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Coode Canal

Canals in AustraliaCanals opened in 1886Docks (maritime)Port of MelbourneRecipients of Engineers Australia engineering heritage markers
Yarra River
Coode Island after 1892
Coode Island after 1892

Coode Canal is a reach of the lower Yarra River in Melbourne, the capital city of the Australian state of Victoria. The canal was excavated in 1886, as part of harbour improvements designed by Sir John Coode to improve access for ships to Melbourne's main river docks. It created Coode Island and caused the shallow, narrow and winding Fishermans Bend to be cut off along with other sections of the river including Humbug Reach and the original junction with the Maribyrnong River (or Saltwater River).Coode Canal and Victoria Dock received an Engineering Heritage Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Coode Canal (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Coode Canal
Mackenzie Road, Melbourne West Melbourne

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Wikipedia: Coode CanalContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N -37.815277777778 ° E 144.90722222222 °
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Mackenzie Road
3011 Melbourne, West Melbourne
Victoria, Australia
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Coode Island after 1892
Coode Island after 1892
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Victoria Dock (Melbourne)
Victoria Dock (Melbourne)

Victoria Dock is a large excavated harbour basin located off Footscray Road and Docklands Highway, Docklands, in Melbourne. It was constructed between 1887 and 1892, under the supervision of Melbourne Harbor Trust engineer Joseph Brady, to modified designs of British engineer Sir John Coode. It is the oldest and largest surviving single dock in the world. The water basin covers 37.6 hectares (96 acres) and the entrance at the western end is 61 metres wide. It was built to accommodate ships of 9.5m draft, with initially timber wharf sheds and wharfs around the perimeter, supplemented by a piled timber central pier in 1919 extending from the east edge of the dock. At its greatest extent it accommodated 21 berths, although this has been substantially reduced as the land area has been redeveloped for the Docklands commercial and residential towers. The Central Pier, a later addition, retains two sheds but has been reduced to half its size. It was used as a dance venue, events, functions and entertainment until August 2019 when it was declared unsafe. In January 2020 it was shut down indefinitely because it would take "tens of millions of dollars" to rebuild to a safe standard.Portal and semi portal level luffing cranes once served timber and steel framed wharf sheds, all but three of which have been demolished. The oldest, dating from 1913, were along the eastern edge and were purported to have been dismantled for future restoration of the central pier sheds, two of which survive. All the cranes have been removed but crane rails survive on some wharf aprons. In the 1950s the dock handled over two million tons of cargo annually, increasing to 20 million revenue tons annually by the mid-1980s. However, increases in container shipping and the move of the one roll-on roll-off berth led to its abandonment for commercial shipping, and subsequent reuse of the area for development. The dock is included on the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR H1720) and National Trust Register and is considered to be of Local, State, National and International significance.Coode Canal and Victoria Dock received an Engineering Heritage Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.