George ChaffeyPrint Page 
Original claybrick domed well from `Quantin Binnah' homestead with inscribed plaque commemorates George Chaffey (1848 - 1932). When building a housing development in the 1970`s, Jennings Industries established the park and monument.
The park marks the site of Chaffey's homestead built in 1890 and where he lived to 1892. The homestead was burnt down in the 1920s.
George Chaffey was a Canadian–born engineer who with his brother William developed large parts of Southern California , including what became the community of Etiwanda and cities of Ontario, and Upland. They undertook similar developments in Australia which became the city of Mildura, and the town of Renmark and Paringa.
The Werribee Irrigation Trust and Investment Company was constituted as a private company in 1888, with the aim of establishing an irrigation colony. Primary movers were George Chaffey and the former Rev. E. C. De Garis. Water from the Werribee River was used to irrigate a declining acreage of 160 down to 64.5 acres of grain and fodder crops, vines and fruits, and pasture between 1891-95. The collapse of the land boom in 1890-91 lead to the demise of this farsighted venture. It was one of a number of irrigation trusts that collapsed during the 1890s depression.
Location
| Address: | Heaths Road, Riverbend Historical Park, Werribee, 3030 |
|---|---|
| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -37.880508 Long: 144.647654 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Industry |
| Approx. Event Start Date: | 1888 |
| Approx. Event End Date: | 1892 |
Dedication
Plaque :
Pioneer in irrigation George Chaffey 1848 - 1932 has strong claims to be ranked as one of the greatest of Victoria`s pioneers for his work in Mildura.
In 1888 he also helped pioneer the Werribee Irrigation & Investment Co, and irrigated 65 ha. of surrounding land before the land boom burst sending him back to Mildura in 1892.
By 1910 the Victorian State Government built the diversion weir in front of this park to irrigate the rich alluvial soils of South Werribee. Today the market gardens of Werribee are among the major providers of vegetables to the Melbourne markets.
