Rio Vista House and Mildura Art Gallery

Visited Rio Vista house today. It was built in 1889 for William Benjamin Chaffey, one of two bros from America. The Chaffey's came to Mildura and applied for 250,000 acres of land because they had a plan but the authorities at the time, were very dubious of 2 cranky Yanks who had planned to set up an irrigation system to pump water from the Murray. Those 2 pumps, which today remain the oldest of its kind in the world. When things went bad due to drought, the older brother returned to America. In 1889 Williams wife Hattie died of Pneumonia shortly after the birth of their sixth child. The child died soon after. Whilst on one of his many trips to America, He married his first wife's niece Hattie and brought her back to Rio Vista to live and had six more children. Following the drowning death of one of the children in 1897 the fountain was removed and now stands in Deakin Avenue. The on in the photo is a replica installed for Centenary celebrations in 1991.Read more