Carlo Giorgio Domenico Enrico Catani (22 April 1852 – 20 July 1918) was a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

who, for the majority of his career, worked in Australia for the

Victorian State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

. He was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and gained a civil engineering diploma at the Technical Institute there. After working in railway construction, he migrated to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1876, but left for

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

almost immediately. Within a few weeks, he joined the Victorian Department of Crown Lands and Survey as a draughtsman. In 1882, he transferred to the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

, and became head of his section in 1892. Catani oversaw many civil engineering projects, including: *the draining of the

Koo-Wee-Rup Koo Wee Rup () is a town and satellite suburb in Victoria, Australia, 63 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district and located within the Shire of Cardinia local government area. Originally marshland, the area has since been ...

swamp *the widening and improvement of the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower st ...

upstream from

Princes Bridge Princes Bridge, originally Prince's Bridge,, ''...he wished that it might be distinguished by the name of "Prince's Bridge," in honour of the Prince of Wales, whom he hoped would yet be the Sovereign of their colonies...'' is a bridge in centra ...

, Alexandra Avenue and the laying out and planting of the Alexandra Gardens *the making of roads to Arthurs Seat and to Mount Donna Buang *the construction of the Elwood Canal *the construction of

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

levees in the Strathmerton district *the construction of Lake Catani on

Mount Buffalo Mount Buffalo is a mountain plateau of the Australian Alps and is within the Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, Australia. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is noted for its dramatic scenery. The summit of the h ...

*the reclamation and the layout of the St Kilda foreshore.

Personal life

In May 1886, Catani married 26-year-old Cathrine Hanley, the daughter of a Belfast (Port Fairy) farmer. The couple had three daughters and three sons, one of whom was killed in action in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was naturalised on 15 March 1892.

Legacy

The township of Catani, Victoria, Lake Catani at Mount Buffalo, and Catani Gardens in the suburb of St. Kilda, are named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catani, Carlo 1852 births 1918 deaths Engineers from Melbourne Australian civil engineers Engineers from Florence Italian civil engineers Italian expatriates in Australia