Botany Water Reserves

On 29 April 1770 Captain James Cook made his first landfall in Australia at Botany Bay. The botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, and his Swedish assistant, Daniel Solander from Cook's ship , spent several days ashore collecting vast numbers of previously unknown plants. Cook was in two minds about a suitable name for the Bay – his journal first refers to it as Stingray's Harbour, then as Botanist Bay, then both were crossed out and the present Botany Bay inserted, no doubt because of Banks and Solander's work. Since its name comes from the Bay on which it stands, Botany can well claim to have the oldest English place name in Australia. In the early 2000s the practice precinct was renovated as part of a plan to improve course facilities for practice, and to have the course fit with the natural contours and appearance of the sandy dunes and lakes that dominate its site. This included extensive disturbance of the practice precinct area. In 2005 a new club house was built and this resulted in removal of the tennis courts. The practice precinct and some of the driving range tee was bulldozed to remove the tennis courts and then construct the practice chipping area. From 2007–09 the entire Lakes Golf Course underwent a comprehensive renovation which included extensive construction works to the south-western section of the practice precinct area. This involved use of a bulldozer and other construction equipment to construct the 10th tees and the area in front of them. This included the small ridge between the driving range tee and the front of the current 10th hole tees. == Description ==

This item consists of an extensive tract of open space/parkland, with of wetlands, including Sydney Airport, The Australian Golf Course, Lakes Golf Course, Eastlakes Golf Course, Bonnie Doon Golf Course, Astrolabe Park, 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. As at 21 May 2004, 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. 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. == Heritage listing ==

Botany Water Reserve 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.- 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. Botany Water Reserves was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 November 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. 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. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. 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. The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. 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. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. 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). The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. As surviving elements of Sydney's third main water supply system it is rare. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. As a modified wetland system it is representative. == See also ==