Inspired by a photograph taken in 1906 from one of the tallest buildings in Melbourne at the time – the nine-storey Commercial Travellers Club – Cheryl Griffin has described the history of the Yarra River’s Turning Basin for the latest edition of CBD News.
“Although it is hard to imagine the landscape before white settlement, it was once a fertile wetland and for many thousands of years and countless generations of Wurundjeri people it was a hunting and fishing ground, a meeting place for ceremonies and trade. Although the built landscape has changed many times over since 1835, this is still the land of the Kulin, Victoria’s first people.
“Rivers and waterways played an important role in traditional culture and in the history of Melbourne’s development. You see here the Yarra Turning Basin (sometimes referred to as the Swinging Basin) a busy, bustling industrial space and passenger terminal, at least until 1930 when the Spencer Street Bridge with its low clearance prevented ships from travelling this far up the river.”
239 A'Beckett Street Melbourne, Victoria, 3000 
03 9326 9288 
office@historyvictoria.org.au 
Office & Library: Weekdays 9am-5pm
