Lewisham Sewage Aqueduct is a heritage-listed sewage aqueduct in Gadigal Reserve, adjacent to 5 Grosvenor Crescent, Summer Hill,

Inner West Council Inner West Council is a local government area located in the inner western region of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council makes up the eastern part of this wider region, and was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger o ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was designed by Sewerage Construction Branch and

Department of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

and built in 1900. The property is owned by

Sydney Water Sydney Water, formally, Sydney Water Corporation, is a New South Wales Government owned statutory corporation that provides potable drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Greater Metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and the B ...

. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 18 November 1999.

History

The

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

sewage aqueduct was completed in 1900. The aqueduct was constructed for the Dobroyd Branch of the Southern and Western Suburbs Ocean Outfall Sewer.SWSOOS no.1 The aqueduct was designed and built by the Sewerage Branch of the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

.Contract No. 135 The design work was completed by March 1897. The engineer-in-chief of this department was Joseph Davis. The Dobroyd Branch is a sub-branch of the Main Northern Branch of SWSOOS, which services the areas of

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

, Petersham, Ashfield, Burwood,

Drummoyne Drummoyne is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Drummoyne is six kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative center for the local government area of the City of ...

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A ...

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

and

Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Municipali ...

. The Dobroyd Branch contract extended from the junction of The Boulevard/Hunter Street, Lewisham northwest to the

Parramatta Road Parramatta Road is the major historical east-west artery of metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, connecting the Sydney CBD with Parramatta. It is the easternmost part of the Great Western Highway. Since the 1990s its role has been a ...

. The aqueduct carries sewerage from Dobroyd Point, Haberfield and parts of Ashfield. Part of this contract was let during 1897. By mid-1898 the piers for the aqueduct had been erected and the steel plates delivered. The Branch was completed by mid 1900 and transferred to the Water Board. The aqueduct was designed to carry sewage over Long Cove Creek stormwater channel near the Lewisham railway viaduct. The design provided for an aqueduct with six spans (two spans of ) and four spans of ). The sewer carrier is an oviform steel plate pipe by supported on mass concrete piers faced in worked sandstone blocks. The dimension of these piers varies. The tallestPier 2 is approximately with a base by . The steel carrier rests on two fixed rocker supports on the central pierPier 3 with sliding rocker supports on the other four piers and at the abutments. The abutments were designed as stone faced. Within the embankment are a series (four each side) of mass concrete arches of approximately span. The contract drawings also indicate the carrier elsewhere within the embankment is concrete encased. The use of an oviform section for the carrier is to maintain a self cleansing velocity at low flows. Whilst common in sewer construction, it is not considered to be a requirement for metal carriers. The Lewisham Sewage Aqueduct (1900) is one of six sewage aqueducts in

completed in the period 1895–1901. Others include the reinforced concrete "Monier" arches at Whites Creek and Johnstons Creek (

White's Creek Aqueduct White's Creek Aqueduct is a heritage-listed sewage aqueduct at Piper Street, Lilyfield, Inner West Council, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by engineer William Julius Baltzer of the New South Wales Public Works Department a ...

, 1897), the mass concrete/brick arches and iron pipe at

Wolli Creek Wolli Creek () is an urban watercourse of the Cooks River catchment located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Wolli Creek rises south of Narwee, within Beverly Hills Park, Beverly Hills, and ...

and

Cooks River The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-eastern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The course of the long urban waterway has been altered to accommodate various deve ...

( Wolli Creek Aqueduct, 1895), and the Mosman Bay steel arch (1901).

Description

The Lewisham sewage aqueduct comprises two principal elements - the metal oviform carrier, supported on concrete

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

faced in

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

rusticated blocks, with worked decorative bases and capitals. The carrier sections (the Public Works reports consistently give the material as steel) are riveted. The carrier is connected to the pier by two rocker plates and metal

lattice Lattice may refer to: Arts and design * Latticework, an ornamental criss-crossed framework, an arrangement of crossing laths or other thin strips of material * Lattice (music), an organized grid model of pitch ratios * Lattice (pastry), an orna ...

supports. All of this appears original. The east and west ends of the carrier terminate within an abutment faced in worked sandstone. The Lewisham sewage aqueduct is situated within a wide, shallow valley north of the main western railway line, which is similarly carried over the valley by embankment and viaduct. Between Piers 2 and 3 of the aqueduct is a brick and concrete rendered stormwater channel (c.1899). These three elements of late nineteenth and early twentieth century public infrastructure in close proximity evoke an interesting industrial archaeological scene. The sewer carrier continues to serve as an integral link in the sewerage of the local area and is part of SWOOS.

Heritage listing

The Lewisham sewage aqueduct, completed in 1900, is a key and highly visible component of the Southern and Western Suburbs Ocean Outfall Sewer system. The extension of this system into Dobroyd Point provided for a sewerage service to the emerging suburbs of Haberfield and Ashfield. The aqueduct is considered unique in Australia for its riveted oviform steel carrier. The functional nature of the carrier is embellished by decorative metal lattice work, and worked sandstone faced piers and abutments. The setting of the aqueduct adjacent the stormwater channel and railway embankment/viaduct make a precinct of high historic and industrial archaeological interest. Elements of significance are the past and ongoing use, technologies of construction, and setting within the shallow valley. Lewisham Sewage Aqueduct was listed on the

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 Lewisham sewer aqueduct, completed in 1900, is a key and highly visible component of the Southern and Western Suburbs Ocean Outfall Sewer system. The extension of this system into Dobroyd Point provided for a sewerage service to the emerging suburbs of Haberfield and Ashfield, both of which experienced marked development during the 1900s to 1920s. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The functional nature of the carrier is embellished by decorative metal lattice work, and worked sandstone faced piers and abutments. The setting of the aqueduct adjacent the stormwater channel and railway embankment/viaduct make a precinct of high aesthetic note. 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 aqueduct is a major element of the historic built environment of the local area, which due to its location adjacent the railway line is likely to be known to some of the Sydney community. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The aqueduct is considered unique in Australia for its riveted oviform steel carrier The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. Rare in Australia in consideration of the extent and date of the steel carrier. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. Representative in its function which is widespread across Sydney.

Gallery

Lewisham Sewage Aqueduct 03.jpg, Lewisham sewage aqueduct at the point it crosses the Long Cove Creek stormwater channel Lewisham Sewage Aqueduct 02.jpg, Part of the Lewisham sewage aqueduct Lewisham Sewage Aqueduct 01.jpg, Detail of Lewisham sewage aqueduct showing construction details Hawthorne canal.JPG, Hawthorne canal (Long Cove Creek)

References

Bibliography

Attribution

External links

{{WaterNSW, state=collapsed New South Wales State Heritage Register Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Sewerage infrastructure in Sydney Lewisham, New South Wales Summer Hill, New South Wales Infrastructure completed in 1900 1900 establishments in Australia