Yarrowee River History: Peel to Prest

• Federation University (Vic Hub Digital Platform Partner)
• Digital Tools & Technologies

 

Maggolee Award recipient

This project has received a Maggolee Award from Reconciliation Victoria. Maggolee Awards recognise Victorian local governments working in partnership with First Peoples to support self-determination, advance reconciliation, and strengthen shared decision making with First Peoples.

 

External partners

• City of Ballarat
• Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation

 

More information on this project can be found via the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) at Federation University Australia. 

 

Acknowledgement of Country

The ‘Yarrowee River History: Peel to Prest’ project acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Ballarat, the Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung People, and recognises their continuing connection to the land and waterways.

Project Overview

The “Yarrowee River History: Peel to Prest” digital mapping project offers a comprehensive exploration of the historical and cultural significance of the Yarrowee River, encompassing the influences of the Wadawurrung Indigenous people and subsequent settlement. The project aims to assist design initiatives focused on enhancing the environmental quality, local habitat, and overall enjoyment for residents and trail users. This is designed to support opportunities for the telling of multifaceted and diverse histories along the linear stretch from the CBD to the beginning of the unchanneled river course.

The initial gold discoveries in the region revolved around the Yarrowee River and its tributaries. In the early years, significant efforts were made to manage the natural drainage lines of the waterways and establish timber-lined channels. These channels served multiple purposes, including directing water flow to the gold diggings, removing sludge buildup, and mitigating the impact of floods on the burgeoning buildings in Ballarat, which was evolving beyond its tent city origins.

Weston Bate commented on the rapid transformation of the Yarrowee through the twin engines of the need for sluice-mining and access to drinking water. As the early colonial settlement grew rapidly into a tent city, need for water was incredibly high, leading to the excavation of a channel to divert water from the Yarrowee River to create large, deep pools on the flat terrain. By the end of the year, these pools spanned several hundred yards in width, ripping up huge quantities of soil and clay; scattering them around the countryside. ¹

As time went on, the channels took on additional roles. They became conduits for stormwater disposal and, unfortunately, were also used to dispose of unsanitary and polluting effluent for many years. While some channels were lined with bluestone early on, it was generally during the early 20th century, as gold mining activities gradually declined and Ballarat transformed into a more “modern” city, that sections of the channels not yet lined or only timber-lined were reconstructed using permanent materials like bluestone, brick, and concrete.

As Ballarat’s population grew and settlements expanded into former mining areas, the channels were further extended to accommodate the needs of the city. This transformation reflected the city’s evolution and the transition of the Yarrowee and its channels from instrumental components in the gold rush era to integral parts of a thriving, permanent community.

Yarrowee River introduction

Comugeen budj-o thalikiyu kin bil bend-ordi-ngadak. Ngarrwabil, boron, guli, bagurrk. Co-mugeen budjo bengadak ngarr-uk dja, ngubiyt, weagoon gobata gupma wurring-wurring baap beng-ordi-nganak, djarrima murrup-nhuk bengadak.

We deeply respect our people of the past. Elders, children, men, women. We deeply respect their knowledge of dja (Country), water, life, their care of the traditions and of each other, we stand with their spirit.

Gobata Wadawurrung balug jumbuk didalbil murrup-nhuk bundjil monomeeth beek-o wea-goon. Mutjak-ak noogie nunder durralully.

Great spirit Bunjil told us to take care of the great life within the land. To only take what you need without selfishness.

We, as Wadawurrung people, have relied upon the Yarrowee River for generations, as a source of ngubitj (water) and life for our people, animals and plants. Since our Karringalabil (great creator spirit) Bunjil formed our waterways on Wadawurrung dja, we have relied upon and cared for our sacred ngubitj and the surrounding dja.

The waterway we know as the Yarrowee River has also been referred to by Wadawurrung people as Yaramlok and Narmbool. These traditional names have been used interchangeably to refer to the Yarrowee, and to identify its different sections. For the purpose of this project we refer to this waterway as the Yarrowee River, however as the surrounding landscape changes so too would the name of the waterway.

Wadawurrung ancestors spoke to our waterways, lakes and waterholes, as they did with all dja. We announced our purpose and sought permission from our ancestors to use the resources along the Yarrowee. We see the resources surrounding the Yarrowee not as a right, but as a privilege. We take only what is needed for our continuation, and maintain the surrounding dja to ensure it’s longevity and health for future generations.

Our ancestors and creator spirits looked after and protected us and our waterways and dja. The waterways are sacred to us and we see them as an extension of ourselves, connecting us to dja and to our ancestors. The Yarrowee functioned as a link to trade and travel routes across dja. Today, the Yarrowee remains a place of many memories for Wadawurrung people.

Colonisation and mining in Ballaarat led to devastation and destruction of Wadawurrung dja, including the Yarrowee River. Settlement was built upon our living spaces and as a result Wadawurrung people were displaced. The withholding of Cultural rights and obligations further increased the dispossession of our people, who were unforgivingly forced to adapt to change. Still today we inherit the scars of this trauma!

The Yarrowee was modified to enable the fluctuation of settlers; altered in a way which excluded the knowledge Wadawurrung people had built upon for many thousands of years. Changes to the Yarrowee created an unbalanced landscape, which in turn interrupted the natural biocultural diversity in this region. The habitat surrounding the Yarrowee was removed or altered, damaging animal, fish, and insect populations.

The destruction of the waterway continues to impact our people today. However, the spirit of this land remains within us and we continue as Wadawurrung people to live alongside the Yarrowee whilst working to restore its health and vitality.

Today Wadawurrung people work towards restoring our waterways, including the Yarrowee. Koling wada ngal – we invite you to walk with us to make Country healthy again. We hope to restore the Yarrowee to be a sustainable resource which nourishes our Country and community.

-Shannen Mennen (she/her) Project Officer – Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation

-Kelly Ann Blake Gherrang/Biodiversity Project Officer