Places I've been - Dights Falls, Melbourne

Looking south at Dights Falls, Yarra Bend Park, Melbourne. Photo by Ant.

Here you can see the completed Dights falls (the fish weir is under the POV). Repairs and maintenance have been ongoing for sometime now. To the right are the apartment blocks of Abbotsford and in the foreground it is possible to make out the basalt blocks used to construct previous versions of the falls.

In the early 19th century, this was the location of a water powered flour mill. The falls were important as they marked the boundary between brine and fresh water on the Yarra River. Downstream of the location was an industrial zone and upstream was suitable for residences and farming (see Collingwood Childrens Farm).

Geologically speaking the bank the photograph is taken from is composed of basalts from the Newer Volcanics while on the far side of the river are Silurian turbiditites. The turbidites are deep ocean sediments where muds are generally deposited. Occasionally a significant storm or landslide event will result in the deposition of a layer of sands. The interbedded sands and muds of the turbidites make up much of geology east of the City of Melbourne and are interestingly tilted and folded.

In the image above, the sediments strike approximately North-South and dip around 45 degrees to the East. There is a locally thick bed of sandstones (approximately 1m thick) in this deposit which is responsible for the development and location of Dights Falls.