Charles Yelverton O'Connor, (11 January 1843 – 10 March 1902), was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 limit ...

who is best known for his work in

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 ...

, especially the construction of

Fremantle Harbour Fremantle Harbour is Western Australia's largest and busiest general cargo port and an important historical site. The inner harbour handles a large volume of sea containers, vehicle imports and livestock exports, cruise shipping and naval vi ...

, thought to be impossible, and 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 co ...

Early life

O'Connor was born in Gravelmount House, a small country house in Castletown Kilpatrick, a parish located between Kells and

Ardee Ardee (; , ) is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued deve ...

in the north of

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was the third and youngest son and fourth child of John O'Connor, a farmer and company secretary, and his wife Mary Elizabeth, ''née'' O'Keefe. O'Connor was home-schooled by his aunt before being educated at Waterford Endowed School (also known as Bishop Foy's School ). In 1859 he was apprenticed to

John Chaloner Smith John Chaloner Smith (19 August 1827 – 13 March 1895) was an Irish civil engineer, remembered as collector of and writer on British mezzotints. Life Smith was born in Dublin in 1827. His father was a proctor of the ecclesiastical courts, and ...

as a railway engineer. At the age of 21 he emigrated to New Zealand, and on 6 September 1866 was appointed assistant engineer for

Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...

under Edward Dobson. His first task was the construction of the Otira Gorge section of the road over

Arthur's Pass Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explorin ...

, so that the

gold fields Gold Fields Limited (formerly The Gold Fields of South Africa) is one of the world's largest gold mining firms. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company is listed on both the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the New York Sto ...

on the West Coast became easier to access. After holding other positions, O'Connor became inspecting engineer for the mid- South Island. In 1873 he married Scottish-born Susan Laetitia Ness, and they had eight children, four girls (including Girl Guiding commissioner Bridget Yelverton Lee Steere and painter Kathleen O'Connor) and four boys while in New Zealand (their fifth child, Charles Goring Yelverton O'Connor, died aged 7 months in a home accident). In 1883 O'Connor was appointed Under-Secretary of Public Works in New Zealand, and in 1890 he was appointed Marine Engineer for the

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

. By 1891 O'Connor had much experience in harbour and dock construction when he resigned his position in April that year to become Engineer-in-Chief of

. His wife and children relocated with him to Australia. There he was responsible for the construction of

and the

project, which supplied water to the Eastern Goldfields. He was the inaugural Engineer in Chief of the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

Fremantle Harbour

The construction of

Western Australia. Public Works Dept. Fremantle Harbour works plan
National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2006. was probably O'Connor's greatest personal triumph, as his proposal to build the harbour within the entrance to the Swan River was contrary to previous expert advice that this was impracticable and that the construction would require constant dredging. Work commenced in 1892 in removing a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

bar and sand shoals at the mouth of the Swan River and was successfully completed in 1903. On 4 May 1897 the first ocean-going steamer, the ''Sultan'', berthed at South Quay (renamed Victoria Quay on 26 July 1901 in honour of the late

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

). At age 54, O'Connor travelled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to be inducted a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. More than 100 years of continued use of Fremantle Harbour by heavy shipping has erased all doubt concerning O'Connor's technical judgement.

Railways

O'Connor was engineer-in-chief and acting general manager of railways in Western Australia. Upgrades of existing lines and plans for new lines were made. The search for water for the Northam-Southern Cross route was initiated by O'Connor. He was in charge of the railway.

Goldfields Water Supply Scheme

O'Connor is best known for his work on the

, also known as the ''Goldfields Pipeline''. The pipeline carries water from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

to Kalgoorlie. A succession of

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

es in the Yilgarn region near

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

in 1887, at Coolgardie in 1892, and at Kalgoorlie in 1893 caused a population explosion in the barren and dry desert centre of Western Australia, exemplified by towns like Cunderdin and Merredin. On 16 July 1896, John Forrest introduced to

Western Australian Parliament The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliam ...

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

to authorise the raising of a loan of £2.5 million to construct the scheme: the pipeline would pump of water per day to the Goldfields from a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

on the

Helena River The Helena River is a tributary of the Swan River in Western Australia. The river rises in country east of Mount Dale and flows north-west to Mundaring Weir, where it is dammed. It then flows west until it reaches the Darling Scarp. It passes ...

near

Mundaring Weir Mundaring Weir is a dam (and historically the adjoining locality) located from Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Scarp. The dam and reservoir form the boundary between the suburbs of Reservoir and Sawyers Valley. The dam impounds the Hel ...

in Perth, pumped in eight successive stages through 330 miles of pipe to the Mount Charlotte Reservoir in Kalgoorlie. The water is then reticulated to various mining centres in the Goldfields. The lake created by

is now known as ''Lake O'Connor'', and still provides drinking water for the towns along the pipeline to Kalgoorlie.

Death

O'Connor was subjected to prolonged criticism by members of the press and also many members of the

over the scheme. John Forrest, always a supporter, had left Western Australian politics to become federal defence minister. Defamatory attacks by the press had wounded O’Connor. Evans describes how political machinations and individual greed led to many libellous newspaper articles about O'Connor towards the end of the pipeline project. One article in particular in ''The Sunday Times'', 9 February 1902, by its editor, Thomas Walker, continuing a campaign against O'Connor by Walker's deceased predecessor

Frederick Vosper Frederick Charles Burleigh Vosper (23 March 1869 – 6 January 1901) was an Australian newspaper journalist and proprietor, and politician. He was well known for his ardent views and support of Australian republicanism, federalism and trade unio ...

, is thought to have contributed to his death. Accusing O'Connor of corruption, it read, in part: The government conducted an inquiry into the scheme and found no basis for the press accusations of corruption or misdemeanours on the part of O'Connor. Thomas Walker claimed vindication as the Royal Commission into the Coolgardie Water Scheme found "of the degree to which his 'Connor'simplicit trust had been misplaced

n Thomas C. Hodgson, the Engineer in Charge of the Coolgardie Water Scheme N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

ref name=":1" />... unbalanced an already overstrained mind". It is claimed that local

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

Aboriginal people, unhappy with his destruction of the limestone bar across the Swan River at

Point Walter Point Walter (Noongar: ''Dyoondalup'') is a point on the Swan River, Western Australia, notable for its large sandbar that extends into the river. It is located on the southern shore of Melville Water, and forms its western end. Point Walter ...

, placed a curse on O'Connor. and that "... they sang him to make him crazy", and his suicide was the end result. O'Connor took his own life on 10 March 1902 by shooting himself while riding his horse into the water at Robb Jetty, south of Fremantle. Less than a year later, Forrest officially commissioned the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme.

Legacy

O’Connor's greatest legacies are the Fremantle Inner Harbour and the Goldfields Water supply Scheme, which ranks as one of Australia's greatest engineering achievements. CY OConnor Statue Fremantle

The beach where O'Connor died was named after him and there is also a statue sculpted by Tony Jones, of him in the water there. The Monument to C. Y. O'Connor was built in 1911 and was designed by Pietro Porcelli. The novel ''The Drowner'' by

Robert Drewe Robert Duncan Drewe (born 9 January 1943) is an Australian novelist, non-fiction and short story writer. Biography Robert Drewe was born on 9 January 1943 in Melbourne, Victoria. At the age of six, he moved with his family to Perth. He grew ...

provides a fictionalised account of O'Connor and the building of the pipeline. On 7 December 1898, his daughter Eva married Sir

George Julius Sir George Alfred Julius (29 April 187328 June 1946) was an English-born Australian inventor and entrepreneur. He was the founder of Julius Poole & Gibson Pty Ltd and Automatic Totalisators Ltd, and invented the world's first automatic totalisa ...

at St John's Church, Fremantle. Julius was the first chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) which later became the CSIRO. His daughter Kathleen O'Connor was a successful and respected painter. The C. Y. O'Connor College of TAFE in

bears his name. CyOconna

The

Division of O'Connor The Division of O'Connor is an Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia. It is one of Western Australia's three rural seats, and one of the largest electoral constituencies in the world. Geography Since 1984, federal el ...

, named after O'Connor, is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Western Australia. Originally it encircled the area around Perth, from Geraldton on the Indian Ocean coast to Albany on the Southern Ocean coast. The electoral boundary was changed dramatically in 2008 (taking effect in 2010) and it now includes the Southern Wheatbelt and most of the Goldfields of Western Australia. A bronze statue of O'Connor by Pietro Porcelli stands in front of the Fremantle Port Authority buildings, commemorating O'Connor's achievements. O'Connor has also had a school named after him called O'Connor Primary School, in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. A song called 'C.Y. O'Connor' by a local Irish band based in Western Australian named The Healys was written in memory of the Irish Engineer.

Notes

References

* Ayris, Cyril. ''C.Y.O'Connor : a brief biography'' West Perth, W.A. : Cyril Ayris Freelance, 2004. * Drewe, Robert. ''The drowner'' Sydney: Picador, 1997. * Evans, A. G. ''C.Y. O'Connor : his life and legacy'' . Crawley, W. A.: University of Western Australia Press, 2001. * Hasluck, Alexandra. ''C.Y. O'Connor''. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1965. * Tauman, Merab. ''The chief: C.Y. O'Connor'' . Nedlands: University of Western Australia Press, 1978. * Webb, Martyn J. ''Death of a hero: the strange suicide of Charles Yelverton O'Connor''. Early days Vol. 11, part 1 (1995), pp. 81–111.

External links

*
Statue Named Perth's Best Public Art

The Golden Pipeline Project
A National Trust of Australia project to commemorate the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, C. Y. 1843 births 1902 suicides People from County Westmeath Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Burials at Fremantle Cemetery Public servants of Western Australia Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Deaths by firearm in Western Australia Suicides by firearm in Australia Suicides in Western Australia Harbour engineers Fremantle Harbour Goldfields Water Supply Scheme 19th-century Irish engineers 19th-century Australian engineers Julius family