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Wurundjeri Balluk people
The traditional landowners of the area around Dight Falls were the Wurundjeri Balluk people. The Dight Falls back then was used as a natural crossing place used by the Wurundjeri Balluk people & the nearby junction of the Merri Creek and Yarra River, this place was used for trades, marriages, & other occasions. A large amount of fish provided by the two rivers meeting could keep people fed there for weeks, and this place is still a spiritual place for the Wurundjeri Balluk people. -
European settlement
Surveyor general of NSW in 1803 Charles Grimes is believed to be the first European to discover the Yarra River. In 1803 he led his survey party on a river expedition to the Dight falls but didn't think it would be good to stay there. -
John Dight buying Melbourne block 88
In 1835 Melbourne was eventually settled by John Batman and the first public land sales were held shortly after in Sydney. John Dight purchased Melbourne block 88 which included 26 acres of land across the Yarra In 1839. -
John Dights Flour mills
John built his water powered mill, he used the river to power the mill, water flowed along a small channel to a water wheel. When the water level was low he constructed a rough stone weir. -
First steam powered mill
In 1841 the first ever steam powered mill was constructed in Melbourne. -
The Changing ownership of Dights Mill
From the mid to late 1800's Dights Mill and the land across the Yarra changed and in 1864 the Dights gave up flour milling and sold the land to Edwin Trennedy in 1878. -
New Mill
In 1888 flour millers: Gillespie, Aitken, and Scott re-opened the unoccupied mill and built a new mill using Dights bluestone blocks, and later a new mill and other associated buildings were built. These buildings were sold in 1891 to the Melbourne Flour Milling Company. -
Dights Mill bunt down
In 1909 after the mill had been sold to new owners for the last time it burnt down. -
Repairs
In 1918 the first reported reconstruction of Dights Mill. When the wooden weir got washed away with flood waters they said they were going to re build it but no one knows if this happened -
Dights Mill falling apart
On the 24th of December 1940, some more of the weir fell down they wanted to again re build it. Heavy rainfall caused a further breach of the weir and most of the timber decking and rock were damaged or had been washed away. -
Whitewater rapid
Melbourne water gave approval for modification in 1992. The whitewater rapid has been used for training by the Victorian slalom canoeists including nine Melbourne Olympians. -
Taking away the fish barrier
Recognising the remaining weir was a barrier Melbourne Water constructed a fishway made of rock, so fish could move around the weir. The rock fishway was only half effective but it still stopped a lot of fish from migrating. -
Reconstruction of the weir and fish ladder
The Dight Fall's weir was replaced, and a fish ladder was constructed so fish could swim uphill. Many rocks were displaced because of floods, and it was very dangerous to work there because of the floods. -
The award for outstanding waterway management
In 2013 Dights fall won the award for outstanding waterway management for successfully rebuilding the weir even in extreme weather, and the successful installation of an uphill fishway that travels 3000km.
