The Wurundjeri Willum of the Woiwurrung (language group) were the traditional owners of the country on the north side of the ancient watercourse, the Birrarung/Yarra. The silt-laden river once meandered through large areas of wetland to meet the Bay, called Nairm/Nerm. Before European settlement, the river was a place of great beauty, with stands of a wide variety of eucalypts lining its banks. There was great diversity of plant, animal and bird life and the river teemed with fish and eels.

With the arrival of Europeans in the nineteenth century, trees were felled, the river straightened, and its banks were lined with dry docks and wharves. The heart of the burgeoning port city of Melbourne was accessed by ships as its river banks enabled maritime trade, commerce, and associated industries to develop and drive Victoria’s prosperity.

The rough wharves and bridges which were initially constructed were improved and enlarged well into the twentieth century. Bridges across the Birrarung/Yarra enabled development on both sides of the river and allowed commerce to prosper. But with increasing pressure from the rapid increase in population and economic expansion, the various bridges over the river began to restrict and ultimately prevent river-based maritime trade. The once thriving port of Melbourne, which grew along the river banks upstream as far as Princes Bridge, incrementally shifted downstream towards the mouth of the river estuary and Nairm/Port Phillip Bay.

The Northbank Maritime Heritage Trail highlights the significant maritime heritage along the north bank of the Birrarung/Yarra River and has been devised by the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network. The trail commences at Birrarung Marr and ends at the former Collins Landing Place. It is approximately three kilometres long and takes 45 minutes. This trail can be combined with the Southbank and Victoria Harbour Trails and any of the trails can be commenced and ended at any point.

IMAGE CREDIT
John Cotton, Aboriginal camp on the banks of the Yarra, c.1845, State Library Victoria