![GeorgeChaffey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/GeorgeChaffey.jpg)
George Chaffey (28 January 1848 – 1 March 1932) was a Canadian–born
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
who with his brother
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
developed large parts of Southern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, including what became the community of
Etiwanda and cities of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, and
Upland. They undertook similar developments in Australia which became the city of
Mildura
Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...
, and the town of
Renmark and Paringa.
Biography
Chaffey was born in
Brockville, Ontario
Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Le ...
and attended
Kingston Grammar School on
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
. Chaffey's family was of Scottish heritage. Although not interested in schoolroom instruction, he read engineering books from the local library. Chaffey left school at 13 years of age, was fascinated by the shipbuilding yard of his father and became an apprentice marine engineer in May 1862.
[
By 1880 he was well established as a designer of ships for ]Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
traffic. While visiting his father in California that year, however, he became interested in the Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
irrigation colony. By 1886 he and his brother William had established the irrigation colonies of Etiwanda, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, and Upland, which were extremely successful, thanks in large part to innovative features such as hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
systems using mountain water, mutual water companies which eliminated disputes over water, and their creation and endowment of the Chaffey College of Agriculture. George's innovative electrical system at Etiwanda led Los Angeles to hire him to install its first street lights. He eventually became president and engineer of the Los Angeles Electric Company.
In 1886, at the invitation of the South Australian and Victorian colonial governments, the Chaffeys undertook several irrigation projects in Australia, establishing colonies at Renmark and then Mildura
Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...
. Though the Chaffeys appointed Herbert Jones to lecture on the Mildura project 'throughout the colonies', using lantern slides from J. W. Lindt's photographs, they were financial failures, and George Chaffey returned to California. William remained in Mildura, which eventually became successful. Later, George joined the California Development Company
The California Development Company was formed in 1896 as a replacement for the defunct Colorado River Irrigation Company, which had been started a few years earlier for the purpose of planning an irrigation system for the lower Colorado Desert in ...
as chief engineer and undertook a project to irrigate the Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna.
Geography and geology
The Colorado De ...
. The Colorado Desert was renamed by the Canadian party and is now known as the Imperial Valley
, photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg
, photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image.
, map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg
, map_caption = Map of Imperial ...
. Chaffey along with the other pioneers believed this name would bring more people to this southeastern part of California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
In 1905, Chaffey purchased the ranch of John Shepherd at Manzanar, California
Manzanar (Spanish for "apple orchard") was a town in Inyo County, California, founded by water engineer and land developer George Chaffey.
It was situated on the former narrow-gauge railway line of the Southern Pacific Railroad north of Lone Pin ...
, located in California's Owens Valley
Owens Valley (Numic
Numic is a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It includes seven languages spoken by Native American peoples traditionally living in the Great Basin, Colorado River basin, Snake River basin, and southern Great Pl ...
. Chaffey subdivided the ranch, along with other adjacent ranches, and founded the town of Manzanar in 1910. Chaffey's Owens Valley Improvement Company built an irrigation system and planted thousands of fruit trees, and by 1920, the town had more than twenty-five homes, a two-room school, a town hall, and a general store. Also at that time, nearly of apple, pear, and peach trees were being grown, along with grapes, prunes, potatoes, corn, alfalfa and large vegetable and flower gardens.
In 1912, Chaffey moved to Whittier, California
Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States ...
, joining his son John, where he lived for a number of years while tending to his invalid wife Ann. Chaffey later retired to San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. He died in Ontario, California, on 1 March 1932 and was buried at Bellevue Memorial Park in Ontario.Bellevue Memorial Park: George Chaffey (1848–1932)
Image:George-Chaffey.png, Statue of George Chaffey in front of the Upland civic center
Image:ChaffeyBridgeMildura.jpg, George Chaffey Bridge
The George Chaffey Bridge is a road bridge in Australia that carries the Sturt Highway across the Murray River from Buronga to Mildura.
History Old Mildura Bridge
The previous Mildura Bridge was opened on 22 October 1927. The design allowed fo ...
over Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...
, Mildura
Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...
See also
*
Alamo Canal
The Alamo Canal ( es, Canal del Álamo) was a long waterway that connected the Colorado River to the head of the Alamo River. The canal was constructed to provide irrigation to the Imperial Valley. A small portion of the canal was located in th ...
*
California Development Company
The California Development Company was formed in 1896 as a replacement for the defunct Colorado River Irrigation Company, which had been started a few years earlier for the purpose of planning an irrigation system for the lower Colorado Desert in ...
*
Imperial Land Company The Imperial Land Company was a land colonization company incorporated in California in March, 1900 for the purpose of encouraging settlement of the Imperial Valley thus providing customers for the California Development Company. Imperial Land was ...
*
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf o ...
*
Ben Chaffey
Ben Chaffey (1876 – 3 March 1937) was a butcher, pastoralist and businessman in Australia. He was active in horse racing.
Early life
Ben Chaffey was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, the son of engineer George Chaffey and his wife Ann. ...
, his son
Sources
www.chaffey.org, article by Robert E. Ellingwood and Marie Boyd Ontario Heritage Foundation
References
Further reading
* Alexander, J. A. (1928) ''The life of George Chaffey; a story of irrigation beginnings in California and Australia''. Melbourne: Macmillan & co. ltd.
*
*
* Tyrrell, Ian. (1999) ''True gardens of the Gods : Californian-Australian environmental reform, 1860-1930''. Berkeley: University of California Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaffey, George
1848 births
1932 deaths
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian engineers
Canadian people of Scottish descent
Mildura
Ontario, California
People from Brockville
Settlers of South Australia
Water in California