Charles Yelverton O'Connor, (11 January 1843 – 10 March 1902), was an Irish engineer who is best known for his work in Western Australia, especially the construction of Fremantle Harbour, thought to be impossible, and the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme.
Early life
O'Connor was born in Gravelmount House, a small country house in Castletown Kilpatrick, a parish located between Kells and Ardee in the north of County Meath in Ireland. 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 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 under Edward Dobson. His first task was the construction of the Otira Gorge section of the road over Arthur's Pass, so that the gold fields 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.
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 Western Australia. His wife and children relocated with him to Australia. There he was responsible for the construction of Fremantle Harbour and the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme project, which supplied water to the Eastern Goldfields. He was the inaugural Engineer in Chief of the Public Works Department.
Fremantle Harbour
The construction of Fremantle Harbour 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 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). At age 54, O'Connor travelled to London 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 Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, also known as the Goldfields Pipeline. The pipeline carries water from Perth to Kalgoorlie. A succession of gold rushes in the Yilgarn region near Southern Cross 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 a bill 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 on the Helena River near Mundaring Weir 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 Mundaring Weir 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 Western Australian Parliament 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.