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First Exploration
Charles Grimes, Surveyor General of NSW, was the first European to explore the Yarra River. -
Settlement
In 1835 Melbourne was settled, land was sub-divided and public land sales started shortly after. -
John Dight
John Dight bought Melbourne block 88, which was 26 acres of land along the Yarra River for $781 (481 pounds). -
Port Phillip
Dight was already in the milling business and had a mill in New South Wales so, through The Sydney Herald he informed everyone he would be moving to Port Phillip. -
First Steam Powered Mill
The first steam powered flour mill was made in Melbourne in 1841 and soon after John Dight built his water powered mill with bricks imported from Tasmania. He also built a timber weir to keep the river flowing. -
Abandoning the Mill
The Dight family left their flour milling in 1864 and the property was sold in 1878 to Edward Trennery. -
Abandoning the Mill
The Dight family left the mill in 1864 and the property was sold to Edward Trennery in 1878. -
A New Mill
In 1888, flour millers, Gillespie, Aitken and Scott under the name of "Yarra Falls Roller Flour Mills' built a new mill and connected buildings along the site. -
Melbourne Flour Milling Company
A new mill was constructed in nearly the exact same spot as Dight's old mill and used the bluestone bricks from it and new mills and more buildings were built. The whole enterprise was sold to the Melbourne Flour Milling Company in 1891. -
A Final Time
In 1909 the mill changed hands a final time before a fire destroyed it. Today you can still see the ruins of the mill. -
Wrecks and Repairs
The first recorded reconstruction was in 1918 when part of the timber weir was washed away in a flood. The Minister for Public Works at the time stated that the weir would be rebuilt, but it isn't known how much work was done. -
A Fishway
In 1993 Melbourne Water constructed a rock fishway to allow fish to move around the weir and complete their migration. Although at the time this was considered extremely effective, Dights Falls is still a big barrier to fish migration in the Yarra River. -
A Breach of the Weir
A violation of the weir on 24 December 1940 caused 1.5 tonnes of rock from the edge of the weir to float all the way downstream and prompted another rebuild. -
Heavy Rainfall
Another breach of the weir occurred in 1967 after heavy rainfall. Most of the timber decking and rock fill had washed away or were damaged beyond repair during the flood. The next year, the original timber deck was replaced and resulted in the weir structure that stands today. -
A Fishway
In 1993 Melbourne Water constructed a rock fishway to allow fish to move around the weir and complete their migration. Although at the time it was considered to be extremely effective, Dights Falls is still a big problem for fish migration in the Yarra River.
