What is the Yarra River?

The Yarra River is a 242-kilometre river that rises in the Yarra Ranges east of Melbourne and flows west through the city to enter Port Phillip Bay at Williamstown. It is the river around which Melbourne was founded and the river that defines the city today, separating the central business district from the inner southern suburbs across a series of much-photographed bridges.

The Yarra catchment covers about 4,000 square kilometres, including the forested upper catchment in the Yarra Ranges National Park (a closed drinking-water catchment) and the urbanised middle and lower catchment across Melbourne. The Wurundjeri people, traditional owners of the river, call it Birrarung. The Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017 was the first law in Australia to recognise a river as one living, integrated natural entity, drawing on Wurundjeri Elders' guidance.

The Yarra is famous for its colour. Often described as muddy brown, the natural Yarra carried fine clay and silt suspended from its catchment, though modern urban runoff has worsened the appearance in places. Major Melbourne landmarks along the river include the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Federation Square, the Crown Casino complex, and the Bolte Bridge. The Tan Track, a 3.8-kilometre running track around the Royal Botanic Gardens beside the Yarra, is one of the most popular running loops in Australia.

The Yarra is used for rowing (the world-class Princes Bridge to Hawthorn course), recreation, and major events including the Moomba Festival each March. The Upper Yarra catchment provides the bulk of Melbourne's drinking water through the Thomson, Upper Yarra, and Maroondah dams. The river has been the subject of ongoing restoration work since the 1990s, with weeds controlled, native vegetation replanted, and water quality monitoring stepped up across the metropolitan reach.