The Eyes of the Engineer
From the CD "WEST"
 

A tribute to the life of Charles Yelverton O’Connor, WA’s first chief engineer who designed Fremantle Harbour. He didn’t live to see the value of his achievements but  his statue on the wharf still surveys the scene.

Looking out over the harbour
There’s a statue thinking in bronze
One of the far- sighted ones with a vision clear

And he’s gazing at life in the harbour
The extent of his enterprise
Watching the world through the eyes of the engineer

And he’s taking in the speed of the progress
The transport and trade there has been
The ships that have coloured the scene over all these years

And it’s all a result of his labours
Though they slandered and criticized
He looked to the future through the eyes of the engineer

And the work was so hard when they blasted the bar
But the critics proved harder to move
There was so much more to be shifted on shore
Before things could begin to improve

And we’ve taken the harbour for granted
But we soon came to realise
The strength of the vision in the eyes of the engineer

And he’s welcomed all the new arrivals
New countries new stories new themes
Suitcases filled up with dreams to be planted here

And he’s so much a part of this story
Just a statue standing serene
Still surveying the scene through the eyes of the engineer
He looked to the future through the eyes of the engineer