The Chaffey Trail: A Walk Back In Time
A great way to discover the history of an area, is to explore the guided trails. The Chaffey Trail encompasses nine sites, including old historic buildings, locks and pumps on the Murray and other points of interest.
For those that are unfamiliar with the name Chaffey, here is a very brief overview. For more detailed information, I recommend visiting the website thechaffeytrail.com.au/
In 1887, the Chaffey brothers (George and William), came to Mildura from California. They had already had success with creating irrigation schemes in America, and were persuaded to implement the same thing in Mildura by the Victorian cabinet minister, Alfred Deakin.
The Chaffey trail explores the early history of changing this area from a hot dry dusty wasteland, into the beautiful lush landscape we have today. From the family home (Rio Vista) to the lifeblood of the town (massive steam driven pumps on the Murray river), the Chaffeys were instrumental in laying the foundations which enabled Mildura to thrive.
You can find all the points of the Chaffey Trail, on the Google Map linked below.
As I manage to visit and photograph each spot, I will add the information to the Chaffey Trail pages, links to those are below. So let's get started... if the idea of a trail doesn't appeal to you, then perhaps pick just one or two areas of interest. A number of them are in the same general area, and within easy walking distance of each other - the first three are all within less than a 1km area.