The Yarra River

The Yarra River is a 242 km, main waterway of Victoria. It runs all the way from Mt Baw Baw to port Phillip bay in Melbourne. The Wurundjeri people have always had a deep connection to the river due to the important value that spiritual and community celebrations have to them. The river was originally called the Birrarung. It was known as the Yarra in the 1830s, due to a miscommunication of aboriginals to European settlers. To this day, it is well known to be called the Yarra River but there is a section of the river named Birrarung Marr to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and to have an inner-city park where people can gather.

FACTS !

-The annual Moomba festival celebrates the Yarra River’s meaning to Melbourne.

-Its strong brown colour is the result of clay soils. the soils break up into tiny particles and dissipate throughout the whole river, making it brown.

-The name of this river is actually named the Yarro-Yarro river and was translated wrong. It is a Wurundjeri term in the Boonwurrung language meaning ‘ever-flowing”.

-The river has flooded many times in the past but was widened to protect Melbourne residents.

-The Yarra river is a home to many endangered species of fish. It is also a home to large amounts of frogs, wetland birds, platypuses and water bugs.