William Chaffey

[1] The brothers had bought land and water-rights at a low price and resold 10 acre (4 ha) blocks to settlers; a non-profit mutual irrigation company distributed water.

[1] Alfred Deakin, then a minister in the Victorian government and chairman of a royal commission on water supply, visited the irrigation areas of California in 1885 where he met George and William Chaffey.

[1] George Chaffey visited Victoria in February 1886 and excited by the prospects for irrigation in the Murray River valley, cabled William to sell their interests in California.

Charles, whose home "Olivewood" still stands in Renmark, also returned to America before settling in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The residents of Mildura presented Chaffey with a Ford motor car in December 1911 in appreciation of the "ability and determination" shown by him in "aiding the development of the area and in proving conclusively the value of irrigated horticulture".