A Suburban Fabric : Pattern and scores for a Richmond Park

A SUBURBAN FABRIC Pattern and scores for a Richmond Park.

Bree Ellett | 1068537

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INDEPENDENT DESIGN THESIS MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE BREE ELLETT 1068537 SUPERVISOR : ASSOC. PROFESSOR MARGARET GROSE 2021

CONTENTS 5

RESEARCH STATEMENT

BACKGROUND 6 8 10 12 14 26 28

CONTEXT SITE HISTORY CUT, FILL, DREDGE, DRAIN QUARRIES EXISTING CONDITIONS SOUND MAPPING CONDUCIVE AND RESTRICTIVE FACTORS

METHODOLOGY 30 32 34 36 38 40 42

GEOLOGICAL FORMS FORM EXPLORATIONS PRECEDENT : LANDSCAPE SCORES SCORE PRECEDENT : KNITTING NOTATION PATTERN ITERATION THE PATTERN

A SUBURBAN FABRIC 44 46 48 50 52 54

CONCEPT PLAN EXCHANGING TERRAIN PLANTING PLAN TREE PLANTING PLAN SUCCESSION PERFORMANCE

APPENDICES 64 68 72 74 76

APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX

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REFERENCES

1 : EARLY CONCEPTS 2 : PATTERN ITERATION 3 : NOTATION 4 : DISTORTING THE GRID 5 : PRECEDENTS

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RESEARCH STATEMENT

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McConchie Reserve in Richmond is a rapidly urbanising industrial site, cut off from the adjacent Yarra River by the imposing South-Eastern Freeway. This former bluestone quarry has been highly manipulated through years of cutting, dredging, filling, and reconstruction that has resulted in dramatic landforms.

Wedged between the residential, industrial, and transport infrastructure that has grown around it, the current reserve is underutilised and disjointed, despite a lack of green space in this densifying suburb. In this thesis I have explored iterative patterns to score the landscape and establish coherence over this very fragmented site. Through sequencing the positive attributes of this site, I have created a park that responds to geological histories, increases habitat, and creates variation in spaces for social interaction and urban respite.

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BACKGROUND

CONTEXT The last two years of COVID restrictions in Melbourne have highlighted the importance of local green space to a community’s health and wellbeing. Richmond’s population is growing rapidly as industrial buildings are demolished and apartments spring up in the surrounding streets. As our climate continues to warm and this space becomes an increasingly important refuge for humans, animals, and plants, McConchie Reserve requires redevelopment to ensure that it balances these needs into the future.

Barkly Gardens Richmond Primary School

Richmond Terminal Station

CREMORNE

MCCONCHIE RESERVE

BIRRARUNG - YARRA

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SOUTH YARRA

RICHMOND

Parks Victoria Depot

BURNLEY

South Eastern Freeway

Herring Island

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BACKGROUND

SITE HISTORY

1.2 mil. years ago 40,000 years ago Volcanoes 30km to the north spilled out molten lava flows, forming the Burnley Basalts and the path of the Yarra.

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First Nations habitation of the Melbourne area.

1839

c. 1860

c. 1865

1918

Richmond was subdivided into allotments by government surveyor, Robert Hoddle.

The first quarry was opened by Mr. Samuel Willis.

The Richmond abattoirs opened, making use of the Yarra to carry away waste.

Heavy rains flood the quarries and they are closed down after 60 years.

1928 The Richmond Terminal Station is established. Yarra water is used for cooling.

1929

1962

2000

The Metropolitan The South Eastern The Burnley Tunnel, Board of Works, Freeway opens. running north of the cut through the Construction involved site, is opened. abandoned quarries, further removal straightening the of rock on the Yarra and forming Richmond bank.

Como (Herring) Island.

2004

2017

Burnley Harbour Urban Park is opened.

Upgrades to McConchie Reserve are undertaken by the City of Yarra.

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BACKGROUND

CUT, FILL, DREDGE, DRAIN The site of McConchie Reserve is a former bluestone quarry. Its landscape has been highly manipulated through years of cutting, dredging, filling and reconstruction that has resulted in dramatic landforms and shifted the course of the river.

PRE-INVASION

1966

1929

PRE-INVASION

1873

1896

The Yarra hugs the edge of the basalt plain. To the north the ephemeral Burnley creek, south a wetland.

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Basalt is quarried for the construction of Melbourne’s roads.

The quarries continue to grow.

Abandoned quarries fill with water. The creek is channelised, the wetland drained.

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The quarries abandoned. Som cut through straig Como (Herring)

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s have been me are filled. A ghtens the Yarra.

Island is formed.

1873

1896

2020

FUTURE

1:10.000

1966

2020

Construction of the freeway on the northern bank further shapes the land. River silt is used to build Herring Island’s levee.

Over time sediment deposits where the water flows less rapidly.

FUTURE The dredging of sediment to deepen channels for watercraft offers a source of fill to reshape the park.

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BACKGROUND

QUARRIES

QUARRY REMN

The footprint of the Richmond Quarries in relation to McConchie Reserve. It is likely that a visitor to this site today would be unaware of its industrial past.

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NANTS

Quarry Location Quarry Remnant Waterway Subject to Inundation Public Park Road 1m Contour 13

SECTION TITLE BACKGROUND

TITLE EXISTING CONDITIONS Magnimod icipsandit qui omnist qui conet officipsani dolupta simuscius illoreptatia pratius, cusaperem quas voloribusda des

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Exotic Tree Native Tree Path Mulch Garden Mulch Playground Fence Underpass Columns 1m Contour 15

BACKGROUND

A typical suburban park. An expanse of lawn is surrounded by trees, play, and exercise equipment.

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BACKGROUND

As you traverse down the steep slope, this lower area feels like an entirely separate site. Here revegetating the riparian is the primary focus.

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BACKGROUND

The dramatic form of the old quarry is now home to a wetland. This is a valued habitat, particularly for birdlife. It can viewed from above or the side, but currently there is no access into this space.

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BACKGROUND

The opposite bank of the quarry is occupied by The Richmond Terminal Station and Parks Victoria with no public access including no access to the bridge.

The quarry face is the focal point of many of the key views on this site.

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BACKGROUND

The South-Eastern Freeway separates McConchie reserve from the Yarra. The Main Yarra Trail and Burnley climbing walls can be accessed through the underpass.

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BACKGROUND

SOUND MAPPING The abutting of the freeway results in some areas of the site being particularly loud.

Average Volume 40-44 db-A 45-49 db-A 50-54 db-A 55-59 db-A Waterway Public Park 1m Contour

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BACKGROUND

CONDUCIVE & RESTRICTIVE FACTORS

RETAININ

“For each prospective land use there will be certain factors of greatest importance and these can be selected. Moreover, there will be a ranking of importance and so the factors can be arranged in a hierarchy. In addition, in certain cases some factors will be conducive to specific land uses while others are restrictive.” - Ian McHarg

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NOISE LEVELS

UNSTABL

RETAINING TREES

WETLAND PROTECTION

As many of the existing trees on site as possible should be retained for habitat, cooling, shade and buffering.

The wetland is considered an area of critical habitat for wetland and waterway fauna.

Disturbance to this area should be minimised.

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NOISE L

Interventions to ameliora point will be explored to user exp

NG TREES

WETLAND PROTECTION

LE EDGES

MAINTENANCE ACCESS

LEVELS

ate sound at the loudest improve habitat and the perience.

UNSTABLE EDGES

MAINTENANCE ACCESS

Some areas of the quarry edge are too unstable to support a cantilevered walkway around the wetland.

An access route for freeway maintenance must be maintained.

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METHODOLOGY

GEOLOGICAL FORMS SYNCLINE

MARINE

BASALTIC

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E FOSSILS

COLUMNS

Through drawing from and referencing basalt formations the site’s fascinating geological history can be fore fronted through design 31

METHODOLOGY

FORM EXPLORATIONS

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METHODOLOGY

PRECEDENT: LANDSCAPE SCORES

To engage with this site’s existing use, Lawrence Halprin’s scores formed an important precedent to shape my approach.

Halprin’s scores are diagrams that symbolise processes that extend over time such as movement or ecological functions Drawing from dance and music they can be used to analyse or choreograph performativity in design and open site possibilities.

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METHODOLOGY

SCORE Current movement notation.

Through this thesis I have set out to recompose this score.

Pedestrian Route Maintenence Access Main Yarra Trail No Public Access Bridge Road Freeway Underpass Site Access Equipment View Point Boat Route 1m Contour Waterway

A

Key Habitat

B

Residential

C

Industrial

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METHODOLOGY

PRECEDENT : KNITTING NOTATION

My background prior to landscape architecture is as a textile designer – a role that involves working with pattern and repeat. Drawing on this experience, I have turned to knit notation as a key precedent to shape my design methodology – applying this approach to sequencing to topography and space.

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METHODOLOGY

PATTERN ITERATION

Existing conditions.

The 10 x 10m pattern.

The 5 x 5m pattern.

Introduction of rock.

Graduating the trees.

Restrictive and conducive conditions.

Terrain shifts to walls.

Introduction of mounds.

Rounding the walls.

Graduating the planting height.

Reintroducing reality.

Adjusting for reality.

In a well-considered textile design, patterns are designed so that the motifs fall onto certain parts of the body, and in the same way here, the elements of the pattern have been tailored to best frame the site.

Distorting the grid.

Graduating the terrain changes.

Graduating the plantings.

Blocking the form.

Graduating the height of the terrain changes.

Graduating the height of the trees.

Softening the walls.

Graduating the wall forms.

Blending the walls into the mounds.

LEGEND VOID TERRAIN ROCK BASALT PLANT COMMUNITY

Allowing movement through the space.

The proposal.

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TREES

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METHODOLOGY

THE PATTERN Through exploring iterative patterns a rhythm is imposed onto the site, establishing coherence over the once fragmented spaces.

VOID

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TERRAIN

ROCK

BASALT PLANT COMMUNITY

TREES

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“Walker and others who promote this approach to patterning argue that it amplifies our ability to read the landscape as an intentional fabrication rather than as benign background, thereby prompting people to reflect on its significance.”

- Karen M’Closkey and Keith VanDerSys

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A SUBURBAN FABRIC

CONCEPT PLAN WATERCOURSE GABION WALL CORETEN MOUND BOARDWALK GRANITIC SAND FENCE UNDERPASS COLUMNS FREEWAY 1m CONTOUR GRASSY MEADOW TURF BASALT COMMUNITY REVEGETATION PLANTING EXISTING WETLAND VEGETATION NATIVE TREE PROPOSED EXOTIC TREE PROPOSED NATIVE TREE EXISTING EXOTIC TREE EXISTING

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When applied to the site this score overlaps and distributes use. It blurs boundaries between program and habitat, challenging the tensions that exist on this site. In small moments the pattern is continued to the parklet southwest of the site and to Herring Island as sculptural moments that stitch the site into its broader context.

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A SUBURBAN FABRIC

EXCHANGING TERRAIN

Continuing this sites legacy of cut and fill, give and take with its surrounds, mounds are formed from silt, being currently dredged from the Yarra to improve channels for watercraft. Gabions will be filed with waste material, demolition rubble from nearby construction sites. Some seed and plant material will be collected from Herring Island maintaining local provenance in some of the plantings.

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SECTION & MA

ATERIALS

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A SUBURBAN FABRIC

PLANTING PLAN The planting design for this site is driven by its geology. Basalt plant communities both endemic and from analogous climates are celebrated in monocultures and communities, forming a patchwork across the site – this display enhanced by seasonality.

existing planting to be retained existing wetland to be retained revegetation planting no access BASALT MONOCULTURES Plains Grassy Woodland endemic Riparian Woodland endemic Southern Grasslands near Dubbo - 2090 analogous climate Santa Rosa Plateau California - analogous climate Canary Islands - analogous climate BASALT COMMUNITIES Plains Grassy Woodland endemic Riparian Woodland endemic Blakey’s Red Gum Woodland near Albury - 2050 analogous climate Red Stringybark Woodland near Albury - 2050 analogous climate

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“Landscape language that communicates human intention, particularly intention to care for the landscape, offers a powerful vocabulary for design to improve ecological quality.” - Joan Iverson Nassauer.

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A SUBURBAN FABRIC

TREE PLANTING PLAN Tree selection is driven by climate resilience, seasonality, and habitat, with trees grouped by species to accentuate these attributes and produce bands of colour through the landscape. The variety is designed to attract a diversity of birdlife and insects, and some particularly large species have been selected to increase carbon sequestration and urban cooling.

TREES Eucalyptus camaldulensis - River Redgum endemic excellent climate change resilience h 20-45m x w 15-20m at maturity Acacia melanoxylon - Blackwood endemic, B.R.G. Woodland, RS. Woodland moderate climate change resilience h 12-25m x w 6 - 10m at maturity Acacia implexa - Lightwood endemic, B.R.G. Woodland, RS. Woodland moderate climate change resilience h 10m x w 5m at maturity Brachychiton populneus - Karrajong B.R.G. Woodland, RS. Woodland excellent climate change resilience h 10m x w 8m at maturity Eucalyptus leucoxylon - Yellow Gum food for threatened bird species good climate change resilience h 10-25m x w 5-7m at maturity Maclura pomifera - Osage Orange deciduous seasonal colour excellent climate change resilience h 10-15m x w 8m at maturity Citrus x limon - Lemon food and seasonal fragrance good climate change resilience h 4-7m x w 3-5m at maturity

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A SUBURBAN FABRIC

SUCCESSION The landscape will shift over time and emergent patterns will create new novel ecosystems. The rhythm of the planting design may develop or loose clarity as species grow and move.

2022

2050

The landscape will shift over time and emergent patterns will create new novel ecosystems. When first planted the pattern established by the trees in unlikely to be obvious.

By 2050 the rhythm is likely to have d strategy will be required for the shor Elm and Ash species already present o decline.

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developed some clarity. A replacement rter-lived Acacia species. The Chinese on the site will not be replaced as they

NATIVE TREE EXISTING EXOTIC TREE EXISTING NATIVE TREE PROPOSED EXOTIC TREE PROPOSED

2100

Change will slow as the trees reach their mature size. Most of the eucalypts present on site are expected to live well over 100 years. Some of the exotic species may begin to require replacement or removal.

“One can “score” new elements into an ecosystem but what emerges cannot be controlled or completely anticipated by the score.” - Lawrence Halprin 53

A SUBURBAN FABRIC

PERFORMANCE As you enter the park from Mary Street, openness and prospect is retained. A mown path leads through swathes of wallaby grass and monoculture plantings produce seasonal colourful displays. The gabions soften the hum of the freeway in the distance, and the modular corten forms peer out over the meadow. At staggered heights they offer a variation of uses. Seating, sheltered BBQ spaces and a climbing wall, playing off this site’s reputation as a climbing destination. The aging of the corten has been accelerated to create striking dark tones – reminiscent of the bluestone hewn from this landscape.

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A SUBURBAN FABRIC

The southern edge of the park is now characterised by enclosure. Towering gabion walls weave in and out of the ground – mimicking the form of the anticline and syncline and altering the soundscape and volume of freeway noise as you move through the space.

Towering Osage orange trees provide stunning autumnal colour, before the loss of their leaves, allowing the winter sun to filter through.

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A SUBURBAN FABRIC

At the water’s edge the introduced basalt communities thread through the existing wild assemblages. Informal paths draw visitors down towards the corten bird hide at the edge of the wetlands The waterway has been opened to kayakers and some of the corten platforms, accessible only by boat, feature a hook to moor your watercraft.

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A SUBURBAN FABRIC

A boardwalk through the tall reeds leads to the bird hide. A new vantage point to experience the scale of the quarry and quietly observe the variety of birdlife that make their home in the wetland. An opportunoity for citizen science and learning for the nearby Richmond Primary School.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDICES

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1 : EARLY CONCEPTS

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Exotic Tree Native Tree Path Intervention Wild Areas Underpass Columns 1m Contour 65

APPENDICES

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QUARRY - EXISTING - 1:750

A

A

QUARRY - PROPOSAL - 1:750

B

B

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SOUND WALLS ELEVATION- 1:750

SOUND WALL - 1:750

C

C

SOUND WALLS - 1:750

D

D

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 2 : PATTERN ITERATION

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APPENDICES

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 3 : NOTATION

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VOID TERRAIN TREES BASALT PLANT COMMUNITY ROCK

To translate initial scores into three-dimensional space, each colour was assigned to a component of the site that I planned to work with and enhance.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 4 : DISTORTING THE GRID

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 5: PRECEDENTS Teardrop Park, New York Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates The design of this park cleverly uses topographic manipulation, to offer spatial variation, depth and the illusion of scale. The use of stone, particularly for the bluestone wall, was highly relevant to my exploration of geological form and materials.

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Ballast Point Park, Sydney McGregor Coxall Building on and highlighting this site’s industrial history is fore fronted through design. This project featured a strong framework for sustainability and a use of recycled materials including, but not limited to, construction site rubble and salvaged timber.

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REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY Grose, Margaret. Constructed Ecologies: Critical Reflections on Ecology with Design Halprin, Lawrence. The RSVP Cycles : Creative Processes in the Human Environment Lancaster, Marcus. An urban environmental history of Melbourne’s watercourses Low, Tim. The New Nature : Winners and Losers in Wild Australia McHarg, Ian. Design with Nature M’Closkey, Karen & VanDerSys, Keith. Dynamic Patterns : Visualizing Landscapes in a Digital Age Meyer, Elizabeth K. Sustaining beauty : The performance of appearance Nassauer, Joan Iverson. Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames Otto, Kristin. Yarra: A Diverting History Presland, Gary. The Place for a Village Tooronga, Heyington. Old Yarra History as told by the Geology of Burnley OTHER REFERENCES ABC News, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-27/herring-island-melbournes-hidden-artgallery/9483168’ Ad Hockery, The Abattoir by the Yarra Australasian Fossils, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/59074/59074-h/59074-h.htm#Page_204 Bioregions and EVC Benchmarks, https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/biodiversity/bioregions-and-evcbenchmarks Burnley Harbour Urban Park, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez3suBVD9wU Burnley Plant Guide, https://bpg.unimelb.edu.au/index.jsp Cad Mapper, https://cadmapper.com/ Canarian Eosystems, http://www.terrestrial-biozones.net/Holarctic%20Ecosystems/Canarian%20 Ecosystems.html Charles Sturt University Dubbo, Biodiversity Health Assesment City of Melbourne, The City of Melbourne’s Future Urban Forest: Identifying Vulnerability to Future Temperatures, 2016 City of Yarra, Biodiversity Health Survey 2014-2016 City of Yarra, City of Yarra Significant Tree Study City of Yarra, Urban Forest Strategy 2017 City of Yarra, Encouraging and Increasing Walking 2005 City of Yarra, Nature Strategy City of Yarra, Yarra Open Space Strategy 2020 City of Yarra Heritage Review, Richmond Terminal Station City of Yarra 3D buildings by suburb, https://data.gov.au/dataset/ds-dga-50923ab8-864c-4fbe-a2e242034b16cf5e/details?q= Climate Analogues, https://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/projections-tools/climate-analogues/ analogues-explorer/ eBird, https://ebird.org/hotspot/L4195163 78

eMelbourne, https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00709b.htm Frederick McCubbin - Autumn (Stone crusher, Richmond Quarry) 1908, https://nga.gov.au/ exhibition/mccubbin/Default.cfm?IRN=188364&BioArtistIRN=15672&mystartrow=25&realstartrow= 25&MNUID=3&ViewID=2 Google Maps, https://www.google.com/maps Herring Island Park, https://www.herringisland.org/about.htm Landezine, Ballast Point Park, https://landezine.com/ballast-point-park-by-mcgregorcoxall-landscapearchitecture/ Landezine, Teardrop Park http://landezine.com/index.php/2009/07/teardrop-park/ McConchie Reserve Upgrade, https://yoursayyarra.com.au/mcconchie-reserve Melbourne Water, Imagine the Yarra Melbourne Water, Yarra River 50-year Vision Murray Catchment Management Committee & Department of Land & Water Conservation, South West Slopes Revegetation Guide Museums Victoria https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/791965 NatureKit, https://maps2.biodiversity.vic.gov.au/Html5viewer/index.html?viewer=NatureKit NearMap, http://maps.au.nearmap.com/ Only Melbourne, https://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/city-of-yarra-heritage-tour Parks Victoria Depot, https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/parks-victoria-depot---barkly-avepark Priority Weeds, https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/weeds/priority-weeds Richmond Guardian, Sat 7 sep 1918, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/93813922 Richmond Terminal Station, https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/en/About/Projects-and-Innovation/ Terminal-Stations/Richmond-Terminal-Station Sands & McDougall’s, New plan of Melbourne & suburbs - 1872 Santa Rosa Plateau Plant Communities, http://tchester.org/srp/plants/communities/all_viewgraphs.html SES, City of Yarra Flood Emergency Plan Spatial Datamart, https://services.land.vic.gov.au/SpatialDatamart/submitAllOrder.html The City of Richmond, Richmond Conservation Study VicPlan, https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/vicplan/ Victorian Places, https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/burnley Victorian Places, https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/richmond Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook Victoria State Government, Draft Yarra Strategic Plan Victoria State Government, The New Lives of Old Quarries Weeds of Melbourne, https://weedsofmelbourne.org/ Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Ancient Spirit & Lore of the Yarra Yarra Street and Park Trees, https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/yarra-street-park-trees/resource/6e4186b03e00-48f9-a09c-cb60d1d0d49f?inner_span=True Yarra RiverKeeper https://yarrariver.org.au/ Zinfra, https://www.zinfra.com.au/case-study/richmond-terminal-station-rebuild 2016 Cencus QuickStats, https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/ census/2016/quickstat/206071144 79