When Melbournians consider the Yarra River, they think of the last few kilometres flowing through the city. But the Yarra is much more than this. It flows 242 kilometres from headwaters to sea – from its source on the flanks of Mt Baw Baw in the Yarra Ranges National Park, north-east of Melbourne, through the Yarra Valley and greater Melbourne into Port Phillip Bay at Newport.
The upper sections of the Yarra and its main tributaries flow through forested, mountainous areas that have been reserved for water supply purposes for more than 100 years.
Most land in the middle and lower sections was cleared for agriculture and urban and industrial development, resulting in the erosion of the clay soils and the muddy colour of the river. More than one-third of Victoria’s population lives in the Yarra catchment, which spans about 4000 square kilometres. The catchment includes 40 rivers and creeks of high or very high significance. The Yarra River between Warburton and Warrandyte has been identified as a Victorian Heritage River. The lowest section of the Yarra is an estuary and salt water travels from Port Phillip Bay about 10 kilometres upstream. River health in the upper catchment tends to be excellent but rivers and creeks downstream are in poorer condition as a result of erosion, stormwater and other pollution, weeds and changes to land use and river flows. Flows in the Yarra and many of its tributaries have changed significantly since European settlement because numerous water storages and farm dams have been built, and much water is extracted for agriculture. In recent years, loss of habitat has been slowed through revegetation, erosion control and removal of barriers to fish migration. This has helped some animals, such as platypus, which have been found again in areas where they had disappeared.
Photo: Yarra River at Alphington [postcard]
