Along the Yarra River
Yarra River
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. European explorers would not enter the river for another 30 years until, 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 elders. He selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village.”
The river was instrumental in the establishment of Melbourne along its banks from 1835 onwards. 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 the town and a convenient sewer. In the city's early days the Yarra was one of two major ports, the other being Sandridge or 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. Early industries grew along the banks of the river, rapidly degrading the water quality until Melbourne's fresh water had to be sourced from elsewhere. Industries then began using the river and tributaries such as Merri Creek as landfill and for harmful chemical dumps for substances like grease and oils.
The first permanent crossing over the river was Princes Bridge, which first opened as a wooden trestle bridge in 1844, the current bridge 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, however it 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 the river, yet depriving the river banks of soil and silt deposits and causing other problems such as erosion and salinity
Richmond was subdivided into allotments of about 12 hectares by the government surveyor, Robert Hoddle, in 1839. Most were purchased speculatively. Richmond Hill was occupied by Farquhar McCrae (surgeon, suburban speculator) and Joseph Docker. McCrae subdivided his land into smaller allotments in a couple of years, but Docker's land, from Punt Road to Church Street, backing up to Richmond Terrace, was not all sold until the 1860s. He donated the land on which St Stephens Anglican (1850) church was built.
By 1865, when Richmond's population was about
11,000 persons, it had bridges across the Yarra to Hawthorn and Prahran (at
Church Street), and a private lunatic asylum on the former Cremorne Gardens.
There were four tanneries, several quarries (Burnley), wool washing
establishment and 40 hotels. The town hall had been built; Richmond having been
made a municipality on 24 April 1855.
During the 1870s and 1880s Richmond underwent
industrialisation and residential intensification, mainly in the form of
workers’ cottages. In the 1860s it was estimated that there were 4000 Catholics
in Richmond, and the completion of the St Ignatius church in 1883 gave Richmond
its most prominent landmark. It also proclaimed the importance of Irish
Catholic influence in Richmond's municipal politics and parliamentary contests
for the next 80 years. The Richmond borough was proclaimed a town in 1872 and a
city in 1882.
Tram services were opened in Bridge Road and
Victoria Street in 1885 and 1886. State primary schools were opened, four between
1874 and 1878, and two more (Richmond North and Burnley) in the next decade.
By the turn of the century Richmond gentility
had retreated. The ill drained southern area near the Yarra River was a haven
for slum landlords' pokey dwellings.
An exception to the picture of industrial
servitude was the Bryant and May match factory (1909) in Church Street. By 1928
the factory provided its employees with dining and recreation rooms, tennis and
basketball courts, gardens and a bowling green. Along with other large
factories such as Bosisto's eucalyptus and Hardings crumpets, Bryant and May
also gave slap-up Christmas parties.
Bryant and May’s red brick factory was
matched by the Vickers Ruwolt engineering works (1914) in Victoria Street next
to the Yarra River and by Jaques Limited in Highett Street. Both were in
manufacturing. The Vickers Ruwolt site was redeveloped for the Victoria Gardens
shopping centre (including a massive Ikea showroom) and mixed
commercial/residential uses. The Jaques factory was turned into apartments. On
a smaller scale George Finsham’s organ factory in Stawell Street closed in
2006, but some of his instruments are heritage listed. Two are in Burnley
Street, at the Anglican and Congregational churches.
Smaller factories, however, were usually not
so generous. Another landmark was the Wertheim piano factory in Bendigo Street,
subsequently the Heinz tinned foods factory (1935) and the GTV9 television
studio (1955).
Richmond's premier retailing landmark is
Dimmey's store in Swan Street. Built in 1907, the clock tower and the copper
ball on top (1908-16) are widely recognised. Despite business failure in the
early 1990s through a costly merger with Forges of Footscray, the Dimmey's name
was retained in the refloated drapery business. In 2012 the site underwent
transformation as the Richmond Icon Apartments around the historic Dimmey’s
clock tower and Swan Street facade as a mixed-use development of apartments,
heritage lofts and retail.
Collingwood, an
industrial and residential suburb, is 3 km north-east of central Melbourne. Its
western boundary is Smith Street, Fitzroy, and its southern boundary is
Victoria Parade. On its east are Clifton Hill and Abbotsford, both included in
the former Collingwood municipality. It was named after Admiral Lord Collingwood,
who fought at Trafalgar.
Between 1856 and 1860 primary schools were
opened by the Methodist, Independent, Free and Catholic churches. Collingwood's
early civic and commercial centre was in Johnston Street, which was a route to
the eastern suburbs via the bridge (1857) over the Yarra River. A town hall and
police court were built on the site now occupied by the Neighbourhood Justice
Centre (formerly a TAFE and Collingwood technical school).
The Yarra River on Collingwood's east
attracted industry. In 1840 John Dight hewed out a mill race through the basalt
rocks in the river near where the Merri Creek joins it. He operated a mill for
flour making, with varying success. A more productive use was harnessing the
water for wool washing. Local councillors advocated the repeal of laws for
Yarra River water purity, arguing that effluent from noxious trades was merely
an addition to the sewage from Fitzroy and the Collingwood flat. By 1857 the
Reilly Street drain (now under Alexandra Parade), had been built, and
discharged into the Yarra with reasonable efficiency except when over-filled
with stormwater or brewers' waste. The purificationists struggled against the
advocates for ‘unlocking the Yarra’, to provide employment for workers after
the gold boom.
Collingwood municipality's population nearly
doubled between 1871 and 1891 to 35,000 persons. The town hall was transferred
to more opulent premises in Hoddle Street in 1885. Small houses proliferated.
South of Alexandra Parade there were 15 houses per acre compared with about
half that density in neighbouring Clifton Hill. Outside of Melbourne, the
Collingwood area was Victoria's biggest brewing centre. The Fosters Brewery
(1888) in Rokeby Street generated nearly a monopoly in bottled beer and the
Yorkshire Brewery, Wellington Street, was noted for the brick brewing tower
which still stands.
(Source: victorianplaces.com.au)
Abbotsford Convent & Children's Farm
Today a beloved urban
retreat for inner-Melbourne, and home to more than 100 arts and creative
practitioners, Abbotsford Convent was once one of the largest Catholic
complexes in Australia, and by 1901 was the largest charitable institution
operating in the southern hemisphere.
Founded by The Sisters of
the Good Shepherd in 1863, Abbotsford Convent operated for more than 100 years
through the social traumas caused by the gold rush boom and bust, the Great
Depression and two world wars. Over the period of a century, thousands of girls
and women were placed in care at the Convent, with many residing in the
Convent’s Sacred Heart building, and labouring in the onsite Magdalen Laundry.
While the Convent had a
positive impact for some women—many of whom were destitute and had nowhere else
to go—and provided critically needed shelter, food and education in the absence
of state care, the Convent was also a place of hardship and ordeal for some of
the women, as was often the experience of those in institutionalised care.
The precinct was inscribed
on the National Heritage List in August 2017, recognised for demonstrating
Australia’s social and welfare history through the lens of a religious and
charitable institution. The Convent’s place on the National Heritage List will
help protect the site’s future for generations to come, while honouring those
who were affected by its past. The Convent’s Laundry and asylum buildings are
an important physical record for those Australians and their families known as
the Forgotten Australians. The harm of institutionalisation and the trauma
experienced by many residents is acknowledged as part of the Convent’s heritage. (Source:Abbotsford Convent)
Nestled on the banks of
Birrarung and only four kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD, Collingwood Children’s
Farm was founded in 1979 to support and engage local
children experiencing adversity.
A much-loved non-profit organisation, the Farm’s reason for being remains true
to its roots: Community Engagement, Education and Connection with Nature, Green
Space and Animals.
Collingwood Children’s Farm
is a haven for children and adults alike, with daily activities and acres of
paddocks and gardens to explore. Cuddle a goat, enjoy workshops with a Farmer
or sit back with a coffee and observe the goings on of a thriving community
farm – there’s something for everyone! (Source: Collingwood Chidren's Farm)
Dights Falls is one of only two easy crossing places of
the lower reaches of the Yarra River. It was a favoured camping ground of the
Yallock bullock clan of the Woi wurrung. It was also a meeting place for many
clans where they would trade together, settle disputes and exchange brides.
On a hill above the falls is an historic marker commemorating
the "first white men to discover the river Yarra reaching Yarra Falls on
8th February, 1803.
Also,
to make the first crossing near here with the cattle by the first overlanders
John Gardner, Joseph Hawdon and John Hepburn in December 1836". Dights
Falls is located downstream of the junction of the Yarra River with Merri
Creek, as the river narrows and is constricted between 800,000 year old
volcanic, basaltic lava flow and a much older steep, silurian, sedimentary
spur. The north side also contains abundant graptolite fossils in sedimentary
sandstone.
Dights Mill is one of Melbourne's oldest and most significant industrial sites. The falls besides which the mill was built, is one of the few waterfalls on the Yarra River, and provided the perfect means whereby a mill could be drive. Prior to European settlement, the area was occupied by the indigenous Wurundjeri tribe of the Kulin nation. The rock falls would have provided the Aboriginal people with a natural river crossing and place to trap migrating fish. It was also a meeting place for many clans where they would trade, settle disputes and exchange brides. (Source:PocketOz)
Further Reading:
Fairfield Infectious Diseeases Hospital
Researched and compiled by Andrew Parker 2021
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