C. Y. O'Connor

Charles Yelverton O'Connor ( born January 11, 1843 in Gravelmount, Castletown, County Meath in Ireland, † March 10, 1902 at Robb Jetty in Western Australia ) was an Irish engineer, a " legendary figure of the early engineering in Australia ". He is known in Australia for the construction of the port of Fremantle and the Golden Pipeline, one of the longest fresh water pipes in the world with 530 kilometers in length.

Early life

O'Connor was taught at home by his aunt before he came (also known as Bishop Foy 's School known ) into the Waterford Endowed School. In 1859, he was trained by J. Chaloner Smith as a railway engineer. and at the age of 21 years, he immigrated to New Zealand, where he was appointed railroad engineer in the Canterbury province on September 6. In 1873 he married the Scottish-born Susan Letitia Ness with whom he had seven children together, four girls and three boys.

Career

After he had held several positions, O'Connor inspection engineer was appointed to the Central South Island in New Zealand and in 1883 under-secretary of the New Zealand Public Works and in 1890 for marine engineer this colony.

To 1891 planned O'Connor the construction of port and dock facilities, when he was chief engineer of Western Australia in April this year and deliver the contract to build the Fremantle harbor and the Golden Pipeline, the drinking water in the Eastern Goldfields to Kalgoorlie should be received.

Port of Fremantle

The construction of Fremantle Harbour was perhaps the greatest success of O'Connor. To build his project, this port on the Swan River, according to experts, was not optimal, because it would require constant dredging of the shipping channel. The work began in 1892 and, after removal of sandstone barrier and the shoals of sand in the mouth of the Swan River in 1903 they were successfully completed.

On May 4, 1897 to put the first overseas passenger ship, the Sultan, the Queen Victoria Quay, which was named after Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in the same year. At the age of 54 years, O'Connor went to London and was honored with the Order of St Michael and St George as a Companion.

Golden pipeline

O'Connor's most famous work is the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, which is also called as Golden Pipeline. This pipeline is possibly the world 's longest water supply with a length of 530 kilometers from Perth to Kalgoorlie.

A gold rush in the Yilgarn region near Southern Cross in 1887, one at Coolgardie in 1892 and another in 1893 in Kalgoorlie caused a population explosion in the population- empty and dry desert, as before, in the towns of Cunderdin and Merredin.

On July 16, 1896 John Forrest proposed to the Western Australian Parliament to authorize it for £ 2.5 million to build a pipeline that 23.000m ³ of water daily to the gold fields of the dam on the Helena River near Mundaring in Perth over eight pumping stations 530 km far pumped into a comprehensive 760 mm diameter tubes to the Mount Charlotte reservoir in Kalgoorlie. The water would then be like a net spread in different gold mining centers.

O'Connor was subject to sustained criticism by the press and many members of the Western Australian Parliament on this project. Forrest, who always supported him, left politics of Western Australia and was federal Minister of Defense. He was subject to defamatory attacks by the press and this hurt him. O'Connor committed suicide less than a year before Forrester officially handed over the Golden Pipeline.

Evan describes how political machinations and individual greed as well as many libelous magazine article about the project of the Golden Pipeline and O'Connor gnawed at this. An article dated 9 February 1902 in The Sunday Times, The O'Connor accused of corruption should be the trigger to his suicide:

" And apart from any distinct charge of corruption this man Has Exhibited seeking big blundering or something worse, in his management of great public works it is no exaggeration to say did He Has robbed the taxpayer of this state of many millions of money ... this crocodile imposter HAS BEEN backed up in all his reckless extravagant juggling with public funds, in all his nefarious machinations behind the scenes by the kindred - souled editor of the The West Australian. "- ( Evans 2001, p 219)

The government opened an inquiry about this project and found no basis for allegations of corruption or mismanagement by O'Connor.

Suicide

O'Connor shot himself on March 10, 1902, when he rode his horse through the water at South Beach Fremantle.

Legacy

  • The beach where O'Connor died, was named after him and there was also a statue created Tony Jones, placed in the water.
  • The lake, which was created by the Mundaring Weir is known as Lake CYO'Connor and includes drinking water for the towns along the Golden Pipeline to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
  • The novel The Drowner by Robert Drewe contains aspects of O'Connor and the construction of the pipeline.
  • His daughter Eva married Sir George Julius, who was the first chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR ), which was later renamed CSIRO.
  • The CY O'Connor College of TAFE in Western Australia bears his name.
  • The Division of O'Connor, named after O'Connor, is an Australian Electoral Division of the State of Western Australia. They encircled the area of Perth and leads to the Indian Ocean to the Southern Ocean coast. The division includes the towns of Geraldton and Albany, large parts of the Midlands, Wheatbelt and Great Southern region of Western Australia.
  • A bronze statue of O'Connor by Pietro Porcelli stands before the construction of the Fremantle Port Authority, which is reminiscent of his performance.

Pictures of C. Y. O'Connor

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