New river walk reaches milestone

A NEW PROJECT to create a walking track between Port Phillip Bay and the Upper Yarra Reservoir has reached a major milestone with relevant parties and authorities having agreed on the alignment of the Birrarung Valley Walk (BVW), which will follow the river, across public land for the 220 kilometres between Williamstown and McMahons Creek.
At the announcement on June 15, Birrarung Valley Walk Inc. Chair, Bruce Parncutt AO, explained the journey to get to this point.

“In September 2017, something remarkable happened in the Victorian Parliament.
Six Wurundjeri Elders entered the chamber and spoke in their traditional language in support of a bill.
It was the first time in Victoria’s history that Traditional Custodians had been given a legally mandated voice in river management.
And the first time a river in this country had been given ‘living entity’ status.
The Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act became law.
Australia’s first legislation co-titled in a Traditional Owner language.
Wilip-gin Birrarung murron. Keep Birrarung alive.
The Act declared the Yarra River a single, living, and integrated natural entity.
Not a drainage asset.
Not a recreational amenity.
But a living entity protected from source to sea.
It established the Birrarung Council as the independent statutory voice of the river and called for the preparation of a Yarra River Strategic Plan.
The resulting Plan calls for ways for ordinary Victorians to experience their river, for ways to understand how important the river is and what it provides for each of us.
The proposed Birrarung Valley Walk responds to that call, as a way for Victorians and our visitors to engage with the whole river.”

The walk is designed to be covered over 13 days and will be supported by an app which will provide cultural context to walkers as they move through the landscape.
The walk is expected to be officially open in 2029.
At present, 80 per cent (177km) of the route is on existing trails with public access.
Of the remaining 20 per cent, 4.7km (two per cent) is on an informal track and requires formalisation, 23.1km (11 per cent) requires access permissions to be obtained, and 14.7km (seven per cent) is to be constructed as part of the Yarra Valley Rail Trail.
The Yarra Valley Rail Trail, which aims to provide a trail connecting Lilydale, Yarra Glen, Healesville, and Woori Yallock, is currently constructing Stage 2a, which is advancing towards Yarra Glen.
The Eastern Transport Coalition, which includes Manningham and Yarra Ranges Councils, is asking the State Government for $24 million as part of its election advocacy to fund the building of Stages 2b and 3 of the Yarra Valley Rail Trail, which includes sections BVW is looking to utilise.

Local impact

The Warrandyte section of the BVW will follow the existing, established trails and roads between the trail diversion at Beasleys Nursery (now Kuranga Warrandyte) and Mount Lofty, near Wonga Park.
Of note on the agreed alignment is that BVW does not use the proposed Main Yarra Trail link Manningham Council is looking to build between Pound Road and Taroona Avenue, but instead diverts along Pound Road, to The Pound, before following the Yarra River along Everard Drive and then onto the Warrandyte River Trail.
On the other side of Warrandyte, the trail uses established informal tracks along the river corridor between Stan Brae and Mount Lofty.
The Diary asked Manningham Council about any potential planning issues regarding the BVW through the Warrandyte area and whether it would have any impact on the proposed extension of the Main Yarra Trail along Heidelberg Road, between Pound Road and Taroona Avenue.
A Council spokesperson told the Diary:

“Manningham Council is proud to partner with Birrarung Valley Walk to deliver this meaningful project, which is grounded in respect for Traditional Owners and a commitment to caring for the Birrarung as one connected system.
We’ve helped design the route, which primarily uses existing public land and infrastructure.
We maintain much of the existing path network that will be utilised for the Birrarung Valley Walk.”

At this stage, Council says it does not expect any planning issues relating to the BVW and has indicated that a shared path along Heidelberg-Warrandyte Road between Pound Road and Taroona Avenue is separate to the BVW project and subject to further community engagement and planning approvals.

A long way to go

This project is still in its early stages, and it is unclear what impact it will have on local infrastructure or the view that everyday Victorians have about the Birrarung/Yarra River.
At the announcement, Mr Parncutt shared a dream he has about the future.

“In the not-too-distant future, a grandmother will lace up her boots at Williamstown Beach, on a clear autumn morning, and begin walking upstream.
She’ll walk for 13 days, listening to the river’s stories through the Birrarung Valley Walk app.
Stories of the river, its lands, its peoples, and how the river influences our city in so many ways.
On the final day, she’ll stand beside the Upper Yarra Reservoir, and she’ll understand — in her body and in her bones — what this river is.
Where it comes from.
What it carries.
Her children and grandchildren will take the same journey.
And their children after that.
Gradually, generations of Melburnians will know Birrarung and its lands.
The Walk will carry First Nations language and knowledge into the world.
The knowledge of the songlines, the seasonal lore, the names of plants, waterways, and cultural sites along the river’s corridor.
It will offer this knowledge to every person who walks part, or all, of the trail through the digital platform we’ll build.
For the first time, Melburnians will begin to truly understand their city’s primary life source.
Every walker who comes to know and love Birrarung will become an advocate for it — a volunteer custodian.
This passive surveillance by a community that cares will add thousands of hours of stewardship to the great work already being done by our land managers.
The river’s corridor is one of the most biodiverse linear landscapes in south-eastern Australia and the Walk will make it even more alive over time.
Birrarung in 2050 will be healthier than today.”

The Diary will continue to provide updates as this project progresses.