HISTORY

As part of thes development of recreation areas close to Melbourne, the Deep Rock Swimming & Lifesaving Club was established in 1906, at the Deep Rock Swimming Basin on the Yarra River. This, like the other swimming places along the river at Fairfield and Alphington Parks, was a popular spot for competitions and recreational swimming in the years up to World War Two. The cliffs opposite Deep Rock were the site of a world record 62.7 metre high dive by the South Sea Islander Alec Wickham in 1918, which was sponsored by the notorious John Wren.

 

The local press reported Wickham's dive as carried out in front of nearly 50,000 people as part of the Deep Rock club's aquatic carnival: proceeds were to aid the Soldiers Amelioration Fund. Wickham jumped from a high platform built on the west side of the river (cliffs) - the height was described as between 100 and 150 feet. Wren gave him ₤100 for the feat as a Victorian record. The final of the Canoe Singles Championship of Victoria was held there in 1921.

 

Foremost among the swimmers of the day was Miss Lilly Beaurepaire, a famous swimming name of later years. Images from the 1920s show extensive landscaping at the site, with a retaining wall around the swimming basin, earth terraces and a pavilion.

 

The cliffs also served for machine gun target practice during World War Two army exercise. The Deep Rock Swimming Club disbanded in 1957 but worse was to come.

 

The construction of the Eastern Freeway in 1972 altered the course of the Yarra River, destroying the Deep Rock Basin. By far the most significant impact of urbanisation on the park, the Freeway’s construction had a profound and irreversibly destructive effect on the natural areas of the park, in addition to significantly reducing the size of the park.

 

The eroded stone memorial overlooks the grassy Yarra River flood plain of Deep Rock to the west, as accessible via Deep Rock Road, off Yarra Bend Road. The rocky escarpment on the other side of the river is made of uplifted Silurian mudstone/sandstone sediments. This contrasts with the more recent and exposed basalt flows visible in the former City of Melbourne quarry across the Merri Creek.