Day 121 Mildura Explore Day 2

Today we decided to go back to the botanical gardens and do the self drive circuit. We had never driven through a botanical garden before, quite a lovely idea for people who find it difficult to walk. Afterwards we did a little retail therapy at the local shops.










We drove into town for some lunch and saw some of the historical buildings and street art whilst walking the streets.



The King George V Memorial Fountain erected in the late 1890s, this fountain originally stood in the gardens of the home of W. B. Chaffey - at what is now known as Rio Vista Historic House on Cureton Avenue, Mildura. The fountain was turned off and left idle following the tragic drowning of one-year-old Edward Chaffey in May, 1897. Mrs W. B. Chaffey gifted the fountain to the City of Mildura in 1936 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the coronation of King George V, who also died the same year.



Set in Mildura's historic art deco Equity Chambers building (circa 1937) at 63 Deakin Ave.
This is the earliest surviving building in Mildura. It started out as Mildura’s first general store, owned by H.B. Williams, the first Shire President in 1887. Together with his son-in-law, they continued trading as a general store under the name of Williams and Yule until 1903. Taken over by a bank in 1937, its appearance was altered to what you see today. It is now occupied by legal firm Martin Middleton Oates.



The quaint, elegant cream building next to the Civic Building is the Carnegie Centre. Home of the Mildura and District Historical Society and the Genealogical Society, this building was the town’s first library, the result of a grant from the Scottish American philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. Opened in 1908, the clock
tower was added as a memorial to the locals lost in World War I. The names of the fallen are inscribed on the two brass tablets as a permanent reminder of their sacrifice. Dedicated in 1922, when Mildura’s population was approximately 5,500 people, it brings into sharp focus the reality of the loss of almost 200 people from one small town.



The Band Rotunda, once a common sight in country Australia. Its correct name is the DeSailly Rotunda and it was erected in memory of Councillor George DeSailly, an early Shire President. Erected in August 1914.



Civic Building the angular building on the corner is the Mildura Rural City Council Civic Building which was opened in 1958. Previously the site of the original Shire Hall or Mildura Town Hall, this building now houses many departments within council as well as the main Council Chambers.



William Chaffey Statue overlooking his old club stands William Chaffey, looking out into the future landscape of the city. The Chaffey brothers, George and William, established the irrigation industry which has dominated the region’s economy since the 1890s. W.B., as he was known, died in 1926 and this bronze statue, erected to his memory, was unveiled in 1929. The sculptor, Paul Montford, was also responsible for the statuary at the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance. A similar statue can be found in Renmark, South Australia. Such was W.B. Chaffey’s influence on the region.



Mildura Club the large building dominating the corner was completed by 1920, it is the home of the oldest club in Mildura which was established in 1888. Ionic pillars adorn the entrance and although minor changes have been made, the building still retains much of the flavour of its period. Inside the main bar you can see the punkah’s (Indian ceiling fans designed to circulate air) which are still used to this day. Once a staunchly men only club, it amended its constitution in 2018 to allow female members to join after a century of exclusion.



We then drove out to Psyche Pump Station was built in 1891 by the Chaffey brothers to meet the needs of the irrigation settlement. Water was pumped from the Murray River to Kings Billabong and then distributed throughout the area via a series of channels. The steam-powered pump was replaced in 1959 by an electric pump. The original pump house still stands at Psyche Bend, complete with the restored original pump, and is the oldest pump configuration of its type in the world.

Five years earlier, George Chaffey had selected Mildura as the site for an irrigation development because of its large tracts of Crown Land, climate, soil types and proximity to two major rivers, the Murray and Darling.

The need to raise water from the Murray to land approximately 28 metres above river level challenged George Chaffey to design his ‘billabong system’, which elevated water in four lifts by pumping water from the Murray River into Kings Billabong and then lifting water via a number of pumps. The system supplied an area of approximately 20,000 acres and was the first stage of a grand scheme to irrigate 100,000 acres around Mildura.

George Chaffey’s solution was to design a triple-expansion steam engine coupled to centrifugal pumps. Tangye’s of Birmingham, who manufactured the equipment, at first refused to build the engine and then only manufactured it under duress on the proviso that the name plate ‘Chaffey’s improved Pumping Engine made by Tangyes for Mildura Irrigation Colony’ was fixed to the engine. This was in case the engine failed and they were deemed liable.