Yarrowee River
Encyclopedia
Yarrowee is a major tributary
and catchment of the Barwon River
in Victoria, Australia. The river's origins are in the hills at Gong Gong, and it is notable for passing through the settlement of Ballarat and crossing the City of Ballarat
local government area before becoming the Leigh River in the vicinity of Cambrian Hill and Golden Plains Shire
.
The river is a secondary water supply for the city of Ballarat. Its catchment contains several tributaries in the urban area including Gnarr Creek, Gong Gong Creek, Little Bendigo Creek and Warrenheip in the north eastern reaches and; Redan Creek, Canadian Creek and Buninyong Creek in the southern reaches. It runs through the Ballarat suburbs of Gong Gong, Nerrina, Brown Hill
, Black Hill, Ballarat East
, Ballarat Central
, Golden Point
, Redan
, Mount Pleasant
, Sebastopol
, Mount Clear
, Magpie and Cambrian Hill. Tributaries in the catchment run through most other Ballarat suburbs. The river also marks the border between several suburbs.
settlers of the area.
Prior to the European settlement of Australia, the river was an important place for the Boro gundidj, a tribe of the Wathaurong Indigenous Australian people as they based themselves around its northern stretches.
The river was important to the first settlers (squatters) of the region, with William Cross Yuille
establishing his home near the swamp that is now Lake Wendouree
, that was an important part of the river's catchment.
During the Victorian Gold Rush
it was heavily mined for alluvial gold and used by the mines as a source of water. The indigenous inhabitants were driven away from the area.
During the Gold Rush, much of the river and its tributaries were sealed as drains using quarried bluestone
to prevent erosion and help mitigate frequent flooding. The river was known to flood in the early days.
In 1869 a serious flood of the Yarrowee River put most of the lower section of the city including Bridge and Grenville Street underwater and causing the loss of two lives.
In 1877 the Gong Gong reservoir was built to alleviate flooding and to Lake Wendouree as the primary water source for Ballarat.
By the turn of the century, the river had become heavily polluted during the early industrialisation of Ballarat.
During the 1960s, the river through the Ballarat CBD was re-routed, concreted and built over. As a result, it now forms an underground drain running under Grenville Street. Many other parts of the river also became wide and deep concrete stormwater drains. Several stretches of the river, remain, however in its natural bush and parkland setting.
Since the 1980s, major initiatives have been undertaken to restore the river's state and vegetation and several natural wetlands have also been re-established along the river's course.
The river suffered flash flooding during the 2010 Victorian floods
and the 2011 Victorian floods
.
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
and catchment of the Barwon River
Barwon River (Victoria)
The Barwon River rises in the Otway Ranges of Victoria, Australia, runs through Winchelsea and the city of Geelong, where it is joined by the Moorabool River, and enters the sea at Barwon Heads after passing through Lake Connewarre on the Bellarine Peninsula...
in Victoria, Australia. The river's origins are in the hills at Gong Gong, and it is notable for passing through the settlement of Ballarat and crossing the City of Ballarat
City of Ballarat
The City of Ballarat is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia around Ballarat. It is located in the western part of the state. It has an area of 740 square kilometres. In 2001 it had a population of 81,000...
local government area before becoming the Leigh River in the vicinity of Cambrian Hill and Golden Plains Shire
Golden Plains Shire
Golden Plains Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-western part of the state. It includes the towns of Bannockburn, Gheringhap, Linton, Berringa and Meredith. It has an area of 2,721 square kilometres. In 2009 it had a population of 18,173...
.
The river is a secondary water supply for the city of Ballarat. Its catchment contains several tributaries in the urban area including Gnarr Creek, Gong Gong Creek, Little Bendigo Creek and Warrenheip in the north eastern reaches and; Redan Creek, Canadian Creek and Buninyong Creek in the southern reaches. It runs through the Ballarat suburbs of Gong Gong, Nerrina, Brown Hill
Brown Hill, Victoria
Brown Hill is a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia on the eastern rural-urban fringe of the city. The population at the 2006 census was 2,057....
, Black Hill, Ballarat East
Ballarat East, Victoria
Ballarat East, is a suburb of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. Ballarat East covers a large area east of the CBD. It is the oldest area in Ballarat and was once also a municipality known as the Ballarat East Town Council between 1859 and 1921...
, Ballarat Central
Ballarat Central
Ballarat Central is a defined locality surrounded by suburban Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. It is the second oldest area in Ballarat . It was formerly known as Ballaarat West. The population of Ballarat Central at the 2006 census was 5,645, making it the third most populous in the urban area...
, Golden Point
Golden Point, Victoria
Golden Point is a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia located south east of the CBD. It is one of the few original suburbs of Ballarat that was established during the Victorian gold rush days. At the 2006 census, Golden Point had a population of 2,147...
, Redan
Redan, Victoria
Redan is an inner suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia immediately south of Ballarat Central. The population at the 2006 census was 2,958....
, Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, Victoria
Mount Pleasant is a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia located south of the CBD. It is one of the few original gold mining towns in the Ballarat district established during the Victorian gold rush...
, Sebastopol
Sebastopol, Victoria
Sebastopol is a southern suburb on the rural-urban fringe of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It is the second most populated area in urban Ballarat with a population of 8,045 at the 2006 census....
, Mount Clear
Mount Clear, Victoria
Mount Clear is a semi-rural suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia located south of the CBD is a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia located south of the CBD in the Canadian Creek Valley. At the 2006 census, Mount Clear had a population of 2,346....
, Magpie and Cambrian Hill. Tributaries in the catchment run through most other Ballarat suburbs. The river also marks the border between several suburbs.
History and Toponomy
It is widely believed that the name was derived from Yarrow Water, attributed to the early ScottishScottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
settlers of the area.
Prior to the European settlement of Australia, the river was an important place for the Boro gundidj, a tribe of the Wathaurong Indigenous Australian people as they based themselves around its northern stretches.
The river was important to the first settlers (squatters) of the region, with William Cross Yuille
William Cross Yuille
William Cross Yuille was an Australian pastoralist who helped establish the horse racing industry in Victoria, Australia...
establishing his home near the swamp that is now Lake Wendouree
Lake Wendouree
Lake Wendouree is an artificially-created and maintained shallow urban lake located in the suburb of the same name in the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia...
, that was an important part of the river's catchment.
During the Victorian Gold Rush
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
it was heavily mined for alluvial gold and used by the mines as a source of water. The indigenous inhabitants were driven away from the area.
During the Gold Rush, much of the river and its tributaries were sealed as drains using quarried bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
to prevent erosion and help mitigate frequent flooding. The river was known to flood in the early days.
In 1869 a serious flood of the Yarrowee River put most of the lower section of the city including Bridge and Grenville Street underwater and causing the loss of two lives.
In 1877 the Gong Gong reservoir was built to alleviate flooding and to Lake Wendouree as the primary water source for Ballarat.
By the turn of the century, the river had become heavily polluted during the early industrialisation of Ballarat.
During the 1960s, the river through the Ballarat CBD was re-routed, concreted and built over. As a result, it now forms an underground drain running under Grenville Street. Many other parts of the river also became wide and deep concrete stormwater drains. Several stretches of the river, remain, however in its natural bush and parkland setting.
Since the 1980s, major initiatives have been undertaken to restore the river's state and vegetation and several natural wetlands have also been re-established along the river's course.
The river suffered flash flooding during the 2010 Victorian floods
2010 Victorian floods
The 2010 Victorian floods were a widespread series of flood events across the state of Victoria, Australia. The floods, which followed heavy rain across southeastern Australia in early September 2010, caused the inundation of about 250 homes, hundreds of evacuations and millions of dollars of...
and the 2011 Victorian floods
2011 Victorian floods
High intensity rainfall between 12–14 January 2011 caused major flooding across much of the western and central parts of the Australian state of Victoria...
.
Crossings
There are many crossings over the Yarrowee, including road, rail and pedestrian. Some additional roads allow passage through shallow sections of the river when the water levels are low.- Daylesford-Ballarat Road, Brown Hill
- Hillview Road, Brown Hill
- Springs Road, Brown Hill
- Western Freeway, Brown Hill
- Brown Hill Hotel (pedestrian)
- Ried Crt (Brown Hill Oval) (pedestrian)
- Ainley Street, Brown Hill
- Stawell Street Nth, Nerrina
- Oliver Street, Ballarat East
- Queen Street Nth (pedestrian)
- Newman Street (pedestrian)
- Princes Street, Black Hill
- Nicholas Street, Black Hill
- Peel Street, Black Hill
- Eastern Oval (pedestrian)
- Scott Parade, Ballarat East
- Serviceton railway line, Ballarat East/Ballarat Central
- Grenville Street, Ballarat Central
- Grant Street, Ballarat Central
- Hill Street, Ballarat Central/Mt Pleasant
- Prest Street, Redan
- Bridge Street/Whitehorse Road, Sebastopol/Mt Clear
- Docwra Street, Sebastopol
- Midland Highway, Magpie