37°45′35″S 144°58′53″E / 37.759756°S 144.981482°E / -37.759756; 144.981482 The Merri Creek is a waterway in southern parts of Victoria , Australia, which flows through the northern suburbs of Melbourne . It begins near Wallan and flows south for 70 km until joining the Yarra River at Dights Falls . The area where the creek meets the river was traditionally the location for large gatherings of the Wurundjeri people and is thought to have been the location for one of the earliest land treaties in Australia between Indigenous Australians and European settlers.
35-997: Studley may refer to: Places [ edit ] Australia [ edit ] Studley Park, Yarra Bend Park , Melbourne Studley Park, Narellan , New South Wales England [ edit ] Studley, Oxfordshire Studley Priory, Oxfordshire Studley, Warwickshire Studley Priory, Warwickshire Studley, Wiltshire Studley Green , Buckinghamshire Studley Green, Wiltshire Studley Royal Park , North Yorkshire Lower Studley , Wiltshire Upper Studley , Wiltshire United States [ edit ] Studley, Kansas Studley, Virginia Studleys Pond , Rockland, Massachusetts Organisations [ edit ] Studley College , former college in Warwickshire Studley F.C. , football club in Warwickshire Studley High School ,
70-468: A willow control program to improve water flows and allow for the revegetation of sites with indigenous plant species. At times of low flow, water is sustained in the creek through treated outfall from the Craigieburn sewage treatment plant, [1] . Water quality was thought to have been insufficient to allow repopulation by platypus , as industrial toxicants have reduced macroinvertebrate productivity to
105-459: A part of the borders between the suburbs of Wallan, Kalkallo , Donnybrook , Craigieburn , Wollert , Epping , Somerton , Campbellfield , Lalor , Thomastown , Fawkner , Reservoir , Coburg North , Coburg , Preston , Thornbury , Brunswick East , Northcote , Westgarth , Fitzroy North , Clifton Hill and Fairfield before meeting the Yarra River just upstream of Dights Falls . One of
140-495: A secondary school in Warwickshire Savills Studley , international commercial real estate firm People [ edit ] Studley (surname) , a surname and list of people with the name Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Studley . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
175-489: Is a fascinating wildlife event. In April 2020, local Victorian MP Tim Smith made a public call for the bat colony to be "moved away", because "people and bats don't mix" following the outbreak Coronavirus in Australia. The scientific basis for this claim remains unclear. In response, one of Australia's leading bat experts described calls for the colony to be relocated or culled as "ridiculous". Merri Creek The creek
210-531: Is a popular destination for residents taking walks and other leisure activities, and is considered a "green oasis" in the northern suburbs. Patches of remnant native flora still remain along the creek, and their quality has improved through weed control and ecological burning. Much native vegetation has been replanted by the Merri Creek Management Committee and the volunteer group Friends of Merri Creek . Melbourne Water has been involved in
245-419: Is also abundant in edible plants, although care should be taken when attempting to identify them. including dandelion , dock , fennel , jerusalem artichoke , numerous brassicas , blackberry nightshade , sorrel , catsear , sowthistle , nettle and many others. Caution is advisable when harvesting fennel and other members of the family Apiaceae , as poison hemlock has been found growing in some areas of
280-769: Is even a tour to the flying fox colony. Some areas of the park are designated dog exclusion zones but dogs can be walked in on-Lead and off-lead zones. Canoes and boats can be hired from the Studley Park Boathouse. There are a number of sports grounds including the Corben Oval, W.T. Long Oval, Sir Herbert Olney Oval, Westfield South Oval and Westfield North Oval. The Fairlea West Oval, Fairlea East Oval and W.J. Cox Oval synthetic pitches can be hired for social matches. There are several picnic areas with electric barbecues and toilets. Westfield, North Rotunda and South Rotunda shelters close to picnic facilities can be hired, as can
315-675: The Governor of N.S.W. , who was unwilling to recognize and allow the Indigenous people the right to use and control their own land as they saw fit - thus implementing the doctrine of terra nullius . In January 1844, the Wurundjeri-willam hosted an immense gathering of Indigenous people who came from all over central Victoria. An estimated 800 people journeyed to the district to witness important judicial proceedings carried out according to traditions of Aboriginal law . Since European settlement,
350-538: The Melbourne suburb of Kew . Located 4 km northeast of Melbourne's CBD , it is the largest area of natural bushland left in inner Melbourne. The most notable feature of the park is the Yarra River which flows for 12 km through it. The park hosts two golf courses, two historic boathouses, sheds and a number of cycle and walking trails. It receives approximately 1.5 million visitors per year. The location of
385-465: The Royal Botanic Gardens in 1986 but were relocated to the more natural setting of Yarra Bend Park in 2003. The population is nomadic and migratory and varies in size from 3000 (winter) to 30,000 (summer). The protected bats pollinate and disperse the seeds of native trees. The colony roosts in native hardwoods and can easily be seen from the lookout at Bellbird Picnic Reserve. The evening flyout
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#1732858133398420-570: The Yarra River . Parts of the Yarra were relocated and the Deep Rock Basin was completely demolished. This was highly controversial at the time, heightened by the destruction of rich history of not only Wurundjeri origin but European as well. There are a number of shared use tracks for cyclists and pedestrians. The Capital City Trail and Yarra River Trail both pass through the park. Organised bushwalking and birdwatching tours are available and there
455-609: The Merri Creek developed, eroding through these sediments. Then, from 4.6 to 0.8 million years ago, volcanoes such as Hayes Hill (about 5 km east of Donnybrook ) and Mount Fraser (near Beveridge ) erupted, sending lava on a journey along the ancestral valleys of the Merri and Darebin Creeks and into the valley of the Yarra River as far as the Melbourne CBD. The modern day Merri Creek
490-424: The Merri with string bags suspended around their neck, searching the bottom of the stream for shellfish. Emu and kangaroo were hunted in the surrounding grasslands. In the forests and hills, possum was also a staple source of food and clothing, The flesh of the possum was cooked and eaten, while the skin was saved to be sewn into valuable waterproof cloaks. In May 1835, a historic meeting took place between Batman and
525-682: The Thomas Embling Hospital, opened by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health in April 2000, with the majority of the buildings in the northern portion converted for use by NMIT Fairfield . The Mission of St James and St John opened a Venereal Disease Clinic named "Fairhaven" in 1927 on the northern section of land previously occupied by the Yarra Bend Asylum, including the asylum's main buildings. The clinic closed in 1951 and
560-418: The Wurundjeri-willam and other clans in which a document was signed that came to be called Batman's Treaty . To date, this remains the only treaty ever struck between European settlers and the Indigenous people of Australia. Batman wrote that these negotiations took place beside a "lovely stream of water" which historians now suspect to be the Merri Creek. This treaty was declared invalid by Sir Richard Bourke ,
595-454: The area today. From 1848 until 1925 the park was home to Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum , which took up most of the area of the park with buildings, vegetable gardens and a cemetery. In 1904, the Queen's Memorial Infectious Diseases Hospital was established along Yarra Bend Road, Fairfield. Later simply known as "Fairfield Hospital", it closed in 1996. The southern portion of the site now accommodates
630-424: The banks to take advantage of the improving environment, but the path is broken at Westgarth and North Fitzroy, necessitating traversing St George's Road. The CERES Community Environment Park - a community-run farming initiative with plenty of public spaces, cafes and markets - is a popular destination for Melburnians located adjacent to the Merri Creek. The Merri Creek Labyrinth, a circular labyrinth made of stone,
665-419: The banks. Stormwater from suburban streets also drains directly into the creek, bringing rubbish and other pollutants. In recent decades, much has been done to remedy the creek's condition. As recently as the 1980s, the community considered Merri Creek little more than a weed-choked industrial drain. Things have improved significantly since then, largely thanks to the efforts of local community groups. Today it
700-408: The creek's ecology. In the 1800s, John Batman described a “lovely stream of water” believed to be Merri Creek, but did not give it a name. It was known for a time as Lucy's Creek, apparently after Batman's daughter. A map dated to 1893 indicated a "Merri Merri Creek", which was shortened later to "Merri Creek." Some believe it means “very rocky” or “very stony” to symbolise the volcanic history of
735-606: The creek. The large number of pre and post-contact archaeological sites demonstrate a heavy usage of the area by Indigenous Australians . The creek and surrounding valley was the site of many large gatherings of Aboriginal people and is thought to be the site of one of the earliest land treaties between Aboriginals and Europeans. Many archaeological sites found contain scattered stone artefacts from old campsites, and scarred trees from which traditional people removed slabs of bark to make canoes, containers and shields. The artefact scatters are found because erosion of some sort has exposed
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#1732858133398770-521: The grassed picnic areas at Deep Rock and Loop Road. Studley Park and Bellbird picnic areas are also available for public use. Fishing is excluded within the flying fox colony zone at Bellbird picnic area. A world class fly-casting pool is located (since 1978) beside the Fairlea East Oval. Regular fly casting tournaments, local and intrastate take place here particularly during the winter months. Kane's Bridge and several other bridges are located in
805-503: The implements which were covered with sediment. The scarred trees are often on the creek bank, fence line or road reserve where they escaped the clearance process. Both site types exhibit traces of the hunting and gathering lifestyle of pre-contact Victoria, and are a fragile and non-renewable historical resource. Aboriginal sites are protected under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 . The northern suburbs of Melbourne are built on
840-422: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Studley&oldid=1138522006 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Yarra Bend Park Yarra Bend Park 260-hectare (640-acre) park in
875-414: The lower reaches of the creek have been significantly degraded by human activity. In the early history of Melbourne, numerous quarries were established along the creek to extract bluestone for the construction of many of the city's buildings and paving for roads and lanes. These quarries were later used as landfill for waste. Numerous environmental weeds, such as prickly pear and weeping willows , invaded
910-462: The many sites of geological interest along the Merri valley is the rocky cliff face on the eastern side of Merri Creek visible from the shared path in Clifton Hill. Its tall, cracked (or jointed) basalt columns, formed by cooling lava, are clearly visible and the weathering evident in the rocky riffles midstream where columns have collapsed and tumbled into the stream. Some of the vertical fractures at
945-575: The park at the joining of the Yarra River and Merri Creek has been an important site for the Wurundjeri Aboriginal people for a long time prior to the arrival of Europeans in Melbourne, which is commemorated by the Koori Garden on the western edge of the park, near Dights Falls . The park was officially reserved in 1877, and in 1929 it joined with Studley Park to the south to cover the whole of
980-507: The park, spanning over the Yarra River. The park is home to many species of birds, bats and other mammals, reptiles (tiger snakes and blue tongued lizards are common) insects and fish (esp. carp and eels) also regularly found are rainbow lorikeets , red-rumped parrots and yellow-tailed black cockatoos , water rats and brush-tail and ringtail possums . Yarra Bend Park is also home to a colony of federally and state listed vulnerable grey-headed flying foxes . The colony took up residence in
1015-522: The point where there is insufficient food. However, the first platypus sighting in decades occurred between Thornbury and Coburg in September 2010. Platypus sightings have continued, albeit on a "few and far between" basis, ever since. Parks Victoria manages some of the established parklands on the banks of Merri Creek. Facilities include football and cricket ovals, tennis courts and playgrounds. The Merri Creek Trail shared pathway has been established along
1050-622: The site was temporarily used by the adjacent Fairfield Hospital as staff quarters and storerooms. In 1953, the former "Fairhaven" site was acquired by the Prisons Division for conversion into a female prison. HM Prison Fairlea was officially opened in 1956 and closed in August 1996. In 1972 the Eastern Freeway was constructed through the middle of the park, crossing both the Merri Creek and
1085-451: The site. The phrase is said to originate from the Woiwurrung language , but its authenticity is disputed by historians and Indigenous Elders. Over 400 million years ago. the sea covering the area receded, leaving behind a layer of yellowish marine siltstone and sandstone rocks. Around 66 million years ago, non-marine sediments left a sandy layer behind. Over time, the ancestral valley of
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1120-452: The top of the cliff appear to be leaning, forming a striking radial pattern. As native vegetation has been regenerated, some species of native wildlife have returned to the creek. These include kookaburras , kingfishers , yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos , echdidnas and frogs . There have also been reports of platypuses in the upper northern regions and further south in Coburg. Merri Creek
1155-542: The unceded land of the Wurundjeri-willam people. During the first years of European colonisation, the Wurundjeri were represented by influential senior men such as Billibellary . His clan lived on the northern bank of the Yarra and their territory extended from Yarra Bend northwards along the Merri Creek. The creek supplied the Wurundjeri-willam with an abundance of food such as eel, fish, and duck. Women waded through
1190-569: Was formed over many years by incising through the lava surface. Today, the creek begins in Wallan and flows in a southerly direction for 70 km until it joins the Yarra River in Fairfield near Dights Falls and subsequently flows into Port Phillip Bay . Its tributaries include Wallan Creek, Mittagong Creek, Taylors Creek, Malcolm Creek, Aitken Creek, Curly Sedge Creek, Central Creek, Merlynston Creek and Edgars Creek . It flows through, or forms
1225-427: Was the site of heavy industrial use throughout much of the 20th century, being home to quarries, landfills and accepting waste runoff from neighbouring factories. This has degraded the riparian ecology of the creek leaving behind pollutants such as heavy metals and various greases . Recent decades have seen some regenerative planting and the foundation of several community groups dedicated to protecting and regenerating
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