Tall Poppies Along the Yarra

Many individuals with vision and drive made Victoria's Yarra Valley the vibrant place it is today.

Aboriginal elder, William Barak compromised with Christian missionaries as he pleaded for his people's existence along the Yarra. English born surveyor Robert Hoddle laid out Melbourne's city grid while living in a tent on the Yarra Bank. Melbourne hero John Monash took his lover there and agonised between her and his burning ambition to contribute to a world at war. Artist Neil Douglas defied convention and bureaucracy for the right to live in a natural environment. John Landy was an Olympic athlete before serving Victoria's community from Government House on the Yarra. Yarra Riverkeeper Ian Penrose saw the light and continues to keep the river flowing clean and healthily.

Their stories and the lives of seven others are told here. Most people don't know them, but young and old will be inspired by their stories.