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Charles Crimes
The first European to explore the yarra river -
Charles Crimes
The first European to explore the yarra river. -
The first documented reconstruction activity occurred
the first documented reconstruction activity occurred in 1918 when part of the timber weir washed away in flood waters. The Minister for Public Works at the time declared that the weir would be rebuilt, although the extent of these works is not known. -
Melbourne was settled
The land was sub-divided and the first public land sales were held shorty after -
Melbourne was settled
Land was sub- divided and the first public land sales were held shortly after. -
John Dight
John Dight purchased Melbourne block 88, which included 26 acres of land along the Yarra river at the Port Phillip land sales held in Sydney. -
John Dight
He purchased Melbourne block 88, which include 26 acres of land along the Yarra river -
John Dight 2
John notified the customers through the herald that he was leaving for Port Phillip -
The first steam powered flour mill
the first steam powered flour mill was constructed in Melbourne in 1841. Dight built his water powered mill, soon after, from bricks bought over from Tasmania. -
The changing ownership of Dight's Mill
The Dight family abandoned flour milling in 1864 and the property was sold to Edwin Trennery in 1878. Trennery subsequently subdivided the land. -
The Original mill on the river bank
The Original mill on the river bank remained unoccupied until 1888, when the 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 mill race was rebuilt
The mill race was rebuilt in much the same position using bluestone blocks from Dight's old mill building, and a new mill and associated building were constructed. this enterprise was sold in 1891 to the Melbourne Flour Milling Company. -
The Mill changed hands for the last time
The mill changed hands for the final time in 1909 before it was destroyed by fire. The mill race and ruins of the mill can still be found at Dights fall today. -
A breach of the weir
A breach 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 beach of the weir occurred
A further beach of the weir occurred after heavily rainfall in 1967. Most of the timber decking, walling and rock fill had washed away or were irreparably damaged during this flood. -
The history of the weir as we know it
The existing weir at Dights fall date back to 1985 a timber structure was built to provide water to the Melbourne Flour Milling Company. The weir has been repaired a number of times in its 100 year history and the structure we see today is a combination of materials added over time. -
Melbourne water
in 1993 Melbourne water, recognising that the weir was a barrier to fish migration constructed a rock fishway to alloow fish to move around the weir. Whilst considered best practise at the time, the rock fishway was only partially effective and the dights falls Weir continues to act as a major barrier to native fish migration in the Yarra river