Docklands+Docks+and+Marinas

= Docklands, Docks and Marinas = ===The area that is now the Docklands is part of the Lower Yarra Delta. Its a low area that stretches between Princes Bridge to the sea. This was originally a wetland area with swamps, vegetation, water birds and fish. This marsh land in the mouth of the yarra was used as a hunting place by. Aboriginal communities - the Wurundjeri, Djadja Wurrung, Taungurong, the Boonerwrung and the Wathaurong. ===

===Ships arriving at the new settlement docked in Hobson's Bay (Which is now the suburb of williamstown) and carried freight by boat up the Yarra River. Before there was a dock, boats were tied to trees. The marsh land on the edge of the city quickly tuned into the ideal site for industry due to the cheap land prices that were available. By 1860, Docklands was the site of the West Melbourne gas works, an explosives magazine, railway industry and a pottery works. Some other industries were abattoirs and fellmongeries (people deal in animal skins).===

When Victoria separated from New South Wales in 1851 the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce was formed and decided to make a Harbour Trust fund to develop wharf and water traffic.
===Sir John Coode said that the Yarra should be changed and that the area near the rail yards be used for more dock facilities. This caused a major dredging project to create a new channel for the Yarra. This part is now known as 'Coode Canal'.===

===Work on Victoria Dock started in the late 1880s and was finished in 1892. The materials used were local timber, the dock was thought as a feat of engineering. Digging out the dock required removing two point three million cubic metres of dirt and rock, This wasn't discarded as it was used to strengthen the land around the dock and fill the West Melbourne Swamp and mash land. In 1908, Victoria Dock was responsible for an estimated 90% of Victoria's imports. A massive pier was built in 1914 to enlarge the dock's capacity. Victoria Dock was Melbourne's busiest dock, with a wide range of cargo like steel, animals, coal, wool, wheat. The dock remained the busiest===

===The Harbour began transporting its cargo in containers which needed very different storage methods to the long sheds lining the docks. New dock was built west of Victoria Dock in the 1970s, making the dock and the wharves on both sides of the Yarra "lame". Activity at Docklands decline was steady over the next few years, by the1980s it was mostly disused.===

After many consultations with VicUrban, the owner of Victoria Docks decided to give the rights to let the development go ahead. Work started soon after.
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=Port Of Melbourne=

===The dock built west of Victoria Docks is The Port of Melbourne and is now the largest dock in Australia. Its a massive one hundred and forty three metres squared. and has sixteen platforms. The Dock is mostly in the suburb of Williamstown, not in Port Melbourne. Its has many cargo cranes to lift the cargo containers and sort them accordingly. The dock can handle one point nine TEU's a year and in 2007 it became the first dock in Australia to handle over two million TEU's a year. in 2003-04 three thousand two hundred ships from forty nine different countries has dropped cargo off at this dock. Some of the cargo imports are fresh vegetables, toys, animals and about just about anything you can think of.===