101-602: The Sandridge Bridge is a historic bridge, which originally carried railway lines over the Yarra River in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia . It runs diagonally to the river and is 178.4 metres (585 ft) long. In 2006, it was redeveloped as a pedestrian and cycle path, featuring public art. It is the third bridge on the site and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register . The first bridge
202-551: 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 145m long tunnel through solid rock. The river
303-424: A cluster of towers with over 340,000 square metres of office space in 2008. Southbank Promenade and Southgate Restaurant and Shopping Precinct, on the southern bank of the Yarra River , extending to Crown Casino , is one of Melbourne's major entertainment precincts. Southgate's landmark Ophelia sculpture by Deborah Halpern has been used to represent Melbourne in tourism campaigns. Before European settlement,
404-420: A facility for washing down cars and chemical containers illegally leaked toxic chemicals and herbicides into Yarra River, killing trees and endangering public safety. The facility was situated inside Warrandyte State Park, from where the spillover until June 2015 flowed into the river and downstream towards Melbourne. Between 2014 and 2017, 1.3 million cigarette butts and 179 tonnes of litter were pulled out from
505-642: A large cinema and the Glacarium ice skating rink along City Road. In the 1920s the YMCA was built where City Road joined St Kilda Road, and in the 1960s two high rise office towers were built between City Road and Allen's. Replacing the amusement area, the National Gallery of Victoria was opened in 1968, with the Arts Centre eventually opening in the early 1980s. In 1987 the elevated West Gate Freeway
606-586: A large cluster of apartment towers . It is home to many of Australia's tallest buildings including the tallest measured to its highest floor, the Australia 108 and the former tallest Eureka Tower . It is one of the primary business centres in Greater Melbourne, being the headquarters of Treasury Wine Estates , Crown Resorts , Alumina , Incitec Pivot , The Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd, as well as regional offices of many major corporations, in
707-594: A new Sunday arts and crafts market, attracted tourists to the area. Further buildings including the Esso headquarters were built between 1992 and 1995. In 1987 the Port Melbourne railway line was closed and converted to light rail, running up Clarendon Street and into the city, freeing up the land of the raised viaduct, and with the State Government combining surrounding land which it already owed, allowed
808-807: A pedestrian and cycle path developed on the Sandridge Bridge. Having been disused since the closure of the railway line in 1987, it was spared from demolition and was opened to the public on 12 March 2006, just in time for the 2006 Commonwealth Games . The Northbank promenade was completed later in 2006 linking other promenades on the north side of the river. An increasing number of corporations began opening their offices in Southbank. PwC relocated its office from Spring Street to Freshwater Place in 2005. JB Hi-Fi relocated its corporate headquarters from Chadstone Shopping Centre to Southgate in 2020, after its acquisition of The Good Guys . Other names on
909-471: A post victory celebration. On the southern side of the river near exists a number of university and private school rowing clubs who use the river for recreational sports. Around 2000, the river became a focus of major government projects. Projects were proposed to connect Flinders Street station with the river and early proposals were for the Melbourne Museum to be situated on the south bank of
1010-626: 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
1111-475: Is also located in Southbank. The suburb also has its own local newspaper the Southbank Local News , which circulates monthly. The Southbank Promenade, completed in 1990, was designed by architects Denton Corker Marshall, and runs from Princes Bridge along to Queens Bridge Street and Queens Bridge. The Evan Walker Footbridge was also built at this time. The Yarra Promenade further to the west up to
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#17327944951101212-455: Is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne , Victoria, Australia, 1 km (0.62 mi) south of the Melbourne central business district , located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas . Southbank recorded a population of 22,631 at the 2021 census . Its southernmost area is considered part of the central business district of the city. Southbank is bordered to
1313-424: Is colloquially known as "the upside down river", for its golden hue. The muddy brown colour 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-19th century has resulted in the presence of microscopic clay particles. The particles are kept suspended by the turbulence in some parts of
1414-549: Is made up of five spans, measuring in length, from the south bank to the north bank: 36.9 metres (121.1 ft), 36.6 metres (120.1 ft), 36.3 metres (119.1 ft), 36.9 metres (121.1 ft) and 31.7 metres (104 ft). The bridge is 17 metres (55.8 ft) wide and the girders are 2.74 metres (8.98 ft) high from the top to the bottom flange. 37°49′13″S 144°57′45″E / 37.820218°S 144.962529°E / -37.820218; 144.962529 Yarra River The Yarra River or historically,
1515-723: Is often heavily congested with traffic and limited mainly to off-street multi-storey parking. The West Gate Freeway runs along the south border which has numerous interchanges to Southbank's roads. The main north–south arterials leading into the Melbourne City Centre are Kingsway, Clarendon Street and Queensbridge/Moray Street. Secondary internal main roads include Southbank Boulevard, Sturt Street and Power Street. The main east–west arterials are City Road (east–west) and Normanby Road (which curves south into Whiteman Street). Many smaller roads allow one-way traffic only, to limit congestion. Almost all southbound tramlines run along
1616-800: Is roughly 50% its original flow prior to damming. It is the most westerly snow fed river in Australia. The total catchment area is approximately 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi). The Yarra's major tributaries are the Maribyrnong River , Moonee Ponds Creek , Merri Creek , Darebin Creek , Plenty River , Mullum Mullum Creek and Olinda 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
1717-409: 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 Road follows the river through this section. Downstream of Warburton,
1818-856: The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in 2002, the Southbank Theatre , Melbourne Recital Centre , and the Iwaki Auditorium at the ABC Centre In the early 2000s, a new headquarters for the State Emergency Service was built in City Road. Central Equity was a leader in the development of the area with apartment towers beginning in the mid-1990s, including Riverside Place, The Summit, Sentinel, Victoria Tower, Melbourne Tower and City Tower in
1919-498: 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
2020-744: The Colony of New South Wales John Helder Wedge of the Port Phillip Association visited the area with two Kulin People, who pointed at the flowing water and said yarra yarra , recorded in Wedge's notebook as the phrase yarrow yarrow , in the mistaken belief that this was the name for the river in the Boonwurrung language. yarra yarra was instead what the Kulin people had referred to as
2121-520: The Kulin nation . The area has been occupied by various indigenous clans for at least 30,000 years. The river, known to the Wurundjeri people as Birrarung, 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. The river's resources were utilised sustainably by
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#17327944951102222-706: The Patterson , Kororoit, Werribee , Little River , and drained directly through a narrow gap (what is now called the Rip ) into a bay of the Great Australian Bight on the west side of a prehistoric land bridge called the Bassian Plain (which later became submerged into the Bass Strait ). Between 8000 BC and 6000 BC, after the end of the most recent Ice Age , the rising sea level flooded
2323-536: The Port of Melbourne . The project was controversial and strict regulations were enacted. It was feared that dredging would disturb heavy metals and other toxic sediments mostly deposited during Melbourne's industrial era. The project was completed in November 2009. The Yarra River was an important resource for the Wurundjeri people for around 40,000 years. The river's resources were utilised sustainably by
2424-641: The Spencer Street Bridge was developed along with the Crown Entertainment Complex, completed in 1997, including Queensbridge Square, and running underneath the King Street Bridge . The Southbank art and craft market occurs on the promenade near the Arts Centre every Sunday. The promenade is also home to several buskers and a pavement chalk artists. Southbank has a network of major roads running through it and
2525-537: The Yarra Ranges , it flows 242 kilometres (150 mi) west through the Yarra Valley which opens out into plains as it winds its way through Greater Melbourne before emptying into Hobsons Bay in northernmost Port Phillip Bay . The river has been a major food source and meeting place for Indigenous Australians for thousands of years. Shortly after the arrival of European settlers , land clearing forced
2626-557: The Yarra Yarra River , ( Kulin languages : Berrern , Birr-arrung , Bay-ray-rung , Birarang , Birrarung , and Wongete ) is a perennial river in south-central Victoria , Australia . The lower stretches of the Yarra are where Victoria's state capital Melbourne was established in 1835, and today metropolitan Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches. From its source in
2727-512: The Yarra Yarra falls , which was later dynamited in 1883 as part of a series of extensive harbour improvements of the river, engineered by Sir John Coode . The word yarra translates to flowing water, Wedge later learnt of this and admitted he had mistaken the Kulin name for the falls, for the river itself, but by then the name had stuck. On his first contact with local Wurunderi people in 1835, John Wedge wrote: On arriving in sight of
2828-413: The unsustainable use of the river and surrounding resources. The 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 242 kilometres (150 mi) in length, with a mean annual flow of 718 gigalitres (2.54 × 10 cu ft), which
2929-530: The 1950s it had been completely filled and land parcels were allocated including a site for the new Fish Markets. In 1957, the Upper Yarra Reservoir was constructed, primarily to alleviate flooding downstream. This reduced the river's flow to around 50%, where it sits today. Swanson Dock was constructed between 1966 and 1972 equipped for modern container shipping. Shipping activity at Victoria Dock during this time had gone into steep decline and it
3030-515: The 1960s there was a growing awareness of the neglect of the Yarra amongst some residents of Melbourne, spawning various community groups and "friends of..." organisations to protect the remnants of the river's ecology. Through the 1970s and 1980s, many desirable developments alongside the river began, such as the Victorian Arts Centre , as its lower courses progressively became gentrified. Growing high density residential development in
3131-411: The 1980s the "give the Yarra a go' campaign was intended to create public awareness of the possibilities of making the south bank of the river a more useful part of the city, rather than the city 'turning its back' on the river. Planning toward this goal began under Planning Minister Evan Walker , and the first projects were the construction of a footbridge, the first such project in the city, now known as
Sandridge Bridge - Misplaced Pages Continue
3232-501: The 19th century and into the 20th. In 1891, the great flood caused the Yarra to swell to 305 metres (1,001 ft) in width. Initially known as "West Melbourne Dock", over 3 million cubic yards (2.3 × 10 ^ m ) of material was excavated and a new 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
3333-627: The 2016 Census, the most common response for religion was No Religion at 41.9%. Southbank is home to the Melbourne headquarters of C31 Melbourne , the Australian Broadcasting Corporation including the studios for ABC Radio Melbourne , Radio National , ABC NewsRadio , ABC Classic FM , Triple J , ABV-2 and ABC Australia TV . The Herald and Weekly Times Tower (headquarters of the Herald Sun newspaper)
3434-501: The Department of Sustainability and Environment took over. They committed $ 15.5 million to restore the bridge, create a plaza on the Southbank side, and make connections to walkways on the Yarra north bank. In 2005, it was announced that artist Nadim Karam had been commissioned to create ten abstract sculptures in a group titled The Travellers , which represents the different types of immigrants who traditionally arrived by train over
3535-792: The Evan Walker Footbridge, designed by Cocks Carmichael Whitford, and the Southbank Promenade, designed by Denton Corker Marshall , opening in 1990. The two projects together won the RVIA Urban Design Award in 1991. The Southgate development, which includes a shopping precinct, the Sheraton Towers hotel and new office buildings for the Herald & Weekly Times and IBM were built soon after in stages between 1990 and 1993, and combined with
3636-569: The National Trust and were noted as being historically significant, but were removed. Only the bridge over the river itself was retained, with a number of different redevelopment plans proposed during the 1990s. In 2001, the State Government held an expressions of interest process for refurbishment of the bridge, seeking commercial involvement, but the process was not successful and, in 2003, the Melbourne City Council and
3737-531: The Port Melbourne and St Kilda lines was at Flinders Street, with the two pairs of tracks running parallel until Clarendon Street, where the St Kilda line diverged south. Constructed at a 33-degree angle to the river bank, it was one of the first railway structures in Melbourne to use steel girders rather than iron , and the workforce included a young engineering student, John Monash . On either side of
3838-593: The River. Due to damming and the lack of natural flooding, much of the surrounding vegetation is lacking in the silt and soil deposits that would otherwise be provided by the floods. The construction of the Upper Yarra Reservoir in 1957 reduced the river's flow by around 50%. This has ultimately led to a lack of healthy understory and saplings, or a lack of saplings completely, which contributes to problems such as reduced habitat, erosion and salinity , issues that ironically affect surrounding agriculture. The Yarra River
3939-537: The Riverkeeper Ian Penrose was awarded the 2010 Melbourne Award for contribution to the environment. The Yarra River has a detailed and complex geological history, see "Geology". It was utilised and managed sustainably by the Wurundjeri for around 40,000 years; however, since the European settlement and use of the river in the mid-19th century, its geography has changed substantially reflecting
4040-784: The Tea House on Clarendon Street, as well as the Castlemaine Brewery . By 1940 businesses included the Allen's factory opposite Flinders Street station (with its famous animated neon sign), the Malvern Star bicycle works, and numerous car sales and maintenance businesses. By 1900 what is now the Victorian Arts Centre had become an entertainment precinct, with the Green Mill dance hall and circus site, and
4141-511: The Wurundjeri until European settlement in the early-mid-19th century. Early industry located along the river contributed great amounts of pollution such as dangerous chemicals, grease, oil and heavy metals. Through the mid-20th century, industry was slowly relocated away from the river and since then the major pollutants have come from storm water runoff, sewerage and lasting effects of previous pollution. Gold mining cleared small areas of land of vegetation and for periods of time, drained sections of
Sandridge Bridge - Misplaced Pages Continue
4242-423: The Wurundjeri until the arrival of European colonists in the early-mid-19th century. The first Europeans to sail up the river was a surveying party led by Charles Grimes , Acting Surveyor General of New South Wales , who in 1803 sailed upstream to Dights Falls , where they could no longer continue due to the nature of the terrain. European explorers would not enter the river for another 30 years until, in 1835,
4343-492: The Yarra River to fill the dock. The dock was later renamed Victoria Dock. In 1910, the main channel was widened and deepened (81 to 131 m or 266 to 430 ft). In 1916, the central pier at Victoria Dock was completed which provided 6 additional shipping berths and cargo sheds and creating a distinctive landmark for Melbourne ports. By 1942, 650m of the old course of the Yarra River at Coode Island had been filled in, by
4444-412: The Yarra River, which by the 1850s had become quite polluted and the cause of an epidemic of typhoid fever , which hit the city resulting in many deaths. However, people continued to swim and drink the water until Melbourne's fresh water was sourced from elsewhere. The first permanent crossing over the river was Princes Bridge , which first opened as a wooden trestle bridge in 1844. The current bridge
4545-499: 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
4646-407: The Yarra and environs. In 2007 it was fined A$ 5,000 for discharging paper pulp into the Yarra from its Alphington plant and in 2008 the company was convicted for releasing oil into the Yarra from its Alphington plant and fined A$ 80,000. Several programs are being implemented to minimise beach and river pollution, mostly organised by community groups, EPA Victoria and local councils. In 2015,
4747-433: The Yarra and supports collaborative management of the river and its lands. The river was called Birrarung by the Kulin people who occupied the Yarra Valley and much of Central Victoria prior to European colonisation. The name Birrarung is derived from a Wurundjeri word meaning 'river of mists', as the area around the waterfall tended to get misty before nightfall. At European arrival in 1835, Surveyor-General of
4848-413: The Yarra at Federation Wharf and a neighbouring park, Birrarung Marr was also built along the north bank, creating renewed interest in connecting city workers to the river. New ferry services and water taxis sprang up along the city reach, servicing as far up river as South Yarra and out to Hobsons Bay . In 2008, dredging began to deepen the mouth of the Yarra to enable large container ships to reach
4949-428: The Yarra catchment storm water runoff every day, these serve as just a small representation of the rubbish and litter that are disposed of in storm water runoff areas that eventually make their way into the river and consequently, the sea. Some industrial companies continue to use the Yarra as a dumping ground. For example, in recent years paper company Amcor has been fined several times by EPA Victoria for polluting
5050-495: The Yarra during the early years of the gold rush. In the 1840s a weir was built at Dights Falls to power a flour mill and to give some control over the river downstream from there. From the earliest years of settlement, the mid and upper reaches of the Yarra began to be used for recreation. The river was selected as the site for the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1846 and the course of the river was modified slightly for
5151-467: The area now called South Melbourne was a series of low lying swamps inhabited by Aboriginal tribes. With the establishment of Melbourne in 1835 on the opposite bank of the river, the area remained undeveloped for some time, although shipping used berths along the river west of what is now the Queens Bridge . St Kilda Road , connecting to Princes Bridge , was developed as the major thoroughfare to
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#17327944951105252-404: 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 km ) of land from eight Wurundjeri elders. He selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village". The document, commonly called Batman's Treaty ,
5353-448: The bridge from Station Pier , Port Melbourne. Nine of the sculptures move across the bridge in a 15-minute sequence, travelling on bogies running between the two bridge spans. The refurbished bridge was unveiled three days before the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne , at a final cost of $ 18.5 million. It included a new pedestrian and cycle path, and public space, connecting a new Queensbridge Square at Southbank to Flinders Walk on
5454-494: The bridge. The original bridge was replaced in 1858 by a timber trestle bridge carrying two tracks with the tight curve of the original railway removed by rebuilding the bridge on a more oblique angle, as seen today. The current bridge was designed by the Victorian Railways and the construction contract was let to David Munro & Co in 1886, the four-track bridge opening for traffic in 1888. The actual junction of
5555-544: The brownish colour that the lower reaches are known for. 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,
5656-526: The course of the river in its lower reaches. The creation of new shipping channels to cope with the growing use of the Yarra by cargo ships was first tabled in the 1870s. The first major change came with the cutting of the Coode Canal between 1880 and 1886. This major infrastructure project created an island which was known as Coode Island , named after the British consultant engineer engaged to design
5757-510: The creation of a feature lake. Further upstream, the Cremorne Gardens were established in 1853. Sections of the river mouth and the area around the former West Melbourne Swamp were widened in the late 19th century, to make way for docks, harbours, bridges and other infrastructure. The increasing industrialisation of the river and the growth of the shipping industry saw the need for major infrastructure works which dramatically changed
5858-586: The destruction of the marshlands at the confluence of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers in the area around Coode Island in West Melbourne . Today, the Yarra mouth including Swanson and Appleton docks are used for container shipping by the Port of Melbourne , which is the busiest on the continent. The city reach which is inaccessible to larger watercrafts, has seen increased use for both transport and recreational boating (including kayaking , canoeing , rowing and swimming ). In March 2019, it
5959-787: The development along the Yarra River westward, with the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre in 1996 and Crown Casino in 1997. From the 1970s, the old Police Barracks had been home to the Victorian College of the Arts , and in the late 1980s an old Malthouse in City Road was converted into the Malthouse Theatre . Other institutions have joined since the 2000s to create the Melbourne Arts Precinct including award-winning buildings for
6060-506: The fish are contaminated with heavy metals including arsenic and not fit for human consumption. Dolphins have been known to venture upstream as far as South Yarra , and serve as an example of the increased salinity of the river's lower reaches. Platypus are rarely seen as far downstream as Fairfield. The river's source is a series of swamps in the upper reaches of the Yarra Ranges National Park , directly to
6161-697: The global Waterkeeper Alliance movement and have been involved in forums and discussions pushing for policies to ensure that "the voice" of the river is heard. The Yarra Riverkeeper Association or YRKA for short view the Yarra River as Melbourne's greatest natural asset and educate that its preservation and restoration is vital in helping Melbourne become a sustainable city. Since its establishment in 2004, YRKA has delivered hundreds of presentations and lectures, been in over 200 media appearances and provide on-water inspection tours to over 200 community leaders, business leaders, and politicians. It has had successful campaigns in pushing for great environmental flows and in 2010
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#17327944951106262-582: 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. Below Dights Falls at Yarra Bend Park in inner Melbourne, the river becomes increasingly estuarine as it passes along
6363-425: The land that is now the site of the Herald & Weekly Times building a few metres up City Road, to 20 City Road, and serves the Southbank community as a church and spiritual centre. The Church can be accessed either from City Rd or from the Southgate Shopping complex. The Queensbridge Precinct began development in 2005 with Freshwater Place . A plaza linked to the north bank and Flinders Street railway station via
6464-410: The light rail lines to continue over the Sandridge Bridge into Flinders Street station, but they were diverted from the railway reserve at Clarendon Street and run into the city via Spencer Street . The light rail lines operate today as the route 96 tram to St Kilda , and route 109 tram to Port Melbourne . The viaduct over Queensbridge Street and the embankment across the South Bank were listed by
6565-431: The list include Fujitsu , and Foster's . In May 2008 the Victorian Government created the new suburb place and name South Wharf , in the western end of Southbank (now encompassing the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre and the Polly Woodside National Trust museum). South Wharf is home to several large apartment buildings, along with a hotel and a large shopping centre precinct. Southbank and South Wharf share
6666-427: The lower basin forming the shallow Port Phillip Bay, moving the Yarra river mouth over 50 km (31 mi) inland. A dry period combined with sand bar formation may have dried out the Bay as recently as between 800 BC and 1000 AD, temporarily re-extending the Yarra south to Bass Strait during this period. The area surrounding the Yarra River was first inhabited by the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri peoples of
6767-407: The lower reaches in the early 1990s coincided with minor government programs such as the installation of litter traps . The riverside apartment complex Como Centre at South Yarra and the larger urban renewal of the formerly industrial Southbank precinct were both built during the late 1990s. During this era it was also commonplace for the winner of the Australian Open to bathe in the Yarra River as
6868-402: The lower reaches such as Merri Creek and Moonee Ponds Creek. Levels of bacteria, particularly E. coli and substances like grease, oils and heavy metals in the Yarra River and its tributaries are a major problem. High levels of E. coli, some up to 200 times the safe limit in its tributaries, are caused primarily by poorly maintained septic systems. Up to 350,000 cigarette butts enter
6969-437: 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. The Yarra Riverkeeper Association is the largest of many advocacy groups dedicated to protecting the Yarra River and its environs for current and future generations. They are part of
7070-444: The north bank. However, only the eastern half of the bridge was reopened, the western half being stabilised and fenced off from public access. On 11 June 2007, the bridge was vandalised when persons unknown used a sledgehammer to smash 46 of the 128 glass panels of the Travellers exhibit. Each glass panel offers information about Australian indigenous peoples or the countries of immigrants to Australia, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. It
7171-418: The north by the Yarra River , and to the east by St Kilda Road . Southbank's southern and western borders are bounded by Dorcas Street, Kings Way , Market Street, Ferrars Street, and a triangle bordered by Gladstone Street, Montague Street and the West Gate Freeway . Southbank was formerly a mostly industrial area, and simply part of the locality of South Melbourne , and the City of South Melbourne . It
7272-525: The remaining Wurundjeri people into neighbouring territories and away from the river. Originally called Birrarung by the Wurundjeri, the current name was mistranslated from another Wurundjeri term in the Boonwurrung language ; Yarro-yarro , meaning "ever-flowing". The river was utilised primarily for agriculture by early European settlers. The landscape of the river has changed dramatically since 1835. The course has been progressively disrupted and
7373-427: The river and tributaries such as Merri Creek as landfill and for harmful chemical dumps for substances like grease and oils. The disposal of sewerage in Melbourne was very basic in the early days. The majority of waste from homes and industries flowed into street channels and on to local rivers and creeks which became open sewers. The first City Baths were opened in 1860. The objective was to stop people bathing in
7474-755: The river widened in places. The first of many crossings of the Yarra River to facilitate transport was built in Princes Bridge . Beginning with the Victorian gold rush it was extensively mined, creating the Pound Bend Tunnel in Warrandyte , and the Big and Little Peninsula Tunnels above Warburton . Widening and dams, like the Upper Yarra Reservoir have helped protect Melbourne from major flooding. The catchment's upper reaches are also affected by logging . Industrialisation ultimately led to
7575-513: 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. The river is home to several species of fish. In the lower reaches of the Yarra mainly southern black bream and jellyfish and in the upper reaches smaller quantities of European perch (redfin), Macquarie perch , brown trout , Murray cod and freshwater catfish . However almost all of
7676-483: The river, the steel girders were supported by bluestone and brick buttresses and, on the south side, the structure continued as a brick viaduct. In the 1920s, overhead electrical stanchions were added as part of the electrification of the line, and the original timber deck was replaced with rail and concrete slabs. The use of the bridge by the Port Melbourne and St Kilda railway lines ceased in 1987, when both lines were converted to light rail . There were proposals for
7777-479: The river, the two natives who were with me, pointing to the river, called out, 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 afterwards gave the same designation to a small fall in the river Werribee, as we crossed it on our way back to Indented Head . Before 8000 BC, the Yarra River probably joined course with other present-day Port Phillip Bay tributaries such as
7878-447: 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 is a former turning basin for ships. It is the point which was once known as "Freshwater Place" and once had
7979-455: The river, yet depriving the river banks of soil and silt deposits and causing other problems such as erosion and salinity . 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, Andersons Creek and marked the start of the Victorian gold rush . The approximate location of the site is marked by
8080-480: The river; however the Crown Melbourne and Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre were built in its place. The Melbourne Docklands urban renewal project began in 2000, comprising mixed use residential and commercial land and recreational boating moors along the river at the disused Victoria Dock and on the south bank of the Yarra. Federation Square was proposed to connect the spine of Melbourne to
8181-561: The river; however, when compared to land clearing and industrial pollutants, the effects of gold mining on the river were quite low. Heavy metals deposited into the river throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries settled to the bottom of the river bed, particularly in the lower reaches through the city and Port Melbourne, and due to the increased artificial depth of the river through here, heavy metals have not been carried further, although some have been deposited out into Port Phillip . Oils and grease remain today in several tributaries in
8282-516: The same postcode (3006). Despite being dominated by modern apartments and office towers Southbank has a number of significant retained heritage buildings. Along St Kilda Road they include the 19th Century Victoria Barracks and the attached former Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic , the Victorian Arts Centre and National Gallery of Victoria , parts of the Victorian College of the Arts campus. Some individual heritage buildings in
8383-555: 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
8484-445: The southern suburbs of Melbourne on the east side, and the track from the shipping piers of Port Melbourne to the city was formalised as City Road. After the Port Melbourne railway line was built across the area in 1854, the swamps were filled and the land, still much of which was in government hands, was developed as an industrial area. In 1888 the rail line was rebuilt, including the present Sandridge Bridge , and in 1890 Queensbridge
8585-449: The streets behind the waterfront. Central Equity apartments are aimed at both the owner occupier and rental market with management provided by Melbourne Inner City Management (MICM), a fully owned subsidiary of Central Equity. The 91 floor Eureka Tower was begun in 2002, aimed at being the tallest residential tower in the world and was completed in 2006. As part of the initial construction of Southgate, St Johns Lutheran Church relocated from
8686-480: The town and a convenient sewer. In the city's early days the Yarra was one of two major ports, the other being Sandridge (now Port Melbourne ), but the Yarra was preferred due to the direct access to the town's main streets and was the location of Customs House (now the Immigration Museum ). Early industries grew along the banks of the river, rapidly degrading the water quality. Industries then began using
8787-536: The west of the Mount 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,
8888-683: The wider Southbank precinct include the 1888 Jones Bond Store (25-43 Southbank Boulevard), the 1888 Tea House on Clarendon Street, the 1885 JH Boyd High School on City Road (now a community centre), and the former Castlemaine Brewery on Queensbridge Street. In the 2021 Census, there were 22,631 people in Southbank. . 33.3% people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were India 9.4%, China (excludes SARs & Taiwan) 8.9%, Colombia 3.9%, Malaysia 3.7% & England 3%. 45.4% spoke only English at home. Language used at home, top responses other than English were, Mandarin 11.6%, Spanish 5.3%, Hindi 4%, Cantonese 3.1% & Indonesian 2.1%. In
8989-420: The works, Sir John Coode . This also included widening and 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 later container ships. Abattoirs , smelters and even mortuaries were to use the river as a means of waste disposal in its lower reaches. This industrialisation also led to a steady deterioration in water quality during
9090-454: Was almost disused by the mid-1970s. In February 1972, the CBD was flooded as the natural watercourse of Elizabeth Street became a raging torrent. This was due mostly to previous storm water drainage works which utilised Elizabeth street as a watercourse during times of intense rain creating flash floods. Prior to settlements, the area now occupied by Elizabeth street was a gully off the river. By
9191-600: Was built creating another access to City Road, allowing cable tram access to Port Melbourne. By this time the riverside west of Queensbridge was lined with wharves and shipping sheds and maritime businesses including the Duke & Orr drydock, now housing the Polly Woodside maritime museum (this small area including the Exhibition Centre was separated off as its own suburb South Wharf in 2008). Princes Bridge
9292-511: Was built in 1853 for the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company Port Melbourne railway line , which ran from Flinders Street to what was then known as Sandridge, now Port Melbourne , on Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip . It was the first railway in Australia to operate with steam locomotives . In 1857, the St Kilda railway line was opened, which ran parallel with the Sandridge line across
9393-416: Was constructed in 1888. In the early days, the river would frequently flood. While this was not considered a problem in the floodplains near Yarra Glen and Coldstream , the floodings caused much trouble further downstream in settlements such as Warrandyte , Templestowe , Bulleen , Heidelberg and Ivanhoe . The Upper Yarra Dam was later constructed to alleviate the flooding, protecting settlements along
9494-542: Was cut from west of Flinders Street to below its junction with the Maribyrnong. 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 , the site being extensively altered as part of the Port of Melbourne, Australia's busiest seaport . Southbank, Victoria Southbank
9595-499: Was declared void by the Governor of New South Wales , Richard Bourke . The Port Phillip settlement, that would become Melbourne , was established along the lower banks of the Yarra in 1835. The new settlement's main port was sited just downstream of Yarra Falls west of modern-day Queen's Bridge, the place where saltwater met freshwater . Ships would use one side of the falls while the other side provided fresh drinking water for
9696-602: Was expected to cost between A$ 200,000 and A$ 300,000 to repair and city councillors were considering using more durable materials to replace the glass. In 2007, the project was awarded the Melbourne Prize by the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects , for its design and its contribution to the public life of Melbourne. The bridge is 178.4 metres (585 ft) long and
9797-656: Was extended to Kings Way, and by 1999 was extended to join the CityLink tunnels, carving a line across Southbank with a large area occupied by off ramps. St Kilda Road was soon lined with a series of important institutions including the Police Barracks, Prince Henry's Hospital and the Victoria Barracks . It also contained amusements such as a circus and dance halls where the Arts Centre is now. In
9898-556: Was rebuilt in 1888, allowing cable trams to reach the southern suburbs along St Kilda Road, and raising the road level at the river's edge, with gardens established either side, the western one known as the Snowden Gardens. A wide range of industries and warehousing occupied much of the area, mainly low scale shed-like light industrial buildings, but also heavy engineering works such as Austral Otis elevators on Kings Way (formerly Hannah Street), multi level store houses such as
9999-480: Was reported that the river's environmental health is at risk due to litter, pollution, pets and urban development. The annual Moomba festival celebrates the Yarra River's increasing cultural significance to Melbourne. Melbourne Water is the lead agency for implementing the Yarra Strategic Plan (Burndap Birrarung Burndap Unmarkoo) 2022-32. The plan gives effect to the community's long-term vision for
10100-588: Was then fully dammed at the entrance and exit to the tunnel and water was diverted through 145m and out the other side leaving a 3.85 km of riverbed around Pound Bend exposed to the sun and the miners picks. Other diversions include The Island cutting in Warrandyte and the Little Peninsula Tunnel and Big Peninsula Tunnel near McMahons Creek . The Gold Rush saw increased development in Melbourne and "tent cities" of new migrants lined
10201-417: Was transformed into a densely populated district of high rise apartment and office buildings beginning in the early 1990s, as part of an urban renewal program. With the exceptions of the cultural precinct along St Kilda Road, few of the older industrial buildings were identified for retention. Today, Southbank is dominated by high-rise development and is now the most densely populated areas of Melbourne, with
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