VOLUME 3

.ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

THE BOTANY ROCKDALE FARM

A CASE STUDY IN URBAN ARCHAEOLOGY

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COLLEEN A. CALLAGHAN 1991 CONTENTS

VOLUME 1 Page No.

SECTION 1 : CONSTRUCTING THE PAST 1

SECTION 2: SOCIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL CONTEXT 17

SECTION 3: IMPORTATION AND INDIGENISATION 4121

SECTION 4: EXPANSION AND OVERLOAD &121

SECTION 5: PARTITION AND DISAPPEARANCE 79

CONCLUSION 93

Bibl iogl"~aphy 11212

11217

** ** ** VOLUME 2

APPENDIX 1 : Lett el"~ - Stanley South

APPENDIX 2: 11121 Letter - Chal"~les E. Orsel"~, Jl"~.

APPENDIX w.":i'. 111 Lett el"~ - Anne Smal"~t Martin

APPENDIX 4: 112 Letter - Daniel G. Roberts

APPENDIX 5: 113 Letter - Kathleen A. Deagan

APPENDIX 6: 114 Letter & Enclosures - J.W. Addis

APPENDIX 7: 121 Letter & Enclosures - Harry Seraydarian

APPENDIX 8: 154 Letters forwarded - no replies received

APPENDIX 9: 155 Land Treatment etc. APPENDIX 10: 166"" City Dairies 1875

APPENDIX 11: 167 Rejected systems by SC&SS&H Board 1875

APPENDIX 12: 170 & disposal of night soil

VOLUME 3 * * **** *

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

Fig. 1 Map 1 Sydney sanitation prior to 1854

Fig. 2 Map 2 Sydney Sewerage Sydney 1857-1877

Fig .. 3 Construction of city sewers 1850s

Fig. 4 Oviform-shape brick sewer

Fig. 5 Map 3 Webb's Grant 1879

Fig. 6A Map 4 Botany Sewage Farm 1880-1896

Fig. 6 Inlet House Botany Sewage Farm

Fig. 7 Interior of Inlet House

Fig. 8 Outlet House & Main Carrier Botany Sewage Farm

Fig. 9 Transporting by locomotive

Fig.10 Vegetable Crops at Botany Sewage Farm

Fig.ll Workmen's Cottages at Botany Sewage Farm

Fig.12 Map 5 Western Suburbs Sewerage System 1888

Fig.13 Map 6 Botany-Rockdale Sewage Farm 1897-1916

Fig.14 Aqueduct Western Main Sewer

Fig.15 Rockdale Sewage Farm

Fig.15 A Biological Plant Rockdale Sewage Fat~m

Fig.16 Aerial photograph 1947 Botany Sewage Farm

5~ Fig.17 Map 7 Disposition of lands of Botany-Rockdale Sewage Farm 191&-1947

Fig.18 Aerial photograph 1950 Diversion of Cook's Ri ve1'~

Fig.19 Map 8 Expanded Kingsford Smith Aerodrome

Fig.20 Aerial photograph 197& Final extensions to Kingsford Smith Aerodrome

Fig.21 Archaeological remains of workmen's cottages

Fig.22 Map 9 Disposition of archaeological remains of the Botany-Rockdale Sewage Farm

Fig.23 Eve Street Wet lands

Fig.24 Chinese Market Gardens

Fig.25 Illustrated Sydney News May 7 1892 H.AR.BO U

.1 1 Early map showing poor state of sanitation in to the appointment of the Ci Commissioners in 1854. The Tank Stream north of Hunter Street was 11 an open stream. W'ater Board Journal Vol. 6 No. 2 1956 - nal in on of the Ci Council ) -MAP OF- CITY OF SYDNEY Shewing Combined Sewerag~ ~~ormwater?yslem a~1817 PORT ~ ~f===~ JACKSOK ~ ",~t-\~ (~A .~~~

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2 commenced the Ci Commissioners and continued in 1857 reinstated Council, showing at Blackwattle Darling Harbour, Circular Fort House> and Woolloomoolao (F. J. J. The Water of

ng at JrIRo!posrn AAlEA lblF' lAND FOR SEWAGE IfARM n819 5'>IHlE!\S [/REEK

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Fig.6 The ornately detailed exterior of the Inlet House at the Botany Sewge Farm. This bUilding housed the screening chambers, and other associated technological mechanisms, which were used to separate solid matter from the sewage. The doorway in the front of the bUilding was the only entrance, and acce$S to this was via the high grassed embankment covering the southern outfall sewer which discharged directly into screening chambers. (Archives Section. Sydney Water Board)

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Fig.8 Outlet House & main carrier. Sewage in the carrier was disposed by land filtration through and filtration beds, & the effluent flowed into Botany Bay & Cook's River. Inlet House on the north bank of the River is linked to the Farm via the railway bridge. Railway line & end-loading bogie wagon for transporting cattle onto Farm in middle left of picture. Treeplanting had commenced, as evidenced from white painted tree guards. (Archives Section. Sydney Water Board ), Fig.9 Sludge being deposited into a waiting skip from a chute in the side of the Inlet House. It would be taken by locomotive transport across the wooden bridge over Cook's River to the irrigation beds, where it would be manually dug into the ground as manure. This photograph also gives some indication of the flimsy nature of the construction of the railway bridge. (Archives Section. Sydney Water Board ), .10 ng in the irri on beds at the Botany Sewage Farm. Some idea of the magnitude of the work involved in cleari and levelling the ground for cultivation , can be ned from the hilly nature of the uncleared land in the . The raised bank in the left is the main carrier from the Outlet House. The stakes in the beds are i trees, and a case row of trees has been as a windbreak, al the line of stakes to the ri of the Unfortunately the does not clearly delineate the ri furrow method of irri ion that was being used in unction with the of intermittent downward fi tration. Sub- drain would have under these beds the Secti I(a .'./ .._....-­

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Fig.l1 Cottages built for the labourers at the Sewage Farm in 1898, facing Lady Robinson's beach at Botany Bay. They have since been demolished, and the only remaining structure is the corner of the most southern cottage - far left - which stands amid natural revegetation beside General Holmes Drive. (Archives Section. Sydney Water Board ). __ SKETCH PLAN

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~SEWERACE. SYSTEM TOR THE WESTERN SUBURBS \ HIAG - .sCALE 2 M I LE$ TO ON E INCH

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.1,1 ...- NOTE. THIS SK£TCH 16 6V"/"l-II.O u ~ THL C;0",,.LLTION OF THI! LITI'fOG"""HI.O 'O,.,•• ..~ 0' THI. OIHI.,."L "LA" "'''D ...ClT' .....

REFERENCES .

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aOTANY C;.H.STAYTO N. M.INIT'. C.t:. JAHlIHI.

Fig.12 Map 5 George H. Stayton' s sketch, showing the magnitude of the sewerage scheme for the Western Suburbs, and the intended outfall for the scheme on a small area of resumed land adjacent to the Botany Sewage Farm. (Votes & Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly 1887-8 Vol. 5 ). }B01fANyjJROCIKIIDAllL SICWA~1E Y'SYWEY IrMtMJ ]89)1' -]9~6

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View of Rockdale Farm from Marsh Street Arncliffe, The covered ma n carrier extends the Farm lands toward the which in the far stance, The railway li i to the main carrier, The LIsh to the left, now the ocation Golf Course, were Itivated with i trate from I iter, chamber in of the ump of trees, some of which have survived, The Wet lands are behi (Archi on Board Fig. 15A Biological Filtration Plant, based on British system of purification of sewage by anaerobes, introduced by Scott-}t[oncrieff in 1892. Installed at Rockdale Sewage Farm between July 1900 - June 1901 (Archives Section. Sydney Water B~ard). Fig.16 1947 aerial photograph prior to extensions to Mascot Airport seen in foreground of picture. The site of the Botany Sewage Farm was the peninsula of land on the opposite side of Cook's River. The Inlet and Outlet Houses are discernible on either side of the River upstream from the bridge. Behind the outfall sewer at River outlet is the clump of surviving M:oreton Bay Fig trees. The mill pond & engine pond from the Botany Swamps water supply system are on the far side of the River (Archives Section Sydney Water Board ), JDUSPOSll1fllOfN or ILAtNrDS B[lLOlNG IUN~ uO IlHllE lfOlRtMllE lR. !Eh {D1l'AIN)j' IR(P([K\DlAJLIE SlEWA(f;]E ]fARM ~9~6 - ~947 51l-H[!\S

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IBAY diversion of Cook' River for extensions to nning of new outlet for River i & Outlet have gone. Toward the end of the wer line sand i l,p crop marks from be di i I

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Fig. 21 Archaeological remains of workmen's cottages at Botany-Rockdale Sewage Farm, built around 1898 at Lady Robinson's beach facing Botany Bay. Now situated on narrow strip of land between General Holmes Drive and Kingsford Smith Airport, just past Endeavour Bridge. (Personal collection. C. Callaghan). AiR([IHlAlEOlLOCllCCAl lR[MA~tNS Of lrlHllE \BOTANY/ROQ]}\\l}#\\L[. S[wAG[ \f#\RtMl ABOV[ ([mrud (po$$t~lhl~~ ~\ROUIN[D IN

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200_ .23 Eve Street \rletlands with suburb of Arncliffe in the distance. Relic of larger swamp lands, once a useless portion of Rockdale Farm. The Farm railway ran along the embankment at upper ri . Pine trees were anted in the 1890s to improve the farm's appearance. The buildi near the embankment could contain archaeol cal evidence of the screening chamber at the Rockdale end of the it is now owned by Rockdale Council. (OUTLOOK Wa ter Board), Fig. 24 Chinese market gardens 1991, beside Muddy Creek to left of picture. Continuous occupation since 1892, on low-lying land at extreme southern perimeter of former Rockdale Sewage Farm. International Airport Terminal in distance, behind central pole. (Personal collection. C. Callaghan). 10 THE ILLUSTRATED SYDNEY NEWS.

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SKETCIIES OF THE SOL'l'HERX SYD~EY SEWERAGE SYSTE~I.--(lJv nur SI',ciul Arti.t.)

I. "I tT IlOt'''II. AT "0"... ·"1 RI\ "'H, \\ ITn '-n'w A' """-IIl nl\"p:a T') C1l"TI.Y.T lIlIlS¥:. 2. JSTJ-:RIOU 01' ISLF:l' Ilnl'S1-:. SHOWlsn 8!:'RF.Y.SI:-;O ArJ'AltATl'S 3. SASH JlA,(IS, WITH ISI.IIT WKI.L,AT END or ..\ "ttll:'\. l. III f1 ... r II'II""I!-: U' HV\\",IIy' ""UM, .\:'\11 HBUlt,to: l)"YOU "1')01('8 an'YoR. 5, C'.\URIJ.:R ACIiIOM Mt:W.\(,J!: YARW, I.OOKJNIt TUW"RII! Ol'TI.F..T HOUSE. 6. t,":J'tJtUTJ:-'H SLClri,K I UIl\! 'lrIlA"t~N"I 0;'1< TUR M:W.\ltt: fJ.S:U, ;. ·.t::-'Y.RAI. \"IF,\\" OF FAn\! I"R01l ISr.t"T nor~K.. 8. WBOUGHT 11\0:\ AQCKVCCT 4('ROM SHF.....·S ('REEK FLJ.T-}>ABT OY )tA('llO~4LDTOWS .\SD 4LF.UNlIRU. 8lU.Nlll SEWEll.

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