Yarra River - Etymology

Etymology

The river was called Birrarung by the Wurundjeri people who occupied the Yarra Valley and much of Central Victoria prior to European settlement. It is thought that Birrarung is derived from Wurundjeri words meaning "ever flowing". Another common term was Birrarung Marr, thought to mean "river of mist" or "river bank". Upon European arrival it was given the name 'Yarra Yarra' by John Helder Wedge of the Port Phillip Association in 1835, in the mistaken belief that this was the Aboriginal name for the river, however it is believed that 'Yarra' means "waterfall", "flow", or refers to running or falling water, descriptive of any river or creek in the area, not just the Yarra. The name Yarra Yarra is said to mean "ever flowing river"., but most likely refers to the Yarra Yarra falls which were later dynamited. Of their contact with local Wurunderi people in 1835, John Wedge wrote:

On arriving in sight of the river, the two natives who were with me, pointing to the river, called out, 'Yarra Yarra', which at the time I imagined to be its name ; but I afterwards learnt that the words were what they used to designate a waterfall, as they afterwards gave the same designation to a small fall in the river Werribee, as we crossed it on our way back to Indented Head. —John Helder Wedge

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