Mephan Ferguson (25 July 1843 – 2 November 1919) was an Australian manufacturer, particularly of water supply pipes, notably for the pipeline to the

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n goldfields. He was born in

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He immigrated with his parents to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in the colony of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

arriving in 1854. In 1857 Ferguson was indentured as an apprentice

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

to John Price of

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Businesses

Around 1874 Ferguson established a business in Melbourne as an iron foundry and rail construction contractor. After successfully building a bridge over the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stre ...

he was awarded many other government contracts. His company built twenty bridges along the north-eastern railway and another eight for the Clifton Hill line. Ferguson supplied of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

and

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

for the building of the Newport rail workshops. In 1885 the Victorian Government decided to change the Melbourne water supply pipes from wrought iron to cast iron. Ferguson won the contracts to supply the new pipe. To enable this expansion he bought the Glasgow Iron works in West Melbourne. With the Carlton Foundry, Ferguson now employed over 300 people. He soon after established a new foundry in Footscray. Ferguson gained international attention by winning the contract to supply 530 km (360 mi) of 760 mm (30 in) steel main for the

Goldfields Water Supply Scheme The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is a pipeline and dam project that delivers potable water from Mundaring Weir in Perth to communities in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, particularly Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. The project was commi ...

. The pipes used Ferguson's patented rivetless pipe or locking bar, the design of which improved the water flow. A stylised drawing of the design is now used to indicate places of interest along the pipeline. To manufacture the pipe, Ferguson imported sheet steel from England and the United States then rolled these into the sections at foundries in

Midland Junction Midland is a suburb in the Perth metropolitan region, as well as the regional centre for the City of Swan local government area that covers the Swan Valley and parts of the Darling Scarp to the east. It is situated at the intersection of G ...

and another he built in Maylands.

References

Ferguson, Mephan
Australian Dictionary of Biographies—Retrieved 8 May 2007

Photographs

-Extensive collection at State Reference Library of Western Australia

Businesses

References

Further reading

Photographs

See also