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First European Explorer
In 1803, Charles Grimes is believed to be the first European to explore the Yarra River. -
Purchasing Block 88
In 1839, John Dight purchased Melbourne block 88, which
included 26 acres of land along the Yarra River for £481. -
Flour Milling Business
In April 1840, John Dights stopped his flour milling business at Ceres, NSW and moved his business to Port Phillip Bay. -
Steam Powered Flour Mill
In 1841, John Dight built one of the first steam powered flour mill, using bricks that were bought from Tasmania -
Rough Stone Weir
Dight used the river to power his mill, and in order to
regulate flow, he constructed a rough stone weir. -
Changing Hands
The Dight Family’s mill and land along the Yarra changed hands a
number of times in the mid to late 1800s. -
Abandoning Flour Milling
The Dight Family abandoned flour milling in 1864 and
the property was sold to Edwin Trennery in 1878. -
Unoccupied River Mill
The mill on the river bank remained unoccupied until 1888, when flour millers Gillespie, Aitken and Scott constructed a new mill. -
Melbourne Flour Milling Company
The mill race rebuilt almost identically the same using
bluestone blocks from Dight’s old mill building. This enterprise was
sold in 1891 to the Melbourne Flour Milling Company. -
Fire
The mill changed hands for the last time in 1909 before it was
destroyed by fire. The mill race can still be found at Dights Falls today. -
Reconstruction
The first documented reconstruction activity occurred in 1918
when part of the timber weir washed away in flood waters. -
Reconstruction 2
On 24 December 1940, another rebuild was prompted and 1.5 tonnes of rock mended the edge of the weir downstream. -
Reconstruction 3
In 1967, most of the timber decking, walling and rock fill had washed
away and were irreparably damaged during this flood. -
Fish Barrier
Melbourne Water, recognised that the weir was a fish barrier and constructed a rock fishway to allow fish to move around the weir.
