Coode Island
Coode Island, at the convergence of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers, 4 km west of central Melbourne, is a man-made island and low-lying land is part of the Port of Melbourne. It is the site of Swanson and Appleton Docks and their associated container storage and rail yards, as well as a number of chemical storage facilities.Originally extensive low-lying wetlands, shipping canal was constructed through it to the south of the existing course of the river through Fishermans Bend, to allow access from the Port of Melbourne to Yarraville. The area became an island with the cutting of the Fisherman's Bend channel, known as Coode Canal, between 1880 and 1886. This major infrastructure project created an island which was known as Coode Island, named after the British consultant engineer engaged to design the works, Sir John Coode. This also included widening and deepening, and in some cases, vast areas of land were excavated, such as Victoria Dock, in order to give ease of access for cargo and later container ships. Abattoirs, smelters and even mortuaries were to use the river as a means of waste disposal in its lower reaches. This industrialisation also led to a steady deterioration in water quality during the 19th century and into the 20th. In 1891, the great flood caused the Yarra to swell to 305 metres (1,001 ft) in width. Initially known as West Melbourne Dock, over 3 million cubic yards of material was excavated and a new dock was eventually opened in 1892, the material that was removed was subsequently used to fill in part of the West Melbourne Swamp, it took 6 days for water from the Yarra River to fill the dock. The dock was later renamed Victoria Dock. In 1910, the main channel was widened and deepened (81 to 131 m or 266 to 430 ft). In 1916, the central pier at Victoria Dock was completed which provided 6 additional shipping berths and cargo sheds and creating a distinctive landmark for Melbourne ports. By 1942, 650m of the old course of the Yarra River at Coode Island had been filled in, by the 1950s it had been completely filled and land parcels were allocated including a site for the new Fish Markets.
The creation of Coode Island extensively changed not only the flow of the Yarra River but also the Sandridge lowlands which Coode Canal had cut through. The area on the southern bank of the river became known as Fishermand Bend, the name of a bend in the river that it now bypassed. The canal reduced the river's southern shoreline to a gentle arc rather than a peninsula, as it was before. The former course of the Yarra River was slowly filled in over the years, along with the associated swamps, and by the mid-20th century, Coode Island was no longer a true island, although the name remained.
By 1909 the area was being used as an animal quarantine station and after 1915 as a sanatorium for victims of bubonic plague and other contagious diseases. By the 1920s the area was inhabited by hermits living in huts and abandoned ships. In 1927 the Larkin Aircraft Supply Company had set up operations on the island, including a factory and aerodrome, which was used until World War II.
In 1960 the area began being used for the storage of petrochemicals. In 1968 the Swanson Dock container terminal was constructed on the south side of the former island, which reduced the size of Coode Island. Swanson Dock was constructed between 1966 and 1972 equipped for modern container shipping.
On 21 August 1991 at the then Anchor Tank facility St Elmos Fire ignited one of the storage tanks, resulting in the Coode Island explosion. 8.5 million litres of chemicals including acrylonitrile and benzene burned, creating a toxic cloud over nearby residential suburbs, which was fortunately dispersed by high winds. Proposals were made to move the facility to Point Lillias near Geelong, but environmental and Aboriginal heritage concerns thwarted the plans. In 2000 the Bracks Government announced that Coode Island would be the site of Victoria's major petrochemical storage facility, with six companies leasing the facility from the Melbourne Port Authority.
