Fishways-Managing our Waterways

By apapj22

  • 1st explorer of the Yarra river

    1st explorer of the Yarra river
    Charles Grimes, is believed to be the first European explorer to explore the Yarra river.

  • Melbourne was eventually settled in

    Land was sub-divided and the first public lad sales were completed shortly after.

  • Land Purchase

    John Dight purchased Melbourne block 88, which contained 26 acres of land along the Yarra river.

  • Dight came to Port Phillip

    In April 1840, Dight notified his costumers in New South Wales by The Sydney Herald that he was leaving to go to Port Philip.

  • The first Melbourne Flour Mill

    In 1841, the first steam powered flour mill was constructed in Melbourne.

  • The dights family Abandoned flour milling

    The dights family Abandoned flour milling in 1864.

  • Dights Land was sold

    After the Dights family abandoned flour milling in 1864 his land was sold to Edwin Trennery in 1878.

  • The original mill was unoccupied

    The original mill on the river bank remained unoccupied until 1888, when flour millers Gillespie, Aitken and Scott, operating under the name of 'Yarra Falls Roller Flour Mills' constructed a new mill and associated buildings at the site.

  • The enterprise was sold

    The enterprise was sold in 1891 to The Melbourne Flour Milling Company.

  • Dights Falls weir

    When a timber structure was built to provide water to the Melbourne Water Milling Company.

  • The mill changed owner again

    For the last time the mill changed owners in 1909 before it was later destroyed by a fire. The mill ruins can still be found at Dights Falls today.

  • The first documented reconstruction

    The first documented reconstruction occurred in 1918 when part of the timber washed away in floods.

  • Prompted another rebuild

    A breech of the weir on 24 December 1940 prompted another rebuild and the distribution of 1.5 tonnes of rock from the edge of the weir downstream.

  • A further breech of the weir

    A further breech of the weir occurred after heavy rainfall in 1967.

  • Built a rock fishway

    In 1993 Melbourne Water recognised that the weir was a barrier to fish migration and constructed a rock fishway to allow fish to move around the weir.