
Super Experience
Learn about one of Sydney's historic water sources
Learn about one of Sydney's historic water sources
1.00
Rating

History
0.5
Hours
3
Times Run
#
34
Rank
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[{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[{"content":"Hey mate! Are you ready to learn about one of Sydney's historic water sources? Well, buckle up because we're headed back to the 19th century!\n\nBack in the day, providing a steady supply of fresh H2O for Sydney was a real challenge. The city had to rely on a variety of sources, including the Paddington Reservoir. This massive tank stored water from the Botany Swamps from 1859 to 1886, and then from the Upper Nepean from 1886 to 1889.\n\nThe Paddington Reservoir was built in two stages, with the western chamber completed in 1866 and the eastern chamber finished in 1877. Unfortunately, this reservoir didn't last long as it wasn't high enough and stopped operating in 1899. But fear not, Sydney-siders! The construction of the Centennial Park Reservoir soon sorted out their water woes.\n\nSo, there you have it – a quick history lesson on the Paddington Reservoir and its role in quenching Sydney's thirst. Cheers to that!","type":"text"},{"type":"img","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FUxXIsmySs1uNoZiV1bra%2FPXL_20221221_070729705.jpg?alt=media&token=8fd2adb0-d891-4dc8-beed-0a783a0d7b75"}],"location":{"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"longitude":151.22677695859832,"latitude":-33.88516976727989}},{"location":{"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.8851668711276,"longitude":151.22676588200548,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834},"media":[{"content":"It all started in 1788 when the first settlers arrived and set up camp around a stream of fresh water that flowed into Sydney Cove. This stream had long been a source of H2O for the Gadigal people, and the newcomers built small dams or tanks to increase water retention. It was eventually known as the Tank Stream.\n\nUnfortunately, the Tank Stream was polluted by European practices and was abandoned as a source of drinking water in the late 1820s. But don't worry, Sydney-siders, there were more sources on the horizon!\n\nNext up was the Lachlan Swamps and Busby's Bore. This involved building a series of reservoirs on the Lachlan Swamps (now part of Centennial Park's lakes) and an underground tunnel (later known as Busby's Bore) to transport the water to an outlet at Hyde Park.\n\nFinally, the city turned to the Botany Swamps for its water supply. The City Engineer, Edward Bell, designed the system, which included the Paddington Reservoir on South Head Road (later renamed Oxford Street) and the Crown Street Reservoir in Surry Hills. These reservoirs had capacities of 723,270 gallons and 3,500,000 gallons, respectively. The dams and pumping station at Botany and the Crown Street Reservoir were completed by 1860, and the Crown Street Reservoir is still in operation today.\n\nSo there you have it – a quick rundown of Sydney's water supply journey. Grab a cold drink and cheers to the city's thirst-quenching history!","type":"text"},{"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FUxXIsmySs1uNoZiV1bra%2FPXL_20221221_070732920.jpg?alt=media&token=c07fbf9b-0fee-400c-b654-238d4f08fbae","type":"img"}],"address":"251-255B Oxford St"},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"longitude":151.22675716482618,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.88516353114705}},{"media":[],"location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitude":151.2267497887514,"latitude":-33.88516241782018},"address":"251-255B Oxford St"},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitude":151.22673973046759,"latitude":-33.88516169246404}},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"latitude":-33.885160579137136,"longitude":151.22673570715406,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834}},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.88515890914676,"longitude":151.22673168384054,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834}},{"media":[],"location":{"latitude":-33.88515723915634,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitude":151.226724978318,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834},"address":"251-255B Oxford St"},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"longitude":151.2267135789297,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.885155012502416}},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","location":{"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.885153899175435,"longitude":151.22670083843687,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834},"media":[]},{"location":{"latitude":-33.88519731891718,"longitude":151.2269033452175,"longitudeDelta":0.13860712753255364,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421},"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[]},{"media":[],"address":"Paddington Reservoir Gardens","location":{"longitude":151.22689395748594,"longitudeDelta":0.13860712753255364,"latitude":-33.88532089806119,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421}},{"media":[],"location":{"latitude":-33.88539248542585,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitude":151.22683735994107,"longitudeDelta":0.13860712753255364},"address":"251-255B Oxford St"},{"media":[],"address":"251-255B Oxford St","location":{"latitude":-33.88537021894532,"longitude":151.22670392004258,"longitudeDelta":0.13860712753255364,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421}}]
Learn about one of Sydney's historic water sources
1.0
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History
0.5
Hours
3
TOURS COMPLETED
#
34
rank
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0 kms
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[{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[{"content":"Hey mate! Are you ready to learn about one of Sydney's historic water sources? Well, buckle up because we're headed back to the 19th century!\n\nBack in the day, providing a steady supply of fresh H2O for Sydney was a real challenge. The city had to rely on a variety of sources, including the Paddington Reservoir. This massive tank stored water from the Botany Swamps from 1859 to 1886, and then from the Upper Nepean from 1886 to 1889.\n\nThe Paddington Reservoir was built in two stages, with the western chamber completed in 1866 and the eastern chamber finished in 1877. Unfortunately, this reservoir didn't last long as it wasn't high enough and stopped operating in 1899. But fear not, Sydney-siders! The construction of the Centennial Park Reservoir soon sorted out their water woes.\n\nSo, there you have it – a quick history lesson on the Paddington Reservoir and its role in quenching Sydney's thirst. Cheers to that!","type":"text"},{"type":"img","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FUxXIsmySs1uNoZiV1bra%2FPXL_20221221_070729705.jpg?alt=media&token=8fd2adb0-d891-4dc8-beed-0a783a0d7b75"}],"location":{"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"longitude":151.22677695859832,"latitude":-33.88516976727989}},{"location":{"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.8851668711276,"longitude":151.22676588200548,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834},"media":[{"content":"It all started in 1788 when the first settlers arrived and set up camp around a stream of fresh water that flowed into Sydney Cove. This stream had long been a source of H2O for the Gadigal people, and the newcomers built small dams or tanks to increase water retention. It was eventually known as the Tank Stream.\n\nUnfortunately, the Tank Stream was polluted by European practices and was abandoned as a source of drinking water in the late 1820s. But don't worry, Sydney-siders, there were more sources on the horizon!\n\nNext up was the Lachlan Swamps and Busby's Bore. This involved building a series of reservoirs on the Lachlan Swamps (now part of Centennial Park's lakes) and an underground tunnel (later known as Busby's Bore) to transport the water to an outlet at Hyde Park.\n\nFinally, the city turned to the Botany Swamps for its water supply. The City Engineer, Edward Bell, designed the system, which included the Paddington Reservoir on South Head Road (later renamed Oxford Street) and the Crown Street Reservoir in Surry Hills. These reservoirs had capacities of 723,270 gallons and 3,500,000 gallons, respectively. The dams and pumping station at Botany and the Crown Street Reservoir were completed by 1860, and the Crown Street Reservoir is still in operation today.\n\nSo there you have it – a quick rundown of Sydney's water supply journey. Grab a cold drink and cheers to the city's thirst-quenching history!","type":"text"},{"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FUxXIsmySs1uNoZiV1bra%2FPXL_20221221_070732920.jpg?alt=media&token=c07fbf9b-0fee-400c-b654-238d4f08fbae","type":"img"}],"address":"251-255B Oxford St"},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"longitude":151.22675716482618,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.88516353114705}},{"media":[],"location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitude":151.2267497887514,"latitude":-33.88516241782018},"address":"251-255B Oxford St"},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitude":151.22673973046759,"latitude":-33.88516169246404}},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"latitude":-33.885160579137136,"longitude":151.22673570715406,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834}},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.88515890914676,"longitude":151.22673168384054,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834}},{"media":[],"location":{"latitude":-33.88515723915634,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitude":151.226724978318,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834},"address":"251-255B Oxford St"},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[],"location":{"longitude":151.2267135789297,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.885155012502416}},{"address":"251-255B Oxford St","location":{"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.885153899175435,"longitude":151.22670083843687,"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834},"media":[]},{"location":{"latitude":-33.88519731891718,"longitude":151.2269033452175,"longitudeDelta":0.13860712753255364,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421},"address":"251-255B Oxford St","media":[]},{"media":[],"address":"Paddington Reservoir Gardens","location":{"longitude":151.22689395748594,"longitudeDelta":0.13860712753255364,"latitude":-33.88532089806119,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421}},{"media":[],"location":{"latitude":-33.88539248542585,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"longitude":151.22683735994107,"longitudeDelta":0.13860712753255364},"address":"251-255B Oxford St"},{"media":[],"address":"251-255B Oxford St","location":{"latitude":-33.88537021894532,"longitude":151.22670392004258,"longitudeDelta":0.13860712753255364,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421}}]
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