Charles Robert Scrivener: The surveyor who sited Australia’s national capital twice

Description

This well-illustrated biography celebrates the achievements of ‘Charley’ Scrivener 1855–1923 – drawing upon his official reports, maps and family letters.  The result is insight into suburban expansion of Victorian-era Sydney, rural closer settlement of the Riverina, and choice of Australia’s national capital.  

Loaned to the Commonwealth government to survey prospects of an ‘alpine’ federal capital, Scrivener recommended Snowy River water and hydroelectricity to Dalgety, gazetted 15 August 1904, but NSW objections led to his later demarcation of a territorial boundary and city site for ‘Yass–Canberra’ 1909.