McCaughey, Sir Samuel (1835-1919), a leading pastoralist (large-scale animal farmer) was one of the pioneers of irrigation in Australia. He established his own irrigation system in Yanco, southern New South Wales. This system led to the building of the Burrinjuck Reservoir and, later, to the development of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. McCaughey was also one of the early leaders of the wool industry. In addition, he was a philanthropist.
Samuel McCaughey was born on June 30 or July 1, 1835, near Ballymena, in County Antrim, Ireland. In 1856, he moved to Australia, where he worked as a farm laborer. In 1864, he bought Coonong, a station (ranch) of 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) in the Riverina district. Later, he bought other stations in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. In the late 1800’s, he became a millionaire, at one time owning about 10 million acres (4 million hectares) of land. McCaughey was knighted in 1905. During World War I (1914-1918), McCaughey purchased 20 warplanes for the Australian government. He died on July 25, 1919, and he willed nearly 2 billion pounds for education and other charitable purposes.
