Carlo Catani, born in 1852 to a Florentine merchant family, was to qualify and was employed as a civil engineer in Italy prior to his Victorian migration in 1876. From the time of his arrival to his untimely death in 1918 he was fully devoted to the state-wide development of infrastructure and amenity. He wed Catherine Hanley and together they were to raise a family of six and despite his professional successes his family life was one of tragedy and grief.