A very tall chimney

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Charles Yelverton O’Connor (1843-1902) was an Irish engineer who was responsible for the construction of West Australia’s Fremantle Harbour and the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, regarded as one of Australia’s greatest engineering feats. Both these projects were seen as virtually impossible but, 100+ years on, both the harbour and the supply scheme are still going strong. The continued use of the harbour by heavy shipping has vindicated O’Connor’s vision. However, he is best known for the Goldfields Pipeline which I wrote about a couple of posts ago. Gold rushes in 1887, 1892 and 1893 resulted in a population explosion and the need for a reliable water supply became paramount. Towards the end of its construction, O’Connor was subjected to defamatory attacks and libellous newspaper articles. The prolonged criticism caused O’Connor to take his own life in March 1902. Less than a year later, the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme was officially commissioned. The Cunderdin Museum housed one of the pumping stations. It was steam-driven and the photo shows the chimney stack which powered the engine. It’s very sad that O’Connor didn’t live to see the culmination of his wonderful work.