Posthumous tributes to Carlo

Carlo was a man admired by many people throughout Victoria and there were numerous tributes paid to him when he was alive and you can read some of them here. The tributes did not stop after his death on July 20, 1918, and this post records some of them. 

Mr Catani had a long and distinguished career in the Public Works Department as an engineer of high attainments. To his energy and enthusiasm the development of many of the popular mountain tourist resorts and beauty spots of Victoria are due, notably Mount Buffalo. He also took a keen interest in the welfare of the people in the back-blocks, and the residents of Dargo and South and East Gippsland will always remember the sympathetic manner in which he supported their requirements.
Gippsland Mercury, July 23, 1918, see here. Obituary of Carlo.

He was highly esteemed and a clever engineer, who took great interest in public improvements.
Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 24, 1918, see here. Obituary of Carlo.

Mr. Catani was a member of the St. Kilda Foreshore Committee, and the magnificent decorative work that has been effected along the frontage must be ascribed to his exceptional skill as an engineer, and one well versed in the art of beautification and landscape gardening. Always courteous and unassuming, the deceased gentleman was extremely popular in public and private life, and by his kindly disposition he had formed very many life long friendships.
Prahran Chronicle, July 27, 1918, see here. Obituary of Carlo.

At the Avon Shire Council meeting on Monday, Cr. Riggall feelingly referred to the death of the late Mr. Catani, who had shown much sympathy towards people living out-back. They all recognised the worth of Mr. Catani, who was unfortunate to lose a son in the war. He had, with the Avon Shire councillors, attended the opening of the Dargo road, and on many occasions had shown sympathy with the Dargo people. He (Cr. Riggall) moved that the council express its regret at the death of Mr. Catani, and that a letter of condolence be forwarded to his family. In seconding the motion, which was
unanimously carried, Cr. Carter stated that it was on his motion that a motion had been passed expressing appreciation of Mr. Catani's services on his retirement from the Public Works Department. Since he had entered the council he had been acquainted with the deceased, who was universally respected. He had proved a good officer, his sympathies always being with the settlers who laboured under disabilities.

Gippsland Times, August 1, 1918, see here.

Cr. Barnett said they could not get away from the fact that Mr. Catani overworked himself. He was an enthusiast who evoked enthusiasm. He was a practical man but there was poetry in all that he did.
(Cr. Love) had to admit that Mr. Catani had beautified St. Kilda until it was the envy of the Commonwealth.
Prahran Telegraph, August 3, 1918, see here. References to Carlo Catani at the St Kilda Council meeting held July 29, 1918. 

The beauty of the foreshore will ever remain as a bouquet to the memory of a good man who loved his art, and who was, at the time of his death perhaps the finest landscape gardener in Australia, though he was of such high standing as an engineer and surveyor.
The Prahran Telegraph, October 11,  1919, see here. Article about St Kilda Foreshore improvements.

This work was carried out under the immediate supervision of Carlo Catani whose work in the improvements of the River Yarra are a lasting monument to his memory.
Daily Commercial News and Shipping List, September 13, 1922, see here. Report of an address, by Gerald Wilkinson Mitchell,  to the Institute of Engineers in Sydney, referring to the Anderson Street Bridge. 

And satisfied with a first view of Buffalo as a tourists' home and pleasure place, one should turn a thought to the man who largely created it, and whose enthusiasms were never chilled by red tape or routine - the late Mr. Catani. The mountain lake has been named in his honour, but the whole place is the memorial of the kindly, lovable, Italian gentleman who was, above all things the man of vision and of action.
The Argus, December 2, 1922,  see here. The Crest Of Buffalo by Donald MacDonald. 

I have mentioned Lake Catani, another memorial to the man of vision who did so much for the conquest of the Buffalo to the everlasting gain of tourists and view finders, not to mention the merry skaters, who find there alone in the heart of winter a hit of Norway or Switzerland artificially created for their benefit.
The Argus, December 9, 1922, see here. Mountain of Silver Blue by Donald McDonald. 

Skating on Lake Catani. 

Photographer: Rose Stereograph Co. State Library of Victoria Image H93.456/27

The dream of the late Mr. Catani, the landscape engineer with a vision of beauty, will then become a reality.

Prahran Telegraph, December 15, 1922, see here  Article about St Kilda Foreshore improvements.

Our foreshore should be made into a dream of beauty. This was the vision of the late Mr. Catani, who realized vividly that our coast from Port Melbourne to Portsea with small outlay and artistic direction could be made to rival the famed Riviera.
The Herald, November 24, 1925, see here. Article about St Kilda Foreshore improvements.

Mr. Catani's work, however, included much more for which the citizens of Melbourne owe him gratitude especially as the work they know best was done as a labour of love and not as part of his official duties.....It will be admitted by the suburban municipalities that it was the work done by him that gave the lead to the movement that has resulted in the establishment of beauty spots throughout the metropolitan area.
The Argus, January 4, 1926, see here. Beautifying Melbourne: our debt to Mr Catani, maker of playgrounds.

[Sale] At the recent council meeting the Mayor (Cr. T. M. Cullinan) reported that some tourists had been chopping the willow trees that were growing on the river banks in the reserve, which, he said, was a scandalous thing. It was on the suggestion of the late Mr. Catani that the willow trees and couch grass were planted on the river bank to prevent erosion. For sentimental reasons the vandalism was to be deplored for Mr. Catani was the greatest man the Public Works department ever had.

Bairnsdale Advertiser, January 29, 1926, see here. 

Mr. Catani, for many years an engineer in the service of the Public Works Department, was the originator of the masterly and beauteous ornamentation scenes that now adorn the St. Kilda foreshore. The greater part of it, indeed, was completed under his personal supervision, and, day by day as time goes on, Nature is doing its part in adding to the glory of the resplendent effects produced. In other parts of the State, too, Mr. Catani originated and carried out engineering works of skill that stamps him as a man of exceptional ability vision and judgment. What he achieved during his career will for ever prove valuable assets to the State. By reason of the great work he did for St. Kilda, the people of that city will always hold the name of Mr. Catani in respectful reverence.
Prahran Telegraph, June 11, 1926, see here. Article on a proposed memorial for Carlo.

Mr. Catani, one of the best engineers the Victorian Government has employed. 
Sunshine Advocate, August 21, 1926, see here. Report of a speech of Cr George McKay, Braybrook Shire.  

The river would present no difficulties to navigation in America, for the great scheme of that man of  vision, Mr. Catani, would have been long adopted, and four locks above the Johnston Street Bridge would have overcome the trifling difficulties of Dight's Falls and the rapids. This name of Mr. Catani stands out in the history of the metropolis as a man of imagination and foresight. He saw the possibilities of the city waterway, and of the Yarra Valley to which it led, in all its loveliness. He planned a boulevard to Heidelberg, and the sections now constructed from Alphington to Heidelberg are part of his plan. This did not stop with roads, however. He visioned a great waterway for pleasure craft for the length of the river, so that craft could sail from the hot city to the cool valley of Heidelberg. He proposed the acquirement of small parks and picnic grounds at intervals, so that travellers could be refreshed before they turned for home. That was in 1909....

The Herald, November 27 1926, see here. Report of a speech by S. Tuxen of the Town Planning Commission. ‘

Above Dight's Falls I see in prospect the fulfilment of Catani’s dream of a noble lake, set in park lands.
The Herald, November 12,  1927, see here. Article by the  Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Stephen Morell. 

I took part with him in starting the St.Kilda Foreshore Trust. I did the legal, literary, and financial part of the job and he, a landscape genius, if there ever was one, the engineering work, together with the beautification. What a man! His monuments are everywhere - at Buffalo, the Alexandra Gardens, St.Kilda, Donna Buang. As place-maker to the municipalities he is responsible for much beautification they subsequently put in hand. His reclamation work at Koo-wee-rup and at Carrum has added wealth to our country. He saw possibilities to which others were blind. It is well that his works are his memorials.
The Herald, February 4, 1928, see here.  Fifty Years In Public Life by H.O. Allen. 

The late Mr. Catani had been a public servant of long vision, and the beauty of the St. Kilda foreshore to-day was largely due to his efforts.
Prahran Telegraph, February 15, 1929, see here.  

… the poetical charm of the Italian Renaissance style may be regarded as being expressive of the virile life of this great man and his aesthetic aspiration.
The Building: the magazine for the architect, builder, property owner and merchant, Vol. 46 No. 276 (12 August 1930), see here.  Catani Memorial Tower: a review of the Competitive Designs. 

The excellent work that is often done without flourish of trumpets by public servants was again stressed when recently a memorial tablet was unveiled at Mount Buffalo to "Carlo Catani, Chief Engineer of Public Works, 1910-1917." The Minister for Public Works said that probably to no other individual was so much credit due for the opening up and development of such tourist resorts as Mount Buffalo, the Grampians, Mt. Donna Buang and the War burton, Healesville and Marysville districts.

The Australian Worker, November 12, 1930, see here. 

Mr. Catani possessed constructive imagination, and if he was apt to underestimate the cost of some of his schemes, he had the vision of a true civic idealist.
The Age, December 31, 1931, see here. Article on the Yarra Boulevard. 

More than 25 years ago it was dreamed by a great Victorian, Carlo Catani, Engineer for Public Works, whose public service today is a tradition and behind whose engineering brain lay the perceptions of a great artist.
The Herald, September 4, 1937, see here. Article on the Yarra Boulevard. 

Alexandra Avenue, whose shadowed and dappled beauty…must stand, while the City of Melbourne endures, as a lasting monument to the genius, foresight, and pertinacity of Carlo Catani.
The Argus, November 13,  1937, see here. Great Thoroughfares of the World.  

Catani has a gift for beautifying. He was one of those individuals who could dream of wonderful schemes and then apply the realism necessary to put them into effect. He was a small and wiry man with unparalleled enthusiasm for his work.
The Age, May 17, 1947, see here.  Article on Carlo, Ettore Checchi and Guido Baracchi.

Acknowledgement: I found some of these tributes by trawling through the newspapers on Trove, however I got many of them from my fellow Carlo researcher, Isaac Hermann. Thank you again, Isaac.

Tributes to Carlo

Carlo Catani was the subject of many compliments and tributes when he was alive  here are some of them.Of course, many were bestowed on him posthumously, and you can read these here.

The promotion of Mr. C. Catani, of the Public Works department, to the position of engineer in charge of harbors and rivers, as well as roads and bridges, has been approved by the Governor in Council. Formerly Mr. Catani occupied the position of assistant engineer in the harbors and rivers branch. The harbors and roads branches were previously in charge of two distinct officers, but are now amalgamated under Mr. Catani, who is also entrusted with the carrying out of reclamation works. The latter duty has been discharged by him for some time past to the entire satisfaction of the Commissioner of Public Works who, together with the inspector-general, speak in the highest terms of Mr. Catani's ability and zeal.

The Age, November 24, 1892, see here.

Mr. Catani, who as a landscape designer has few equals...

Yarragon Settlement News, June 25, 1908, see here. Referring to design by Carlo for the Warragul Park. 

Only those who have had some experience in such work fully realise the difficulties involved in landscape gardening ; in fact, it is a profession by itself, and Councillors after pondering over the problem wisely decided that it would be prudent to consult Signor Catani, who has already achieved a high reputation in landscape gardening; as the result of the splendid scenic effects which he has designed and carried out on the St Kilda road and the Alexandra avenue. It was Signor Catani who very kindly designed the Warragul park and with that artistic instinct, which is such a prominent characteristic in his own countrymen, he would naturally feel a personal interest in the ornamentation of the pleasure grounds which have been partially laid out according to his design.

West Gippsland Gazette, June 22, 1909, see here. Referring to design by Carlo for the Warragul Park. 

Mr. Catani, to whose genius and untiring efforts the completion of the work is mainly due.
Traralgon Record October 23, 1908, see here. Referring to the Mount Buffalo road. 

Acting on the suggestion of the Bright Shire Council, the Victorian Government has decided that the picturesque lake on the top of Mount Buffalo shall be named Lake Catani. This is considered to be a well-deserved recognition of the work done by Mr. Catani, chief engineer of the Public Works department, in connection with the opening up of Mount Buffalo as a tourist resort. The construction of the lake was suggested and carried out by Mr. Catani. All through the season it has been full to overflowing and has proved a great addition to the attractions of the district, being popular with visitors both for bathing and boating. It has been stocked with rainbow trout. In the winter the lake will be frozen over, and, with additions, that Mr. Catani has proposed, an area of 10 acres of shallow water for skating will be provided.

Border Morning Mail, January 27, 1911, see here. 

Mr Catani's sense of floral beauty would be also of advantage in beautifying the place.
Williamstown Chronicle, March 25, 1911, see here. Proposed work to reclaim and beautify the Williamstown foreshore

Their best thanks was due to Mr Catani, who was the brain box of the Public Works Department, and one of the most conscientious and ablest officers in the employ of the State.
Snowy River Mail, February 15, 1912, see here. Carlo and the Treasurer, Hon. W.A. Watt and Hon. James Cameron were visiting East Gippsland and this is part of  a report of a dinner at the Commonwealth Hotel in Orbost.

 Orbost in 1915 - this is how Orbost would have looked when Carlo and the 

Ministerial party visited only three years before.

In February 1912, Carlo Catani and a Ministerial party including the Treasurer, Hon. W.A. Watt, the Minister for Public Works, W.L. Baillieu and the Hon. James Cameron, visited East Gipplsand, including the town of Orbost. 

Image: Photographer: S. Vogt Studio. Museums Victoria https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/773010

There exists no engineering problem to vex Mr Catani's soul for an instant.

Geelong Advertiser, June 6, 1913, see here. Need for improvement to the Barwon River.

When a jaded Minister of State goes touring in Victoria, he tries by hook or by crook to get Carlo Catani, Engineer of the Public Works Department, assigned to him as official guide and mentor. Carlo Catani is a most interesting companion on a long train or motor trip and in the bush. Incidentally he uses his conversational prestige to push forward his beneficient schemes for the making of beauty spots, good roads, new harbors and what not; in fact, he is the life and soul of the Public Works Department in Victoria, and his engineering feats have been applied with equal success to stubborn nature in the wilderness and in the Cabinet. He has done, much to make the Melbourne to Heidelberg Yarra drive an assured proposition, and in that achievement his gifts of planning and persuasion were exercised with, the best effect.
Table Talk, September 11, 1913, see here.

Mr Catani enthuses with all the poetry of the idealist, if there was one work he would go heart and soul into it was the work of beautification, as after all money-making did not satisfy the desires of human nature. 
Mount Alexander Mail, January 28, 1914, see here.  Plan to create  a lake  for recreation at Happy Valley, near Castlemaine. 

Mr. Catani, the departmental landscape beauty expert.  
Bendigo Independent, June 2, 1914, see here. Regarding the beautification of the Vaughan/Glenluce Springs area.

In response to a request for the laying out of a croquet lawn in the reserve, for the amusement of lady enthusiasts in the pleasant, game, the Borough Council has requested Mr. Catani - an accepted authority on all matters of the kind - to work the croquet ground into his scheme for the better-laying out of the area.
The Horsham Times, July 14, 1914, see here. Clearly, Councils thought there was no end to Carlo's talents.

None doubted the ability of Mr Catani, who by sheer merit had risen to the top of his profession: he knew no one in Victoria who had a higher standing professionally than Mr Catani.
Geelong Advertiser, August 12, 1914, see here. Barwon River Improvement League meeting, Hon. H.F. Richardson, M.L.C quoted.

Here is a most unique personality whom the State will remember, because each year as it passes will help to perfect his artistic work.
Ovens and Murray Advertiser  April 7, 1915, see here. This is the same article where they talked about how gets his suits made, see here.

To transform it by means of a magic wand would be foolish, and yet we make bold to say that when the scheme of beautification has finally been effected, it will look so beautiful, so perfect, serene, and so exquisitely full of "Catani ideas," that the world at large will be loth to disbelieve that the magicians wand hadn't been at work after all!
Prahran Chronicle, April 15, 1916, see here. Referring to the St Kilda foreshore. 

 He has not contented himself with designing and superintending utilitarian works but has been largely responsible for beautification schemes which have won widespread admiration....It is doubtful whether Victoria has ever had a more conscientious or industrious public officer, or one who so completely and patriotically identified himself with the advancement of the State. 

The Herald, February 15, 1917, see here. A look back at Carlo's life in his retirement.

Praise was showered on ....the handiwork of Mr Catani, chief engineer of the Public Works Department, the result of whose artistic genius the foreshore now presents such a fine ornamental picture. 
Malvern Standard, March 17, 1917, see here. Visit of Government officials and local councillors to view the St Kilda foreshore improvements.

Mr. Catani is about the only man who ever galvanised the Victorian Works Department into anything in the form of aesthetic life. Probably he was able to do so much with the slow-moving civil servants around him because he was blessed with unusual vigor himself, and could paint a rosy scheme in treble languages. He was about the best story-teller the department ever had, so that, in addition to losing an able engineer, the service is parting with a pleasant social light.
Table Talk May 3, 1917, see here. Referring to Carlo's retirement.


Acknowledgement: I found most of these tributes by trawling through the newspapers on Trove, however I got a few of them from my fellow Carlo researcher, Isaac Hermann. Thank you again, Isaac.

Mr Catani eulogised

This interesting report of a meeting of the St Kilda Council, from the Malvern Standard of May 26, 1917 is, as the headline suggests, a eulogy to Carlo, who had just retired from the Public Service.  What we learn, inter alia, is that his work on the St Kilda foreshore was admired, that he had retained his juvenility notwithstanding the great work he had done throughout the State - that's a bit of an old fashioned way to say young at heart (or I think it is, anyway). We also find out that he had no interest in becoming the Mayor of St Kilda and that in 1879 it was his duty to plan out the Lower Esplanade. 1879 - only three years after he arrived in Victoria. Carlo also reveals that he could not see how any objections could he raised to the taking of sand for the work of beautification because the foreshores were just as much public property as the sun that shined to give us warmth. Apparently, not everyone agreed with that view and yes, it is hard for me to write that not everyone thinks he is perfect, but there you go. Finally, another thing we learn about Carlo is that he made reference to indecorum on the beaches, saying that while police efforts were put forward to put down soothsayers, so firm steps should also be taken to stamp out the indecorum referred to. Interesting that he equates indecorum on beaches with soothsayers, clearly he didn't approve of them as well.

You can read the article on Trove, here, and it is transcribed, below.

St Kilda Esplanade, 1875. Artist: Elizabeth Parsons. 

This is only four years before Carlo said he started his work on planning out the lower Esplanade in St Kilda; this view must be almost as he had seen it for the first time.

State Library of Victoria Image H36676/17

MR. CATANI EULOGISED.
At the meeting of the St Kilda Council on Monday evening Mr. C. Catani, who recently resigned from the Public Works Department, was present by invitation. Another visitor was Mr. R. G. McCutcheon, M.LA.

The Mayor (Cr. Barnet) said it was the desire of the council to express appreciation of Mr. Catani's services not only to St Kilda, but the whole of the State. Mr. Catani had had a great deal to do in making Elwood what it was, and it was his mind that had also brought the beautification work along the foreshore generally. They all admired the great work he had done. It was admired not only by citizens of St. Kilda, Victoria, and from other parts of the Commonwealth, but from other parts of the world. From early morning till late at night Mr. Catani had given his time to beautifying the foreshore. It would ever stand as a monument to his handiwork. For 41 years he had been connected with the Public Works Department, and during that time he had been associated with important works in other parts of the State. It was well to know that Mr. Catani would continue to act as a member of the St. Kilda Foreshore Committee. They all hoped that Mr. Catani would live long to continue the good work he had only commenced. They were proud of Mr. Catani, and were deeply appreciative of what he had done for St. Kilda.

Other councillors also added their quota of praise of Mr. Catani.

Cr. Love said Mr. Catani still retained his juvenility notwithstanding the great work he had done throughout the State. He looked forward to the time when Mr. Catani might possibly occupy the position Cr. Barnet occupied that evening as Mayor (Mr Catani smiled, and shook his head in the negative). Mr. Catani's fine work of beautification would stand as a monument to his memory.

Cr. Hewison spoke of Mr. Catani's strong individuality, which, he said, no doubt was the cause of his having such marked influence over his fellow members of the foreshore committee.

Cr. Sculthorpe said he would have liked to have seen more of Mr. Catani's handiwork at Elwood. Crs. Hart, Allen, Hughes and Pittard added their eulogies of Mr. Catani's work.

Mr. McCutcheon said he was extremely sorry that Mr. Catani had resigned from the public service. He had given magnificent service to the State, and during his long career in the Public Service he had gained the good-will and esteem of all with whom he had come in contact.

A summer day on the Beach at Elwood  - it looks about the 1930s. 
I cannot see any indecorum going on there, nor any soothsaying for that matter, but perhaps that type of behaviour only happened in St Kilda, not Elwood.

State Library of Victoria Image H32492/1216

Mr. Catani, in rising to respond, was received with applause. He said that he really did not feel worthy of all the kind things said of him, but he would not be human if he were not deeply appreciative of the kind sentiments expressed. It was because of private reasons (Mr. Catani said) that he had resigned from the Public Service. Becoming reminiscent, Mr. Catani gave some interesting particulars of the early days of St. Kilda, and said that it was in the year 1879 that it was his duty to plan out the Lower Esplanade. Even at that period he was inspired with the great possibilities that were in store for the Esplanade. Making reference to the sand question. Mr. Catani said he could not see how any objections could be raised to the taking of sand for the work of beautification. He hoped to see a foreshore drive from Port Melbourne to Sorrento. What had already been done was only a decoy duck. The Brighton Council say they want their beach left as it is, but the whole of the foreshores were just as much public property as the sun that shined to give us warmth. In conclusion, Mr. Catani made reference to indecorum on the beaches, saying that while police efforts were put forward to put down soothsayers, so firm steps should also be taken to stamp out the indecorum referred to (Applause.)

Mr. Catani was subsequently chief guest in the mayoral parlor.

A tribute to Carlo - What a man!

In The Herald of February 4, 1928 Mr H. O Allan* looked back on his 51 years in the Lands Department in the Victorian Public Service. As The Herald described the article  - Mr H. O. Allan, who has just retired from the position of Under Secretary of the Lands Department, after half a century of service, has in this special article recalled for readers of The Herald some of the many stories, mostly gay, with which his memory is stored. Yes, it was indeed described thus, and is a perfect example of how our language had changed over the years. However, the important piece of his recollections for us is his tribute to our friend, Carlo Catani.

The Herald  February 4, 1928

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243902653

I cannot end this short article without paying  a tribute to the late Carlo Catani. I took part with him in starting the St Kilda Foreshore Trust. I did the legal, literary and finance part of the job and he, a landscape genius if ever there was one, the engineering work together with the beautification. What a man! His monuments are everywhere - at Buffalo, Alexandra Gardens, St Kilda, Donna Buang. As pace-maker to the municipalities he is responsible for much beautification  they subsequently put in hand. His reclamation work at Koo Wee Rup and at Carrum have added wealth to the country. He saw possibilities to which others were blind. It is well that his works are his memorials. No others has been proposed by his fellow citizens, who have honored less worthy men.

*Mr H. O. Allan was Henry Octavius Allan, the son of  John McMahon Allan and  Caroline Farrell (sometimes listed as O'Farrell). He was born in 1862 in Warrnambool. He died in St Kilda  on July 10, 1930. He was cremated at the 'new Melbourne General Cemetery at Fawkner' according to an obituary in The Argus.