Coode Island

Can you picture a place born from a river’s rerouting? Coode Island, once a marshy wetland, became an island in 1887 thanks to the Coode Canal. This canal, brainchild of Sir John Coode, carved a straighter path for the Yarra River, shortening its journey to the Port of Melbourne. The newly formed Coode Island, nestled between the Yarra, the Maribyrnong River, and the newly dug canal, spanned almost 100 hectares. Coode Island transformed into a hub of industry. The island’s early days saw it serving as a quarantine station for animals. Later, it housed a sanatorium, offering refuge to those suffering from contagious diseases like the bubonic plague. Imagine it then, a place of isolation and healing, far removed from the bustling city just 4 kilometers away. By the 1920s, Coode Island attracted a different crowd: hermits seeking solace in abandoned ships and makeshift huts along the old Yarra riverbed. Then, the roar of engines broke the silence. The Larkin Aircraft Supply Company arrived, establishing a factory and an aerodrome that buzzed with activity until World War II. Coode Island’s industrial character solidified in 1960 when it became a storage site for petrochemicals. The construction of Swanson Dock in 1968 altered the island’s shape, shrinking its footprint. A pivotal moment in Coode Island’s history came on August 21, 1991. A storage tank at the Anchor Tank facility ignited, setting off a massive explosion. Millions of liters of organic compounds, including toxic substances like acrylonitrile and benzene, went up in flames. A dark, toxic cloud drifted over nearby suburbs before strong winds thankfully dispersed it. The incident prompted discussions about relocating the facility, but Coode Island remained the primary petrochemical storage site for Victoria. Today, Coode Island, though connected to the mainland and no longer a true island, continues its industrial legacy as part of the Port of Melbourne. It houses Appleton and Swanson Docks, container storage, rail yards, and those very chemical storage facilities that were once at the center of a dramatic fire. Coode Island, a testament to human intervention shaping the landscape, remains a vital cog in Melbourne’s port operations.