18 Facts About Yarra River

Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.

Lower stretches of the Yarra River 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.

Yarra River has been a major food source and meeting place for Indigenous Australians for thousands of years.

Yarra River was utilised primarily for agriculture by early European settlers.

The first of many crossings of the Yarra River to facilitate transport was built in Princes Bridge.

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Today, the Yarra River mouth including Swanson and Appleton docks are used for container shipping by the Port of Melbourne, which is the busiest on the continent.

The name Yarra Yarra is said to mean "ever flowing river", but most likely refers to the Yarra Yarra falls which were later dynamited.

Yarra River selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village".

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.

In 1957, the Upper Yarra River Reservoir was constructed, primarily to alleviate flooding downstream.

Yarra River is colloquially known as "the upside down river", for its golden hue.

Yarra River has a detailed and complex geological history, see "Geology".

Yarra River enters Melbourne's suburbs proper at Chirnside Park, but virtually all the river's length is surrounded by parkland, much retaining extensive native vegetation.

Yarra River is considered an important part of Melbourne's culture and a symbol of the city, and as a result, it has been the source of artistic and cultural expression.

The Yarra River once held the world's largest swimming event, the Race to Prince's Bridge.

The banks of the Yarra River are popular for cycling, running and walking where most paths are sealed and in good condition.

Yarra River is 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.

Yarra 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.