The tank stream
The Tank Stream ran through the centre of Sydney. Its name came from deep storage tanks that were cut into its sandstone base near the corner of Hunter and Spring streets in 1790.
Fresh water for drinking, washing and manufacturing was vital to the town. The lumberyard – with its saw pits, tool shop and blacksmiths forges – was handily located beside the Tank Stream, as were various small businesses making soap, candles, earthenware, leather and shoes. Governor Macquarie attempted to suppress ‘slaughterhouses, tanneries, dying houses, breweries and distilleries’ along the stream’s banks to reduce pollution, but many still flourished there in the 1820s.
By the time the Tank Stream was polluted and running dry. Gangs of convicts, directed by engineer John Busby, were assigned to dig a tunnel through the sandstone from Hyde Park to Lachlan Swamp (Centennial Park) to bring a more reliable supply of water. It took ten years, from 1827 to 1837 to finish Busby’s Bore due to the intense effort required to dig through sandstone and because Busby had trouble keeping his underground gangs on task. The men preferred to earn cash by digging wells for citizens of the town.
The Tank Stream still runs today in culverts under the city’s pavements and streets.
Fresh water for drinking, washing and manufacturing was vital to the town. The lumberyard – with its saw pits, tool shop and blacksmiths forges – was handily located beside the Tank Stream, as were various small businesses making soap, candles, earthenware, leather and shoes. Governor Macquarie attempted to suppress ‘slaughterhouses, tanneries, dying houses, breweries and distilleries’ along the stream’s banks to reduce pollution, but many still flourished there in the 1820s.
By the time the Tank Stream was polluted and running dry. Gangs of convicts, directed by engineer John Busby, were assigned to dig a tunnel through the sandstone from Hyde Park to Lachlan Swamp (Centennial Park) to bring a more reliable supply of water. It took ten years, from 1827 to 1837 to finish Busby’s Bore due to the intense effort required to dig through sandstone and because Busby had trouble keeping his underground gangs on task. The men preferred to earn cash by digging wells for citizens of the town.
The Tank Stream still runs today in culverts under the city’s pavements and streets.