Botany Water Reserve

Item details


Name of item:	Botany Water Reserve
Other name/s:	Botany Swamps,Mills Stream (1850s) Bridge Pond (1960s) No.1 and No.2 Dams
Type of item:	Landscape
Group/Collection:	Landscape - Cultural
Category:	Historic Landscape
Location:	Lat: 33º 55 to 33º 58 Long: 151º 10 to 151º 15
Primary address:	Southern Cross Drive, Wentworth Avenue and Heffron Road, Botany, Pagewood, Eastlakes and Kensington, NSW
Local govt. area:	Bayside

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
LOT	1	DP	1039418
LOT	2	DP	1039418
LOT	1	DP	1039419
LOT	2	DP	1039419
LOT	1	DP	241650
LOT	2473	DP	752015
LOT	2825	DP	752015
LOT	5	DP	780391
LOT	6	DP	780391
LOT	1	DP	780392
LOT	2	DP	854374
LOT	13	DP	87663
LOT	4	DP	87663

Boundary:

UBD Edition33 Maps 275 and 276. The physical and operational curtilage is defined by the land that is owned by SWC and shown in the map attached to this listing.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Southern Cross Drive, Wentworth Avenue and Heffron Road	Botany, Pagewood, Eastlakes and Kensington	Bayside			Primary Address
Foreshore Road, Botany and General Holmes Dr, Wentworth Ave,Gardeners Road	Botany, Pagewood, Eastlakes and Kensington	Bayside			Alternate Address

Statement of significance:


	The place holds considerable value for Sydney and NSW because it contains the only remaining major components - substantial layout and other important physical evidence from the 1850s through to the 1870s - of the unique water supply system that supported the expansion of the Sydney metropolis for most of the latter half of the 19th century, representing Sydney's third main water supply system since colonisation; and on account of the surviving remnants of the early 19th century industries associated with the prominent emancipist merchant Simeon Lord. The site includes land which, in 1855, was the subject of the first resumptions for the purpose of a water supply system by a government in Australia. Part of the original 1850s sand-cast iron water supply pipe remains within the site representing a remnant of the State's oldest main. This extant remnant of the water supply system also has high collective value as important evidence likewise remains of the two principal Sydney water supply systems (Tank Stream and Busby's Bore) that predated the Botany system along with those superseding it (Upper Canal and regional dam systems). The open space areas encompassed by the item include two regionally rare and distinct remnant vegetation communities known as Sydney Freshwater Wetlands and Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub that are both potentially of State significance and are the subject of separate listings as an Endangered Ecological Community under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The wetlands also have recognised regional ecological value as native animal habitat and movement corridors, and may include animal species of conservation significance. The item is of regional environmental importance as a major recharge source for the Sydney basin aquifer. It likely holds special interest as a landmark cultural and recreational landscape for the regional community. It also has regional importance on account of the substantial infrastructure it contains of the 1910s Southern and Western Suburbs Ocean Outfall Sewer System (SWSOOS No 1) - since augmented during 1936-1941 by SWSOOS No 2 - representing one of the first major separate sewers in Sydney as well as incorporating new ventilation technologies. This infrastructure includes use of the former Engine House chimney as a sewer vent, the viaduct to carry the vent pipe, Sewage Pumping Station No 38 of 1916 near the Engine House ruins and part of the SWSOOS Nos 1 and 2 mains. The overall SWSOOS network remains Sydney's largest sewer system. The physical and operational curtilage is defined by the land that is owned by SWC and shown in the map attached to this listing.
	Date significance updated: 25 Oct 01
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	City Engineers Edward Bell (1856 - 1871) & Francis Bell (No relation 1871 -1878)
Builder/Maker:	Convicts for Simeon Lord (1815)
Construction years:	1815-1870
Physical description:	This item is comprised of an extensive tract of open space/parkland, with 58 ha of wetlands, including Sydney Airport, The Australian Golf Course, Lakes Golf Course, Eastlakes Golf Course, Bonnie Doon Golf Course and Mutch Park. Other areas of wetlands in the vicinity are substantially smaller in extent - the Eve Street wetlands, Arncliffe (south of Kogarah Golf Club) and the chain of ponds in Sir Joseph Banks Park, Botany. Important surviving elements of non-indigenous heritage include remnants of the water supply Engine House and chimney (late 1850s) (no longer owned by Sydney Water); spillway/weir, remnants of the Engine and Mill Ponds; the sequence of ponds between the Mill Pond and Gardeners Road; 1915 Sewer Pumphouse; twin sewer syphons and easements; partial evidence of old Cooks River edge (evident through comparing early and recent aerial photography; 1869 plantings of Norfolk Island Pines (Araucaria heterophylla), Moreton Bay Fig Trees (Ficus macrophylla) and Port Jackson Fig Trees (Ficus rubiginosa). Given the period, important government institutional use and the choice of tree species there is strong circumstantial evidence for the involvement of Charles Moore - Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens (1848-1896) in advising on these plantings. Canary Island Date Palms (Phoenix canariensis) also survive near the Engine Pond and may be remnants - or progeny - of 1910s plantings associated with the reuse of the site for the main southern sewer system. There is likewise strong circumstantial evidence for the involvement of Joseph Henry Maiden - Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens (1896-1924) in recommending the choice of these plantings. A comparison of current aerial photographs and the Sydney Water Commission's 1869 topographic plan of the Lachlan Swamp from No 6 Dam to Botany Bay shows that there is a substantial degree of correlation between the layouts of many of the dams. Despite the bisection of the Engine Pond by Southern Cross Drive, it is still possible to appreciate the basic outline of the earlier pond. A similar observation holds for the former Bridge Pond as the present Mill Pond and the western half of the 'New Pond' retain the earlier basic form. The embankment separating the Mill and New Ponds preserves part of the alignment of the old Sydney-Botany road (shown on the 1869 SWC plan) with its tollhouse site just south of the embankment. (Archaeological evidence of the former tollhouse may still exist.) The present Nos 1 and 2 Ponds closely reflect the earlier form of the 1869 No 1 Pond while most of the present Nos 3a, 3 and 4/5 Ponds almost exactly retain the earlier form of the 1869 Nos 2, 3, 4 and 5 Ponds respectively. The northern part of the old No 6 Pond has been filled. Generally, the present wetland layout retains a close indication of the original 1860s dam forms. Earlier pond formations existed some decades before, and were absorbed into, this system however surviving evidence is difficult to discern from both (non-intrusive) site inspections and an analysis of aerial photography. Archaeological investigations - if ever required - may reveal evidence of these early 19th century structures. A 'Plan of the Botany & Lachlan Watersheds' signed by Francis Bell in June, 1875 shows that the Lachlan Water Supply (Centennial Park) links with the Botany Pond system as does the area of land containing the present Australian Golf Course. Several remnant areas of the famous and now rare Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (still featuring the trademark Grass Trees [Xanthorrhoea resinosa]) as well as various communities of reed and sedgeland species are represented within the open space boundaries. Other important indigenous vegetation vestiges include areas of Paperbark swamp featuring Melaleuca quinquenervia, marshland and wet heath and large areas of the aquatic herb Ludwigia.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Major elements (the sequence of ponds) of Sydney's third main water supply system are substantially intact. Particular elements of the system - its architectural and planted elements - are only partially intact. Generally good
	Date condition updated:26 Jun 00
Modifications and dates:	Although the pre-European wetland ecosystem was modified during the 1860s and 1870s pond construction, there has been only limited major modification - mainly for the expansion of the airport and construction of new arterial roadways - since then. Major elements (the sequence of ponds) of Sydney's third main water supply system are substantially intact. Particular elements of the system - its architectural and planted elements - are only partially intact. Yet the little that remains of these are particularly poignant and serve as important local landmarks.


Current use:	Wetland
Former use:	Water Supply

History

Historical notes:

Following European colonisation the first substantial interventions in the area occurred in 1815 when the enterprising merchant Simeon Lord had a dam constructed to the west of the present Botany Road for the purpose of establishing the colony's first woollen mill. A second dam was constructed near the present Engine House ruins for a flour mill (refer to 1869 Water Commission Plan). This mill continued operating until about 1847 while the textile factory was closed by about 1856.

From 13 July, 1855 the City Council began resuming land around, and including, the Botany wetlands for the city's main water supply scheme - the first time land resumptions were made for this purpose. (The land was transferred to the Water Board in 1888.) Of this land about 75 acres of Lord's estate was resumed which included his house (demolished in the 1930s though the site of which is in the vicinity of the present heliport), the mill sites, various cottages and the earthworks associated with Lord's mill dams.

The initial water supply scheme of the mid-1850s, by the City Engineer WB Rider, was abandoned with the appointment of Edward Bell to the position. The surviving Engine House and chimney date from the implementation, in the late 1850s, of Bell's scheme while the stone retaining walls for the Engine Pond and outlet sluice probably date from the 1870s work on the Engine Pond augmentation. Between 1866 and the mid-1870s six dams were constructed, and reconstructed for various reasons, from the Mill Pond to Gardeners Road using piling of sheet timber facing filled with sand forming a core of a turfed bank. In 1859 a 30" sand-cast iron main was completed between the Engine House and the Crown Street reservoir. The pipes were made in Scotland in 1856 and machined with such remarkably fine tolerance that, of the total length of 4 miles (6.4 km), the outside diameter varied by only 6mm and allowed the pipes to be laid without jointing material. Part of this easement coincides with the present study area in the vicinity of the Engine House.

Drawing on a 1982 thesis of Margaret Simpson, the Thorp et al study indicates that about 80 trees - "Norfolk Pines, Morton Bay Figs, Weeping Figs, Sweet Scented Pines and Stone Pines" - were planted along the access road from Botany and elsewhere on the site in 1869. Works for the augmentation of water storage at Botany continued throughout the 1870s including the addition of water stored in the Bunnerong Dam (1876-1877) by way of a pipe to the No 4 Pond. The then Bunnerong Road was moved and ran along the top of this dam wall.

By the early 1880s the Upper Nepean Scheme was well underway and in November 1886 the Nepean-supplied water effectively ended the general supply of Sydney's water from the Botany system. Even intermittent emergency use of the system ceased by 1893 so that the Engine House machinery was finally decommissioned with pumping equipment and boilers sold at auction in 1896. In 1894 various local industrial uses - such as wool scourers and tanners - were permitted to return to the wetland vicinity through leases until 1947.

While these major improvement programs for Sydney's water supply were being put into place it also became clear - chiefly from an increasingly polluted harbour - that substantial works were needed to deal with the sewage of Sydney and its immediate suburbs. After the Board of Water Supply and Sewerage was formed in 1888 the basis of what is presently Sydney's largest sewerage system was commenced. As part of its responsibilities the new Board assumed control of various recent works of the Public Works Department, one of which was the first of the new sewer mains from the City to the Botany Sewage Farm established about 1886. Another main was added in 1898 which linked various western suburbs to the Sewage Farm. However by the turn of the century the usefulness of the Farm was fast diminishing such that the southern and western sewerage systems were amalgamated and extended, from 1909, to a new ocean outfall at Malabar while the much expanded Botany Sewage Farm was closed. This work - known as the Southern and Western Sewer Ocean Outfall System or, usually, SWSOOS No 1 - was completed in 1916 under the direction of Chief Engineer EM de Burgh.

Further growth of Sydney's suburbs and resultant extensions to this sewerage network necessitated an augmentation of the system, by duplication known as SWSOOS No 2, during 1936 to 1941. Both mains were required to cross the Cooks River by inverted syphons. The current SWSOOS network represents Sydney's largest sewerage system and envelops mains that were constructed from the 1880s through the 1890s, 1900s, 1910s to 1940s. Other individually significant components of the SWSOOS network that occur in the vicinity of the present site include the twin major inverted syphons and syphonic overflows (now under Sydney Airport)(part of ID No SW 33?) and the 1896 sewer vent at West Botany Street, Arncliffe (ID No SW 31 - SHI 4571725).

Within the site the existing enginehouse chimney was retired for water supply use in 1888, left unused for 28 years then, after being shortened, re-used as a vent in 1916 as part of the work for the new SWSOOS. Various buildings, associated with the new sewerage system, were added to the west. During the 1940s the chimney was further truncated to its present height along with the diversion of the mouth of the Cooks River into Botany Bay and substantial filling of the Engine and Mill Ponds as part of a major expansion and upgrade of airport facilities. From the 1970s a greater appreciation of the special historical and environmental values of the place was apparent through the commissioning of a range of studies to record and assess its significance. However further incursions continued with the 1988 construction of Southern Cross Drive through the middle of the Engine Pond, reclamation by the DMR and more recent works associated with the pre-Olympics upgrade of the airport.

In 1928 construction of a clubhouse near Gardeners Road was commenced for the Lakes Golf Club with the course - to the west and north of the chain of ponds - opening in 1930. About 1960 the Eastlakes Golf Club was established with an 18-hole course on the eastern and southern side of the ponds. The neighbouring course to the northeast, the Australian Golf Club, was established in 1904 and in the same year it was host for the first Australian open golf title which was won by Michael Scott. Both the Lakes and Australian golf courses have been consistently ranked in the top five golf courses in New South Wales for many years.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Convict-Activities relating to incarceration, transport, reform, accommodation and working during the convict period in NSW (1788-1850) - does not include activities associated with the conviction of persons in NSW that are unrelated to the imperial 'convict system': use the theme of Law & Order for such activities	(none)-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	(none)-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Health-Activities associated with preparing and providing medical assistance and/or promoting or maintaining the well being of humans	(none)-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Technology-Activities and processes associated with the knowledge or use of mechanical arts and applied sciences	(none)-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	(none)-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Land tenure-Activities and processes for identifying forms of ownership and occupancy of land and water, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal	(none)-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Utilities-Activities associated with the provision of services, especially on a communal basis	Building settlements, towns and cities-National Theme 4
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Sport-Activities associated with organised recreational and health promotional activities	(none)-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Events-Activities and processes that mark the consequences of natural and cultural occurences	(none)-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The item contains substantial remnants of structures and layout from Sydney's third main water supply system which supported the growth of Australia's largest city for most of the latter half of the 19th century. The 1850s water supply pipeline represents the oldest main in the State. The site contains important components of Sydney's main southern sewerage system from the 1910s and 1930s to 1940s supporting the expansion and consolidation of inner Sydney from the late 19th century to the present. It also demonstrates the growth in demand for golf courses throughout the 20th century with the establishment of four separate courses including the Australian (est. 1904) and the Lakes Golf Course (est. 1928) - two of the State's oldest and most highly regarded. The place also has strong and direct associations with prominent individuals - including Colonial entrepreneur Simeon Lord; the naval officer, surveyor and pastoralist Thomas Woore; City Engineers WB Rider, Edward Bell and Francis Bell; and Board engineers including EM de Burgh. Passing, though telling, early European references to the former landscape character of the area were made by many noted travellers including Captain James Cook in 1770 and Francois Peron in 1802. As surviving elements of Sydney's third main water supply system it is rare if not unique. As a modified/remnant wetland system it is representative of a once extensive vegetation community that included sites from Jewells Swamp, near Lake Macquarie to Coomaditchy Lagoon south of Sydney, yet as remnant sites within the Sydney Basin are now only of a small size and are threatened with extinction the wetlands should be considered rare. Similarly the areas of Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub are rare - of their total estimated area at the beginning of European colonisation less than 1% remains. SWSOOS is rare as the largest of Sydney's sewerage networks. Although the pre-European wetland ecosystem was modified during the 1860s and 1870s pond construction, there has been only limited major modification - mainly for the expansion of the airport and construction of new arterial roadways - since then. Major elements (the sequence of ponds) of Sydney's third main water supply system are substantially intact. Particular elements of the system - its architectural and planted elements - are only partially intact. Yet the little that remains of these are particularly poignant and serve as important local landmarks.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The site represents a substantial tract of greenspace with important landscape attributes - extensive areas of water, wetlands, plantings, archaeological features, dunes, remnant indigenous vegetation and fauna - providing notable scenery and, remarkably, within 6 km of the Sydney CBD.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	The large tract of open space is probably highly valued as a local or even regional asset while the uses associated with the various golf courses would likely guarantee a special interest in the wetlands landscape by patrons. The ruinous water supply structures and remnant 1869 plantings along with the 1915 sewerage Pump House are well appreciated features and function as important cultural references within the parkland associated with the remnant Engine Pond.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	The place is of importance for its archaeological research potential pertaining to the early 19th century use of the wetlands for industry, Sydney's third main water supply system and aspects of Sydney's sewerage provision. Direct evidence of the construction of the original Lord dam walls, his house and outbuildings or other structures, other industrial structures and the former Sydney- Botany Tollhouse may still remain under the later fill. The wetlands are of well recognised ecological value (flora/fauna [including benthos, zooplankton, macroinvertebrates and amphibians] habitat and corridor) and environmental value (major Sydney basin aquifer recharge).
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	As surviving elements of Sydney's third main water supply system it is rare.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	As a modified wetland system it is representative.
Integrity/Intactness:	Major elements (the sequence of ponds) of Sydney’s third main water supply system are substantially intact.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:

Manage the place and its significant components in accordance with the Heritage Council State Owned Heritage Asset Management Guidelines and the Minimum Standards of Maintenance and Repair in the NSW Heritage Regulations. Manage significant site elements in accordance with a Conservation Management Plan (CMP). If no CMP exists, consult with Asset Management Commercial Services with respect to commissioning a CMP. When commissioning a CMP, do so in accordance with the Model Brief for CMPs available on ConnectNet. Seek endorsement of the CMP from the Heritage Council of NSW. Works undertaken in accordance with a Heritage Council-endorsed CMP do not require further approval under the NSW Heritage Act. Involve heritage professionals as required under the terms of the CMP, or as otherwise determined necessary. Review CMP every 5 years or in a major change of circumstances, whichever is sooner. Review of a CMP should only be undertaken following consultation with Asset Management Commercial Services . When commissioning a CMP review, do so in accordance with the Model Brief for CMPs available on ConnectNet. Where no CMP is in place, or where works are outside the scope of the existing CMP, assess heritage impacts of proposed works in accordance with Sydney Water Environment Impact Assessment guidelines (e.g. undertake a Heritage Assessment and/or Statement of Heritage Impact as required, obtain Heritage Council approval as required). Consult with the Heritage Manager, Environment and Innovation, when major works are planned which affect items of State heritage significance. Undertake archival and photographic recording before major changes, in accordance with Heritage Council guidelines. Lodge copies of the archival record with the Sydney Water Archives and the NSW Heritage Office. Where the item is listed in a Local Environmental Plan Schedule of Heritage items, determine if works are exempt from approval under the LEP provisions. Where works are not exempt, obtain necessary approvals from the local council, in accordance with SWC EIA Guidelines.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register	Sydney Water Heritage Register		30 Jun 02

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Sydney Water Heritage Study	1996	000640	Graham Brooks and Associates Pty Ltd	GRAHAM BROOKS AND ASSOCIATES PTY LTD	Yes

References, internet links & images

None

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	State Government
Database number:	4570025
File number:	000640

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