Wandering Along the Murray

For the last few days we've been exploring the towns along the Murray and ended up in Gol Gol, just across the Murray from Mildura, for a few days.  Yesterday we completed the self-drive Chaffey Brothers Trail.  I hadn't realised that in the late 1800s Alfred Deakin was appointed by the Victorian parliament to visit America on an irrigation system fact finding mission. He met Canadian brothers George and William Benjamin (WB) Chaffey, who were developing an irrigation settlement in Ontario, California.  To cut a long story short, Deakin invited them to visit Victoria with the idea of creating an irrigation settlement on the Murray River.  They came, liked what they saw, stayed and created Mildura. The tour took in a number of places that were significant to their story.  We particularly enjoyed seeing a paddle-steamer come through one of the locks they built nearly 100 years ago.