It was located in inner eastern suburban Melbourne, and was named after the Yarra River, which originally formed the eastern border of the Division, and eventually ran through it.
It originally covered the suburbs of Abbotsford, Collingwood, Richmond and part of Fitzroy.
By the time it was abolished in 1969, it no longer covered Abbotsford or Fitzroy, but included Burnley and Hawthorn.
For its entire existence, it was a very safe Labor seat.
It was held by only four MPs – Frank Tudor, a leader of the Australian Labor Party; James Scullin, the thirteenth Prime Minister of Australia; Stan Keon, an important figure in the Australian Labor Party split of 1955, and Jim Cairns, who would go on to become Deputy Prime Minister of Australia as the member for the Division of Lalor.