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Charles Grimes was supposedly the first European to explore the area
Charles Grimes was the Surveyor General of New South Wales, he led his party on a river expedition to explore Dights Fall. -
Melbourne settled in
Melbourne eventually settled in. The land there was sub-divided and later on, the first land sales were held. -
John Dight purchased Melbourne block 88
This included 26 acres of land along the Yarra River for £481 at the
Port Phillip land sales that were held in Sydney. -
John Dight left to go to Port Phillip
Dights Fall had a mill near Campbell Town in New South Wales which was called ‘Ceres’. And it also had a successful business of flour milling. But in 1840 he notified all the customers that he was leaving to go to Port Phillip. -
First steam powered flour mill
The first steam powered flour mill was constructed in Melbourne
in 1841. Dight used the river to power his mill: Water flowed along an inlet channel to turn an undershot water wheel. This helped to
regulate flow and it also helped, water flow when the river was low. Later on, Dight constructed a rough stone weir. -
A weir was constructed
A weir was constructed by timber to provide water for Melbourne Flour Milling Company. The weir has been repaired and rebuilt many times over the past 100 years of its history. -
First documented reconstruction activity
When part of the timber weir washed away in flood waters. The
Minister of Public Works at the time declared that the weir would
be rebuilt. -
Another rebuild and distribution
A breach of the weir was prompted another rebuild and the distribution of 1.5 tonnes of rock from the edge of the weir downstream. -
A further breach of the weir occurred
After heavy rainfall. Most of the timber decking, Waling and Rock Fill had washed away or were incredibly damaged during this flood. -
Allowing fish to move around the weir
Melbourne Water recognized that the weir had a barrier to fish migration. Later on, a rock fishway was constructed to allow fish to move around the weir.