How the Maribyrnong River in Melbourne “once ran wild” and full of fish – and how it could again
A booklet that shines light on the history of Melbourne’s Maribyrnong River launches this week, with hopes that understanding the history of the waterway will shape its future – and help bring back more fish.
Habitat Histories: The Saltwater River, by Professor Anna Clark and Ben Cleveland, produced by OzFish and the Victorian Fisheries Authority, explores how the health of the waterway, its fisheries, fishing practises and connections have evolved over time.
“This story,” said Victorian Fisheries Authority Anthony Forster, “is about how the Maribyrnong River was, how it once ran wild, and how it has changed.”
The river, that runs for 160 kilometres from Mount Macedon through to Port Phillip Bay, is Melbourne’s second largest river after the Yarra and is affectionately deemed its less well-known river.
The ultimate goal, said OzFish Victoria manager Andy Foudoulis, is to bring back native fisheries to the Maribyrnong, and for Melbourne to be a fishable city.
“To achieve this,” he said, “we need to first understand the original state of its fish habitat.”
Author Professor Anna Clark agrees. “One of the things that historical archives teach us,” she said, “is that they help us understand the baseline. We’re able to time travel and have an aspiration of where we might aim to get back to.”
Researching the history of the Maribyrnong
To unearth how the river once was, Professor Clark and Mr Cleveland utilised historical newspapers, fishing reports, Traditional Owner knowledge and community stories.
They were shocked by what they learned.
Professor Clark said, “I lived right near the Maribyrnong river when I was a student – I kayaked, I did water polo and trained in the river. Then a few years later, reading all those records, I couldn’t believe how wondrous it once was: filled with fish, hordes of people fishing the sides of the river for the bream run every year.”
I was blown away by how extraordinary it once was a city fishery.
Professor Anna Clark
For centuries, writes the booklet, the river, called Mirring-gnay-bir-nong by the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, was, “teeming with fish, bird and animal life”.
“We fished for Short Finned Eels, called Yuk in Woiwurrung, from spring to early autumn,” wrote the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people. “Eel traps made from rock were installed for eel fishing and large earth ovens for cooking.”
Following colonial settler influence, the river started to lose its wildness, hemmed in by settlements and industry, but the fishery was still vast, and famous for its large numbers of bream.
“The finny denizens of the spot chiefly sought after are bream and mullet, which abound,” wrote a fisherman in 1865, reported in the booklet, “and are esteemed a delicacy. Bream are also plentiful in the Saltwater, where they are sometimes found weighing from 10 to 12 lb.”
Meanwhile, tackle shops and boat hire facilities were packed along the banks, with fishing newspapers “reporting competitions and recording catches, as well as offering hints and tips for their readers.”
But, as the city crept towards “order and neatness”, it lost its “mosaic of swamps, overhanging trees, stumps and snags—the very basis of its successful fishery” and “the mighty bream had fewer places to lurk.”
Like today, rec fishers were passionate stewards of their waterway and rallied for the protection of the river and its fishing.
But pollution, fish kills and farming reduced the numbers of fish further, and by the early 1900s “catches decreased or became downright dangerous.”
Looking backwards to aim forward
Today, Professor Clark encourages us to imagine how the river could feel, if it is restored.
“Imagine you are paddling along the creek,” she said, “and you see hordes of fish move past as they are migrating, and bird life, and the water is clear because of the amazing restoration work that has been done. People are enjoying the bounty of the natural world, while living in a metropolitan city.”
It can happen, said Mr Foudoulis. “In Victoria, we can once again become stewards of the river. We can work together to restore the fish habitat, to bring back more places for fish to lurk, and we could see – in our lifetimes – real fishing in the Maribyrnong.”
Want to lend a hand getting Melbourne back on track towards being a fishable city? Join OzFish as a member, donate or get involved at an event near you.
The booklet was part of VFA’s Maribyrnong River Native Fish Revival Program – Maribyrnong River native fish revival, with thanks to Melbourne Water, Parks Victoria, Wurrendjeri Traditional Owners, City of Mooney Valley, VRFish, VicForest, Department of Justice, Essendon Angling Club, Melbourne Metropolitans Anglers Association, Preston Northcote Angling Club, Footscray Angling Club, Friends of Steele Creek, Friends of Newells Paddock, Friends of Maribyrnong Valley, Essendon Rowing Club, Footscray Rowing Club and others.