-
History of Dight falls timeline
Dights Falls located downstream of the junction of the Yarra River with Merri Creek, It was a former camping ground of the Yallock bullock clan of the Woi wurrung. The first white men discovered the Yarra falls on 8th February, 1803. -
the making of the first crossing
To make the first crossing, the over landers John Gardner, Joseph Hawdon and John Hepburn, built it on December 1836 -
About John Dight
John Dight, born on the year 1808, on the Hawkesbury River, NSW, to a pioneer family. They had emigrated from Devon, England, arriving in June 1801. His father, a surgeon also named John, was one of the first land grantees at Richmond. John Dight had 12 siblings. John operated a mill built by his father, Dr John Dight, at Airds near at Campbelltown until 1837. Both him and his younger brother, Charles took up Bungowannah Station near Albury, which he held up to the period of his death on 1867. -
Dight's Mill (Aboriginal information)
Prior to European settlement, the area was occupied by the indigenous Wurundjeri tribe of the Kulin nation. The rock falls provided the Aboriginal people with a natural river crossing and place to trap migrating fish. The Aboriginal trading system was very common at the Yarra river with many clans coming to trade items and exchange brides. -
Dights mill site plan
FUN FACTS!
1. The river narrows and is constricted 800,000 year old volcanos
2. The north side contains abundant graptolite fossils in sedimentary sandstone.
3. In the early 1840's John Dight established Melbourne's first water-powered flour mill on the site. -
Problem with Fish Immigration
In 1993 Melbourne Water, recognised that there was a barrier between fish migration from salt water to fresh water. Constructing a rock fishway to allow the fish to move around the weir. The rock Fishway wasn’t as effective for the fish population to easily move around. The Dights Falls Weir continues to act as a major barrier to native fish migration in the Yarra River.