Crown Street Reservoir facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Crown Street Reservoir
Covered reservoir (below ground) showing blue ventillation shaft - from Reservoir Street
Location	285 Crown Street, Surry Hills, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Built	1859
Owner	Sydney Water
New South Wales Heritage Register
Official name: Crown Street Reservoir & Site; WS 0034
Type	State heritage (built)
Designated	18 November 1999
Reference no.	1323
Type	Water Supply Reservoir/ Dam
Category	Utilities - Water
Builders	Donohoe and Vaughan
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

The Crown Street Reservoir is a very old and important reservoir in Surry Hills, Sydney. It's located at 285 Crown Street. It was built by Donohoe and Vaughan in 1859. This reservoir is also known as Crown Street Reservoir & Site or WS 0034. It is owned by Sydney Water, which is a government agency in New South Wales. The reservoir was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 November 1999 because of its special history and design.

How the Crown Street Reservoir Was Built

The Crown Street Reservoir (WS 34) was finished in 1859. It was built using special waterproof bricks. These bricks were brought all the way from England! The reservoir was part of an early water system called the Botany Swamps Scheme. This scheme provided water to Sydney from 1858 to 1886.

Water was pumped from the Botany Pumping Station to the Crown Street Reservoir. Later, it was also sent to the Paddington Reservoir (built in 1864). Today, the Crown Street Reservoir might be the oldest working reservoir in Australia. After 1888, the water supply changed to the Upper Nepean Scheme. Now, the Crown Street Reservoir gets water from both the Upper Nepean Scheme and Warragamba Dam. It's still a very important part of Sydney's water system.

What the Crown Street Reservoir Looks Like

The Crown Street Reservoir (WS 34) is a rectangular reservoir that is covered. It has brick walls around its edges. Part of it is dug into the ground, and part is raised up with earth around it. About 300,000 special waterproof bricks from England were used to build it.

On the side facing Riley Street, there's a modern brick building. This building is a valve house or entrance room. It has a concrete roof and base. The way the reservoir was built shows how clever the designers and builders were back then. It hasn't needed much repair over the years. It cost about A£14,929 to build originally.

The Crown Street Reservoir helped supply water to many other reservoirs over time. These included:

• Paddington Reservoir (1864, no longer used)
• Woollahra Reservoir (1880)
• Centennial Park Reservoir No. 1 (1899)
• Centennial Park Reservoir No. 2 (1925)
• Waverley Reservoir No. 1 (1887)
• Waverley Reservoir No. 2 (1917)
• Waverley Reservoir No. 3 (1938)

The land next to the reservoir has other buildings too. These include a pumping station (WPS 1) and old workshop buildings. The whole area is surrounded by a strong fence made of sandstone, brick, and wrought iron. The workshop building is two stories tall and made of red and white bricks. Its original roof has been changed, and it's not used anymore. The reservoir has been regularly maintained and repaired over the years.

Why the Crown Street Reservoir is Important

As of 2009, the Crown Street Reservoir (WS 34) was the oldest reservoir in New South Wales that was still being used. It played a key role in Sydney's water supply for a very long time. It was part of the Botany Swamps Scheme and later the Upper Nepean Scheme. Today, it still gets water from Warragamba Dam and supplies water to the Inner City. It has been doing this since 1859, which is over 140 years!

The way the reservoir was built shows the amazing skills of the designers and builders from that time. This makes the Crown Street Reservoir important for its history and its look. All covered reservoirs in the Sydney Water system are special because they were built differently. They help us understand how covered reservoirs developed in New South Wales.

The Crown Street Reservoir was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 November 1999 for several reasons:

Its Place in History

The Crown Street Reservoir (WS 34) is the oldest working reservoir in New South Wales. It was very important for the Botany Swamps Scheme (1858-1886) and the Upper Nepean Scheme (from 1886/1888). It has supplied water to the Inner City since 1859. This reservoir was also used alongside Busby's Bore from 1859 to 1888.

Its Design and Skill

The reservoir looks great and shows off the building skills and technical knowledge available in Australia in the 1850s. It even used cast-iron beams brought from England.

What We Can Learn From It

The Crown Street Reservoir is an early example of a special type of roof construction from the mid-1800s. It's the only reservoir in the Sydney Water system that has wooden columns. The special waterproof bricks from England are also unusual. The site might even have parts of the old 30-inch water pipe from the Botany Swamps, which was made in Scotland in the 1850s.

Its Rarity

This reservoir is one of a small group of covered reservoirs. Each one is unique in how it was built and designed. It's the earliest reservoir still in use and one of only four connected to the Botany Swamps water supply. It's also the only reservoir in the Sydney Water system with wooden columns.

What It Represents

The Crown Street Reservoir is a great example of the oldest type of fully built water reservoirs in New South Wales and Australia. You can tell them by their brick structure and arched brick roof. It's the oldest, has been used the longest, and is probably the most important of this group. The site also has a water pumping station from 1965, which shows the design and equipment used in other major pumping stations in Sydney during the 1960s.

Engineering Award

The reservoir received an Engineering Heritage National Marker from Engineers Australia. This is part of their program to recognize important engineering achievements.