The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
Also known as the Sydenham Stormwater Basin, this open air sandstone and brick lined pit was built in as the 1930s as part of the NSW State Government's Department of Public Works relief work program to prevent the surrounding area from flooding. It is sunk into the ground below sea level and is approximately 9 metres deep, 170 x 125 metres in area, and has a water capacity of 100 mega litres. The Pumping Station is a reinforced concrete building perched on concrete fins 12 metres high above one corner of the pit.
