Stop 1: Tanderrum Pedestrian Bridge | Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network

Northbank Heritage Trail

STOP 1
Tanderrum Pedestrian Bridge

Location: On Birrarung Marr, at Tanderrum Pedestrian Bridge

The Northbank Maritime Heritage Trail along the Birrarung/Yarra River begins at Tanderrum Bridge, at the eastern edge of Birrarung Marr, a parkland on the traditional land of the Wurundjeri. The waterway was known by Indigenous custodians as Birrarung meaning ‘river of mists and shadow’. An early misunderstanding between the Indigenous people and colonial surveyor J.H. Wedge led to the river being known as the Yarra. The words Yarro Yarro mean ‘ever-flowing’.

Designed by John Wardle Architects and NADAAA, the Tanderrum Bridge (formerly known as Batman Avenue Bridge) provides a gateway to the city and is an integral part of the Birrarung Marr landscape. Completed in 2017 and awarded the 2017 Victorian Architecture Award, this sculptural elevated footbridge elegantly and respectfully reminds us of the indigenous presence over millennia along the river, while connecting with modern ‘gatherings and ceremonies’ held nearby at Yarra Park.

A tanderrum is an Aboriginal ceremony enacted by the nations of the Kulin people and other Aboriginal Victorian nations to allow safe passage and temporary access and use of land and resources by foreign people. Tanderrum Bridge passes through a location on the river bank place where people of the Kulin nation gathered for their Tanderrum ceremonies, performances and to trade.

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