1 February 2008
Yarra Falls
Posted by Mick under: Regions; Upper Yarra Valley; Victoria .
According to Kristin Otto in her fantastic and interesting book on the Yarra River, titled “Yarra - a diverting history of Melbourne’s murky river”; “The biggest waterfall in Victoria, Yarra Falls, can be found there on one of the headwater streams, cascading through 300-odd metres”.
Having been primarily based in the Upper Yarra Valley since 1983 (with a stint in Sydney), I was amazed that I had heard nothing about the “Yarra Falls”, which are located inside the catchment area of the Upper Yarra Reservoir, until only a few years ago. How you can have what is supposedly the biggest cascaded waterfall in the state and not only be not able to visit it, yet to not even be taught about it when your school was only around 40km from it as the crow flies and your house is less than 20km away from it?
I’ve found a few photos over the years including this one taken around 1915 showing part of the falls, one of a hut near the Falls around 1919 and some photos on these pages which describe a walk into the site in 1997. You can also check out a brilliant old map from 1907 at the National Library of Australia Digital Collection of Maps site which shows the general area and some up close cartography of the falls themselves in detail.
Well…I figure that if i actually want to see Yarra Falls in person, I should probably do something about it and stop dreaming about it…so I’ll keep you all in the loop ;)
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