Enjoying the River – Old Treasury Building

By the late nineteenth century there were moves to restore the river as a site of recreation. From 1904 the popular Henley-on-Yarra regatta, held upstream from Princes Bridge, attracted large crowds.

Henley-on-Yarra

Modelled on the English ‘Henley’, this annual regatta drew crowds of up to 300,000 and was an important event on the Melbourne social calendar until the 1950s. Those with social aspirations claimed the south bank between Princes and Morel bridges, while working people preferred the north bank. Fashionable women used the occasion to display new spring dresses and hats!

black and white image with two vertical lines indicating damage. It shows a lively event on a river. To the right of the image is a bridge crossing the river, with people lined up along the edge shoulder to shoulder. Along the left side of the river is a collection of boats, small and large (8 persons). The right bank has large temporary structures. People line both banks, all wearing hats and some carrying parasols.

Henley Regatta, Melbourne, 1906,
by R. Vere Scott, photographer

Reproduced courtesy State Library Victoria

Lining the banks were the so-called ‘houseboats’, temporary structures elaborately decorated with flowers, flags and pennants.

black and white photograph showing an event along a river. The main focus of the image is a rectangular construction of a house boat. It is 2 stories, with the lower level that appears to be one room, the sides of which are simple archways with billowing curtains attached to the columns. the upper level is a simple balcony with a picket fence surrounding the edge. A person stands on the upper deck. Written in the top left corner of the image is "Greetings from Victoria", and along the bottom left corner reads "Governor's House Boat | Henley on Yarra, 1909".

Governor’s Houseboat, Henley-on-Yarra, Melbourne, 1909

Reproduced courtesy National Library of Australia

sepia toned photograph shows crowds of people standing and sitting on the bank of a river. the women mostly wear long pale coloured skirt and blouse. the men are in dark suits. Most men wear a straw hat trimmed with a black ribbon. On the river, which runs left to right in the image, are several overfull row boats. the far bank of the river is crowded with people. In the lower left corner is written in the image "Henley on Yarra 1910". Handwritten over the top of the image in faded purple cursive reads "Greetings 11.11.10".

Henley-on-Yarra, 1910

Reproduced courtesy National Library of Australia

Below is a video of Henley on the Yarra.

‘The Yarra Bank was my university’- John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia, 1941-45

By the 1890s the south bank of the Yarra was the venue for Sunday-afternoon public speeches. The Victorian Socialist Party, trade unions and the Labor Party held regular public meetings. It was also the venue for anti-conscription speeches in Melbourne during the heated conscription campaigns of 1916 and 1917. Leading campaigners for Aboriginal rights and citizenship, William Cooper and (later Sir) Douglas Nicholls, addressed public meetings at Speakers Corner on the Yarra bank in the 1930s.

black and white image showing a crowd of people (appears to all be men) wearing bowler hats all stand shoulder to shoulder facing a man standing slightly above them. In the foreground men climb and stand upon a timber and corrugated iron fence facing away from the camera.

E.J. Holloway, secretary of the No Conscription Committee during World War I, addressing an anti-conscription rally at Yarra Bank, 1917

Reproduced courtesy Melbourne University Archives

With the emergence of the City Beautiful movement in the late 1890s, Melbourne’s gardens and the riverbanks were recognised as assets. The Alexandra Gardens, on the south bank of the Yarra, was developed at this time on former waste land.

black and white photograph showing a garden with curved pond. In the middle of the image on what appears to be an island stands an elaborate though small structure. A dome over an octagonal shaped structure with just classical styled columns holding up the roof.

Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne, c.1910

Reproduced courtesy State Library Victoria

black and white photograph showing a wide river with 4 boats sailing along the middle, two have rowers, the other two appear to be powered. along the left bank is a row of tall palm trees, and to the far left of the image 2 motor cars sit.

The Yarra River from Princes Bridge, looking north towards Richmond, c.1930

Reproduced courtesy State Library Victoria

Closer to the city, boating became increasingly popular, especially for competitive rowing and training, and several rowing clubhouses were built along the banks.

THEN AND NOW

Black and white image shows the corner of a bridge overlooking a wide river. Large boats are moored along both sides of the river.

Queens Bridge over the Yarra River, Melbourne, by R. Scott, photographer, c.1905

Reproduced courtesy State Library Victoria

colour photograph taken at night shows the corner of a bridge overlooking a river. Behind the river in the background is a row of small buildings with coloured lights, and a tall tower with green and yellow lights.

Queens Bridge over the Yarra River, Melbourne, by K. Dunning, photographer, 2020

Reproduced courtesy photographer

Exhibition Acknowledgements