passes through the Port of Melbourne and under the Bolte Bridge and the West Gate Bridge. The current course dates back to 1886 when a canal devised by British engineer Sir John Coode was cut from west of Flinders Street to below its junction with the Maribyrnong. [cite web
url=http://www.portofmelbourne.com/community/maritimeheritage/porthistory.asp
title=History of the port
publisher=Port of Melbourne
accessdate=2008-08-21] The resulting island between the new and old courses of the river was named Coode Island, and is now part of the mainland with the former course to the north filled in. The river flows into Port Phillip Bay, the site being extensively altered as part of the Port of Melbourne, Australia's busiest seaport.

Crossings

The river is never wider than around 350m and is on average only around 50m wide, as a result there are over 60 places where pedestrians, cars and other vehicles can cross the river, most of these are located within Greater Melbourne where the West Gate, Bolte and Princes Bridges, and the Burnley and Domain Tunnels are perhaps the most notable, including many small historical bridges, while further out, the Banksia Street, Fitzsimons Lane and Warrandyte Bridges can be found. Beyond Warburton there are very few crossings available. [Melway Edition 36, 2009]

Parklands

Several reserves have been set aside adjoining the Yarra, mostly to preserve the natural environment or for recreation, many of these are managed and operated by Parks Victoria, the state government agency responsible for the management of Victoria's national parks and other reserves. The most largest and most notable of these parklands include: the Royal Botanic Gardens, Birrarung Marr, Yarra Bend Park, Westerfolds Park, Warrandyte State Park and the Yarra Ranges National Park. [Melway Edition 36, 2009]

There is also 14 golf courses adjoining the river, these include (from downstream to upstream):
* Burnley Golf Course (9)
* Studley Park Golf Course (9)
* Yarra Bend Public Golf Course (18)
* Latrobe Golf Course (18)
* Green Acres Golf Club (18)
* Kew Golf Club (18)
* Ivanhoe Public Golf Course (18)
* Freeway Public Golf Course (18)
* Yarra Valley Country Club (9)
* Bulleen Driving Range
* Rosanna Golf Club (18)
* The Heritage Golf and Country Club:* Henly Course (18):* St. John Course (18)
* Warburton Golf Club (18)

Pollution

Much of the inner metropolitan section of the river remains contaminated from industrial and domestic waste dumping, which dates from Melbourne's early settlement. The worst of this was eliminated through the 20th century, and since the 1980s a concerted effort to clean up the river has reduced pollution markedly, though not enough to permit swimming below Dights Falls.

The major source of pollution at present is dog excrement, motor oil and other urban litter being washed into the river following rain. Human sewage leaking from broken pipes, illegal sewer and from overflows during rain is reportedly the current main source of bacterial contamination [cite web | url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/human-sewage-key-cause-of-yarras-ills-says-epa/2006/02/01/1138590569578.html | title=The Age - Human sewage key cause of Yarra's ills, says EPA] [cite web | url=http://epanote2.epa.vic.gov.au/EPA%5CPublications.nsf/PubDocsLU/1057?OpenDocument | title=Yarra inputs - Tracking sources of faecal pollution] .

Recreational use

Throughout its length, the waters of the Yarra River and its banks are used for; boating, rowing, water skiing, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, fishing, cycling, running and walking, amongst other things. In the rivers upper reaches, fishing is most popular. Upstream of Launching Place the river becomes quite narrow and recreational use is limited. In the middle reaches, canoeing and kayaking is popular, there are a few rapids of easy to medium difficulty depending on the water level.

Swimming is also popular in the middle reaches throughout summer, particularly around Warrandyte, however, it should be noted that around this area there are submerged mining shafts which can cause undertows that suck swimmers under the surface and into these shafts. In the period 2004-2008, 3 people died in this manner in Warrandyte alone. Swimming is safer downstream, but not advisable below Dights Falls due to the high levels of pollution.

In the lower reaches, the river is mostly used for rowing, there are several rowing sheds along the city stretch east of the Princes Bridge and many private schools have rowing clubs with sheds and berths on the river. At certain times of the year, particularly during the Moomba Festival, this stretch of the river is occupied by water skiing courses and jumps. The banks of the Yarra River are popular for cycling, running and walking where most paths are sealed and in good condition. Two major off-road, sealed trails, the Yarra River Trail and Capital City Trail follow the river on its course through the city, while part of the Bayside Trail also connects with the river.

The river is also popular for boating, in the residential suburb of Toorak some of the larger mansions have private boat moorings, whilst newer developments in Melbourne Docklands have larger marinas as does Pier 31 at Fisherman's Bend and Newport and Williamstown at the river's mouth. Boating is difficult beyond Hawthorn and impossible past Dights Falls. It is mostly concentrated in central Melbourne where cruises go up and down the river and ferries operate.

Navigation

The river can be used by any member of the public provided they abide by the rules of Parks Victoria who administer the river upstream of Bolte Bridge and the Port of Melbourne Corporation who administer the area downstream of Bolte Bridge. There is a maximum speed limit of 9 kilometres per hour (5 knots) for all boats operating on the river. Sections of the river are occasionally closed for public events such as Moomba, New Years Eve and Rowing events. [Melway Edition 36, 2009]

The river is navigable by most boats from its entrance in Hobsons Bay to Dights Falls (a stretch of 22km) and is subject to tidal variations and submerged objects. All users are advised to proceed with caution. There are four bridges on the Yarra River with limited height clearances at high tide: [Melway Edition 36, 2009]
* Charles Grimes Bridge - 3.2m
* Spencer Street Bridge - 2.3m (can be less than 2m at extreme high tides - once a month)
* Kings Bridge - 2.4m
* Queens Bridge - 2.4m

ee also

* Crossings of the Yarra River
* Geography of the Yarra River
* Yarra Valley
* Yarra Ranges National Park

References

Further reading

*Otto, K; "Yarra", Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2005, (ISBN 1-920885-78-1)