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The first explorer to find the Yarra River
Charles Grimes was the first explorer to find the Yarra River. Charles led his survey party on a river expedition to the Yarra River (Dights Falls) in 1803. -
Melbourne settlement
Melbourne was sub-divided, first public lands sales began and became an actual city in 1835. -
John Dight: Buys a block of land near the Yarra River
In 1839 John Dight purchased Melbourne block 88, for 481 pounds ($785.38) at a Port Phillip land sales held in Sydney because he wanted the Yarra river to power his flour mill. -
John Dight: First weir at Dight Falls
In 1841 John Dight built the first stream powered flour mill was in constructed in Melbourne from the bricks bought over from Tasmania. In order to ensure that that there was always a flow for times when the river was low John Dight made an artificial rough stone weir. -
The Dights abandoning the flour mill
The Dight family abandoned flour milling in the late 1800s and the property was sold to Edwin Trennery in 1878. -
An unoccupied mill
The original river bank mill remained unoccupied until 1888, until flour millers Gillespie, Aitken and Scott, constructed a new mill in the same position using some of the materials (bluestone blocks) from the original mill and associated buildings at the site, under the name of 'Yarra Falls Roller Flour Mills'. -
New Flour mill (buildings) built and sold
The new mill river bank and buildings project was then sold to the Melbourne Flour Milling Company in 1891. -
Changing the mills owners (again)
The Flour mill was once again changed the owner for a final time in 1909 before it was destroyed by fire. The mill race and ruins can still be found at Dights Falls today. -
wrecks and repairs- the changing face of Dights Falls
In 1918 the first (documented) reconstruction activity, 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 area of these works is not known. -
Fixing the weir downstream
On 24 December 1940 a crack on the weir prompted another rebuild with distribution of 1.5 tonnes of rock along the edge of the weir. -
Another flood and more reconstruction
Another breach happened on the weir due to a heavy rainfall in 1967. Most of the materials used to make this weir (timber decking, walings and rock fill) got washed away or were terribly damaged during this flood. The following year, the original timber piles were capped by concrete, which is what we see today. -
the weir and fish migration
In 1993 Melbourne Water, recognised that the weir was like a barrier for fish migration so they constructed a rock fishway to allow fish to move around the weir. This was considered a good idea at the time, but Dights Falls Weir continues to act as a major barrier to native fish migration in the Yarra River.
