Yarra River
Melbourne as seen from the south-east side along the Yarra River, home of many rowers and active crews
Basin countries	Australia
Length	242 km
Basin area	718,000 km²

The Yarra River is a river in southern Victoria, Australia. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. It is the river on which the city of Melbourne was founded. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3

Name

The river was called Birrarung by the Wurundjeri people who occupied the Yarra valley prior to British settlement. The Wurundjeri are Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation who occupied the Yarra River Valley and its tributaries in what is now Melbourne It was given the name Yarra Yarra in 1835 by John Helder Wedge of the Port Phillip Association, in the mistaken belief that this was the Aboriginal name for the river. John Helder Wedge (1793 – 22 November 1872) surveyor and explorer was the second son of Charles Wedge of Shudy Camps, Cambridge The Port Phillip Association (originally the "Geelong and Dutigalla Association"] was an early nineteenth century investment and pastoral company Indigenous Australians are descendants of the first known human inhabitants of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. 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. Indented Head is a small coastal township located on the Bellarine Peninsula, east of Geelong, '

Geography

Map of Yarra River and its tributaries.

Yarra River as seen from Princes Bridge

The Yarra's lower reaches travel through central Melbourne. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 It is approximately 242 kilometres in length, with a mean annual flow of 718,000 megalitres. It is the most westerly snow fed river in Australia. The total catchment area is approximately 4000 square kilometres. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand Some of the Yarra's major tributaries include the Plenty River, Merri Creek, Darebin Creek, Gardiners Creek and the Moonee Ponds Creek. The Plenty River is a tributary of the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. The Merri Creek is a waterway in southern Victoria, Australia which flows through the northern Suburbs of Melbourne. The Darebin Creek is a waterway in Melbourne Victoria. It is a tributary of the Yarra River, rising on the northern urban fringe of Melbourne just north of the suburb Gardiners Creek is a waterway in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne part of the Yarra River catchment The Moonee Ponds Creek is located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Yarra was originally a tributary of the Maribyrnong River.

Upper reaches

The river's source is a series of swamps in the upper reaches of the Yarra Ranges National Park, directly to the east of the Mt Baw Baw plateau, a thickly forested subalpine park, which is entirely closed-off to all except the employees of Melbourne Water. A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water Yarra Ranges is a National park in Victoria, Australia, 92 km east of Melbourne. Location It is about 120 east of Melbourne and 50 km north of the Latrobe Valley Melbourne Water is a government run organisation that controls much of the water system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia including the city's Reservoirs The park features extensive stands of mountain ash, a very tall eucalypt, tree ferns, as well as patches of remnant rainforest. Eucalyptus regnans, known variously by the common names Mountain Ash, Victorian Ash, Swamp Gum, Tasmanian Oak or Stringy Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora. The order Cyatheales is a Taxonomic division of the Fern subclass Cyatheatae, which includes the tree ferns.

The Upper Yarra Dam, one of a number of dams in the Yarra Catchment that supply most of Melbourne's water, is the furthest upstream point on the river visible to the general public (though the dam itself is closed off). Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3

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. Warburton is a town east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The Woods Point Rd follows the river through this section. Woods Point is a small town in Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Woods Point and the surrounding area had a population of 94

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. Woori Yallock is a town east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, along the Warburton Highway. The Yarra Valley is the name given to the region surrounding the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia.

Yarra crossing, Punt Road. by W. Liardet,1840

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. Healesville is a town located to the northeast of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Yarra Glen is a town northeast of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, along the Melba Highway.

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. Chirnside Park is a Suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 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 bicycle, cycle, or bike is a pedal-driven, human-powered vehicle with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind Warrandyte is an outlying semi-rural suburb in Melbourne, Victoria Australia, 27km east-north-east of the Melbourne central business district. The Yarra River Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and Pedestrians which follows the Yarra River through the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne The Capital City Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and Pedestrians which circles the Melbourne city centre and some inner eastern and northern The river is used extensively for kayaking at Templestowe, and canoes can often be seen throughout the suburban section. "Templestowe" redirects here For the Victorian Legislative Council Province please see Templestowe Province. 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 Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century The walking trail features placards displaying some of their paintings at the settings they were actually painted; some features depicted remain clearly recognisable today.

View of the Yarra River as it flows through Central Melbourne at night, with the central business district on the left and Southbank on the right

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. Southbank is an Inner city suburb of Melbourne, Australia in the state of Victoria. Dights Falls (ˈdaɪts is located in Melbourne, Victoria just downstream of the junction of the Yarra River with Merri Creek. Yarra Bend Park is a 260 hectare (642 acre park in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. This area forms the venue for the annual "Moomba" festival, which notably features an annual water skiing competition which attracts a huge crowd. For the fictional creature from the Final Fantasy series see Races of Final Fantasy. Water skiing is a Sport where an individual (or more than one individual is pulled behind a Motor boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water wearing 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. Melbourne Docklands is a Coastal area within Melbourne, Australia. The Queen's Baton Relay, similar to the Olympic Torch Relay is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006

Many of Melbourne's private schools, located close to the river, train their rowing crews on it. GB coxless pair of Toby Garbett & Rick Dunn at Henley Royal Regatta 2004

Artificial fish on the Yarra during 2006 Commonwealth Games

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. The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006

Herring Island is a small island at South Yarra which has a punt which takes people on to the park. Herring Island is a small island located in Melbourne's Yarra River at South Yarra, approximately 3km from the city

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. Year 1883 ( MDCCCLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

The final section passes through the Port of Melbourne and under the Bolte Bridge and the West Gate Bridge. The Port of Melbourne is Australia's busiest port for containerised and general cargo The Bolte Bridge is a large twin Cantilever Bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The West Gate Bridge is a large cable-stayed box girder Bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The river flows into Port Phillip Bay, the site being extensively altered as part of the Port of Melbourne, Australia's busiest seaport. "Port Phillip" may also refer to a Local Government Area called the City of Port Phillip. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo

Recreational use

The Yarra River is popular with rowers. There are several rowing sheds along the city stretch east of the Princes Bridge.

The Yarra is also popular for cycling. Two major off-road 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 Yarra River Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and Pedestrians which follows the Yarra River through the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne The Capital City Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and Pedestrians which circles the Melbourne city centre and some inner eastern and northern The Bayside Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and Pedestrians which follows the coastline of Port Phillip Bay through the south-eastern suburbs

The river is also popular for boaters. 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. Toorak is a Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Stonnington

Cruises go up and down the river. In many of the higher parts of the Yarra fishing is also common.

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. Dights Falls (ˈdaɪts is located in Melbourne, Victoria just downstream of the junction of the Yarra River with Merri Creek.

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^[1][2].

Yarra River and Swan Street Bridge, opposite the Rod Laver Arena, the Eureka Tower and Southbank in the background along with Kings Domain and Royal Botanic Gardens

See also

• List of crossings of the Yarra River

References

Further reading

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

Coordinates: 37°51′S 144°54′E / -37.85, 144.9