Is this where the timber trams once rattled through, laden with the riches of the forest? Right before you, in the heart of the Yarra Valley, lies Yarra Junction. Don’t be fooled by its name! Yarra Junction earned its title not from the meeting of rivers, but from the clang of iron and steam. This was a bustling hub where the Powelltown Tramway, with its narrow gauge tracks, met the broader lines of the Victorian Railway. Imagine the scene in the early 1900s: lumberjacks, fresh from wrestling giant mountain ash trees, rubbing shoulders with city folk arriving for a taste of country life. The air thick with the scent of sawdust and eucalyptus, the ground trembling as the timber trams rolled in, their cargo destined for the workshops and homes of a burgeoning Melbourne. Though the railway fell silent in 1965, Yarra Junction remains a vital hub for the region. The echoes of those bygone days can still be found at the Upper Yarra Museum, housed in the old railway station. It’s a place where the spirit of those early pioneers lives on, a testament to the enduring power of human endeavor and the close bond between nature and industry that shaped this charming town.
Kororoit Creek
Is this where the river meets the sea? This is Kororoit Creek. It flows right here through Melbourne’s western suburbs