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Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney
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City of Sydney – Survey Plans, 1833: Section 47

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

City of Sydney – Survey Plans, 1833: Section 47

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City of Sydney Archives

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Sydney Cove Tank Stream

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Female Orphan School

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Macquarie Place Underwood's shipyard

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City of Sydney Archives

The City of Sydney Archives holds items from as early as 1842 when the Municipal Council of Sydney was established, and manage, preserve and provide access to more than 1 million items, including documents, photographs, maps, plans and data. The collection consists of City of Sydney corporate archives, items collected from the community relating to the City of Sydney local area and published reference material. Use the links to go directly to the City of Sydney's website.

Maps

Tank Stream

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The fresh water course which supplied the fledgling colony, emptying into Sydney Cove. It was named for three storage tanks which were constructed in the sandstone beside the stream during a drought in 1790. By 1828 the stream had been polluted to such an extent that it could no longer be used as a source of water and was diverted into a sewer, and by the 1870s it had been completely covered. The Tank Stream still flows in a covered storm water drain.

Female Orphan School

Orphanage set up in 1801 by Governor King to train destitute girls. Originally established on a site near the corner of Bridge and George streets to house 100 girls, by 1829 there were 152 inmates and the fear of moral corruption from its proximity to Sydney town led to a new facility being constructed at Parramatta.

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Macquarie Place

The open space at the corner of Loftus and Bridge streets marked with an obelisk from which roads in the colony were measured. Originally the area was swampy mangrove land on the banks of the Tank Stream it has been a public meeting place since the 1790s.

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Sydney Cove

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Small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson, which became the site for the European settlement in Sydney.

Underwood's shipyard

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Successful early shipyard at the mouth of the Tank Stream in Sydney Cove which was run by James Underwood, a former convict who later diversified from shipbuilding to become a successful merchant, sealer and distiller. The land grant ran from George Street through to the stream. Underwood extended the land by reclaiming part of the estuary for the yard prior to 1807. He built a ‘commodious and comfortable’ flat-roofed Regency house facing the street, and warehouses. The house had a turret, and walk on the roof looking towards Sydney Cove.