In 1879, English civil engineer John Coode furthered the colonial project in Narrm by recommending considerable and violent changes to Birrarung to expand the port. He proposed what are now known as the Coode Canal, Victoria Dock and Victoria Harbour—where the Library at the

Dock is situated—to allow access to larger ships and reduce travel time along the river. To justify the new canal, Coode noted that Birrarung’s course near its chosen confluence with the Maribyrnong River was an ‘inconvenient curve.’

These two words have animated artist, educator and researcher Christine McFetridge’s exhibition An Inconvenient Curve: Unlearning Settler Colonial Representations of Birrarung at the Library at the Dock Gallery (7 August–1 September 2024). The artworks, combining archival material, photography, video and text, aim to attend to the violence of the ongoing colonial regime.

For Birrarung Riverfest 2024, McFetridge will co-facilitate a group reading of Coode’s Report to the Melbourne Harbour Trust (1879) with Yarra Riverkeeper Association President Janet Bolitho at the Library at the Dock Gallery. Join us as we read and discuss sections of the report as a public gesture of collective unlearning.

Caption: John Coode, General Plan Shewing [sic] Harbour Improvements, 1879. Collection of the State Library of Victoria. Edited by Janet Bolitho.

Accessibility: This venue has a lift and is accessible for wheelchairs and prams.

About Riverfest

This event is part of the 2024 Birrarung Riverfest. Celebrate our river at one of 30+ events being hosted over three weeks from 1- 22 September. Whether you enjoy riverside walks, cleanups or paddling adventures, there's something for everyone at Riverfest.
Riverfest is presented by the Yarra Riverkeeper Association. Explore the program at www.riverfest.org.au

Acknowledgement of Country

The Yarra Riverkeeper Association acknowledges that the lands and waterways of the Yarra, Birrarung catchment, are the unceded territories of the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung and Bunurong peoples. We pay respect to Traditional Owners, who have, and continue, to care for Country. We acknowledge that the river now called Yarra has always been known as the Birrarung by its custodians.

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