Tank Stream

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The Tank Stream is a fresh water course which empties into Sydney Cove in New South Wales, Australia. Today it is little more than a storm water drain but originally it was the fresh water supply for the fledgling colony of New South Wales in the late 18th century. It originated from a swamp to the west of present day Hyde Park and at high tide entered Sydney Cove at the intersection of Bridge and Pitt Streets. The catchment was 65 hectares (161 acres), corresponding roughly the size of the Sydney central business district.

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[edit] History

Excavations around Tank Stream have uncovered aboriginal flake stone artifacts made from water-worn pebbles.[1] The stream gave the aborigines fresh water, fish and other resources.[citation needed] The area was chosen by First Fleet Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788 as the location for the New South Wales colony for similar reasons.

The colony had originally been planned by Captain James Cook for Botany Bay, but when no fresh water was found this led Phillip to seek a better site in Port Jackson. Sydney Cove was chosen for settlement as it "was at the head of the cove, near the run of fresh water which stole silently along through a very thick wood".[2] On January 26, 1788 the new colony was inaugurated.

During a drought in 1790 three storage tanks were constructed in the sandstone beside the Tank Stream and it is from these that the stream gets its name.[3] The Tank Stream could not meet the needs of the growing colony. It was abandoned in 1826, though it had been little more than an open sewer for the preceding two decades.[citation needed] Sydney's next supply of water was Busby's Bore, in 1830.

In 1850 the swamp feeding the Tank Stream was drained. Starting in 1860, the Tank Stream was progressively covered and is now a storm water channel which is controlled by Sydney Water. Recently there have been calls from some to see it run above ground again to create a central feature in the city.[4]

[edit] Tourism

Tank Stream tours are run by the Historic Houses Trust and Sydney Water. These are usually in April and November. The tickets are limited, doled by ballot. There's an information centre behind locked gates at the beginning of the tour. One can also trace the previous stream course following art work, street names, and pub names.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ http://s4.battleknight.co.uk/index.php?loc=hire&ref=ODg2Mzc3[[1]] Sydney (NSW) - Aboriginal sites (CBD): Tank Stream
  2. ^ David Collins, Account of the English Colony of New South Wales, 1802
  3. ^ The Tank Stream. City of Sydney. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  4. ^ Cameron, Deborah. "Tank Stream dreaming", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2007-11-14. 
  • The Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage of Sydney, W.V.Aird, 1961.

[edit] External links