Yarra Bend Park, Heritage-listed urban park in Fairfield and Kew, Australia.
Yarra Bend Park is a 260-hectare park in Kew and Fairfield, 4 km northeast of Melbourne's centre, where the Yarra River runs for about 12 km. It holds two golf courses, two historic boathouses, sheds, and shared walking and cycling trails, including the Capital City Trail and Yarra River Trail. The park is the largest remnant natural bushland in inner Melbourne.
The Wurundjeri have long used the land at the junction of the Yarra River and Merri Creek, marked today by the Koori Garden near Dights Falls. The park was officially reserved in 1877 and merged with Studley Park in 1929. From 1848 to 1925 the Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum occupied most of the area, with buildings, vegetable gardens and a cemetery.
The confluence of the Yarra River and Merri Creek was an important site for the Wurundjeri, whose presence is commemorated by the Koori Garden on the park's western edge near Dights Falls. The park lies on their traditional lands.
The park has multiple entry points that make it easy to access different sections and facilities. Early morning or late afternoon visits offer the best chance to see wildlife, particularly the flying foxes that become more active during these times.
The grey-headed flying fox colony moved here from the Royal Botanic Gardens in 2003 and numbers between 3,000 in winter and 30,000 in summer. The bats roost in native hardwoods and are watched from the lookout at Bellbird Picnic Reserve; fishing is banned in that zone.
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