Orange-Tree Growing at Mildura, Site of …

Scarce, c.19th hand coloured engraved view of the early days of Mildura.

A major drought in Victoria from 1877 to 1884 prompted Alfred Deakin, then a minister in the State Government and chairman of a Royal Commission on water supply, to visit the irrigation areas of California. There he met George and William Chaffey. In 1886, Canadian-American irrigator George Chaffey came to Australia and selected a derelict sheep station known as Mildura as the site for his first irrigation settlement, signing an agreement with the Victorian government to spend at least £300,000 on permanent improvements at Mildura in the next twenty years. After much political wrangling, the settlement of Mildura was established in 1887. The Post Office opened on 23 January 1888.

From the original edition of The Graphic.

Collections:
State Library New South Wales: CALL NUMBERS TF00009
National Library Australia: Bib ID 2855507
State Library Victoria: Record ID 9910359523607636
Met Museum New York: Accession Number: 28.111.12
Royal Academy: Record number 14/3950