Banks of the Yarra off Trenerry Crescent 52/20/3

Banks of the Yarra off Trenerry Crescent 52/20/3, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

This photograph is submitted by the Collingwood Historical Society as part of the Flickr Friday Photos 2012 under the theme of "water".

This shot of the Yarra and the foliage surrounding the river is typical of much of the river frontage on the Kew part of the river, whilst the Collingwood side was used for industry. This area just south of Dight's Mill and in behind the buildings of Trenerry Crescent is today a little haven from the bustle of the nearby Eastern Freeway and other traffic in the busy inner urban streets surrounding it.



If you want to read further about the Yarra and its history, a good book to start with is Kristin Otto's Yarra: a diverting history of Melbourne's murky river which was published by Text in 2005.

Yarra at Dight's Falls 52/20/2

Yarra at Dight's Falls 52/20/2, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

This photo is submitted by the Collingwood Historical Society to the Flickr Friday Photos 2012 challenge under the theme of "water".

It is not very easy to get close to Dight's Falls at present due to ongoing "improvement" works in the area and to the falls.  However, it was a no brainer to include Dight's Falls in a series of photos about water.  Dight's Falls are just east of the confluence of the Merri Creek and the Yarra River and are the furthermost point that boats can navigate upstream from the mouth of the Yarra. The Falls are called after Dight's Mill which was to the left of the photo. Unfortunately the course of both the Yarra and the Merri Creek in this area was changed during the contruction of the Eastern Freeway in the 1970s and it is very difficult to work out what the lie of the land (and water) was before this time.

Yarra Hotel 52/20/1

Yarra Hotel 52/20/1, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

This photo is submitted by the Collingwood Historical Society as part of the Flickr Friday Photos 2012 challenge under the theme of "water".
  

In Melbourne one of the words that is synonymous with water is "Yarra" the name of the river on which the city was established. In Collingwood where much of the eastern border of the former municipality was formed by the Yarra the river played a significant part in its development.

This photograph is of the Yarra Hotel situated in Johnston Street, Abbotsford about five minutes walk from the Yarra. The first hotel on this site from 1855 was a brick building, and took its name from the original proprietor Mrs Margaret Mackay. From about 1864 the name changed to the Yarra Hotel and the initial building was replaced later in the nineteenth century by the existing ornate late Victorian hotel in the mannerist style.

Victoria has a number of Italianate hotels built around this period, but the Yarra is an outstanding example due to the scale of its distinctive pediment and rendered ornamentation, which remain largely intact, although the painting of the render work is to be deplored. This black and white photo gives a good sense of what the hotel must have looked like.