Carlo Catani

Carlo Giorgio Domenico Enrico Catani was a civil engineer who, for the majority of his career, worked in Australia for the Victorian State Government.
He was born in Florence, Italy, and gained a civil engineering diploma at the Technical Institute there. After working in railway construction, he migrated to New Zealand in 1876, but left for Melbourne 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, and became head of his section in 1892.
Catani oversaw many civil engineering projects, including:

the draining of the Koo-Wee-Rup swamp
the widening and improvement of the Yarra River upstream from Princes Bridge, 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 levees in the Strathmerton district
the construction of Lake Catani on Mount Buffalo
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. He was naturalised on 15 March 1892.

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