"Yarra", along with sister ships and , were ordered on 6 February 1909; the first ships to be ordered for the Commonwealth Naval Forces, the post-Federation amalgamation of the Australian colonial navies. "Yarra" was laid down by William Denny and Brothers, at their shipyard in Dumbarton. She was launched on 9 April 1910 by the wife of Newton Moore, the Premier of Western Australia. Construction was completed in August 1910, and the ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS "Yarra" on 10 September 1910 for the voyage out to Australia. "Yarra" and "Parramatta" sailed from Portsmouth on 19 September. Once the ships arrived in Broome, they were transferred to the control of the Commonwealth Naval Forces. The destroyer's name comes from the Yarra River in Victoria.