Dights Falls, Natural rapid and weir at Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia.
Dights Falls is a natural rapid and weir on the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia, at the point where Merri Creek flows into it. The water rushes over layered rock formations made of volcanic basalt and older sedimentary stone, creating a visible change in the river's level.
John Dight, a flour miller from Campbell Town, New South Wales, bought land beside the falls in 1839 and built a water-powered mill there in 1841, damming the basalt bar with a small weir to feed his wheel. The mill burned down in the early 1900s; the head race, tail race, turbine house, retaining wall and weir survive, and the site joined the Victorian Heritage Register on 20 August 1982.
The falls lie on Wurundjeri land, where the rock barrier served as a river crossing and a fish trap and where many clans met to trade, settle disputes and exchange brides. The rapids are still used for canoeing and have hosted the Victorian Canoe Slalom Championships. A historic marker on the ridge east of the falls records Charles Grimes reaching the spot on 8 February 1803.
The Yarra River Trail crosses the river at the Walmer Street Bridge, a wrought iron Pratt truss girder bridge designed by William Thwaites and completed in 1891, linking Abbotsford with Kew. The rapid above the weir is used for canoeing and has hosted the Victorian Canoe Slalom Championships. A fishway built between 2010 and 2012 replaced the earlier 1993 fish ladder.
The sandstone on the north side of the falls contains graptolite fossils that are over 400 million years old. These tiny sea creatures lived long before the age of the dinosaurs, and their traces in the rock show that this area was once covered by an ancient sea.
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