Editing Tank Stream (section)

== Heritage listing ==
As at 31 May 2006, The Tank Stream is significant because it was the reason the First Fleet settlement was established in Sydney Cove, and therefore influenced the future shape of Sydney over two centuries. It is linked in the public mind with the period of first European settlement and retains value as an iconic representation of that period and is interpreted as a metaphor of the period of contact and early urban settlement in Australia.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The Tank Stream itself has retained an identity through the functional changes from being a fresh water supply, through subsequent use as combined sewer and stormwater drain to its current function as a stormwater drain. It is an important survivor of the first period of organised and integrated water management in an Australian city. The stone-cut water tanks, which may survive archaeologically, are important symbols of the reliance upon water in the colony, both in absolute terms and as an indication of the fragility of the European presence in Australia.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The surviving fabric documents mid-nineteenth century sanitation design and construction, and subsequent changes in methods and also the theory of urban wastewater management. This evidence is preserved in the drain enclosing the Tank Stream, in physical evidence of change, and may also be present archaeologically in buried parts of the Tank Stream line.
The archaeological evidence of the Tank Stream has the potential to contain deposits that can contain information about pre-human and pre-urban environments in Sydney, Aboriginal occupation and early non-indigenous occupation of Sydney. The fabric enclosing the watercourse demonstrates one of the most comprehensive collections of hydrological technology in Australia.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The sections of the former Tank Stream south of [[King Street, Sydney|King Street]] which survive have potential for retaining evidence of the earliest periods of its human use, although this is likely to have been severely compromised by development. The swampy source of the stream may provide evidence of past environmental conditions.<ref name=nswshr-636-636-5>Tank Stream Conservation Management Plan, Sydney Water Date : June 2003</ref><ref name=nswshr-636/>

Tank Stream was listed on the [[New South Wales State Heritage Register]] on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.

The Tank Stream is significant because it was the reason the First Fleet settlement was established in Sydney Cove, and therefore influenced the future shape of Sydney over two centuries. It is linked in the public mind with the period of first European settlement and retains value as an iconic representation of that period and is interpreted as a metaphor of the period of contact and early urban settlement in Australia.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The Tank Stream itself has retained an identity through the functional changes from being a fresh water supply, through subsequent use as combined sewer and stormwater drain to its current function as a stormwater drain. It is an important survivor of the first period of organised and integrated water management in an Australian city. The stone-cut water tanks, which may survive archaeologically, are important symbols of the reliance upon water in the colony, both in absolute terms and as an indication of the fragility of the European presence in Australia.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.

The original watercourse and catchment would have provided a resource for exploitation by the Gadigal people who occupied the southern shore of [[Sydney Harbour]] at contact and their ancestors. As a result of the severity of this displacement the Tank Stream has become symbolic of the European settlers immediate appropriation of essential resources and Aboriginal dispossession.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The Tank Stream influenced, and has been influenced by, Governor Phillip and subsequent early governors of the Australian colony. The course of the stream determined Phillip's siting of the first camp and this early administrative decision influenced the subsequent urban form of Sydney.<ref name=nswshr-636-636-6>Sydney Water 2005:65</ref><ref name=nswshr-636/>

The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The Tank Stream features fine quality stonemasonry and brickwork from the nineteenth century, houman scale and an intriguing form showing layers of different phases of construction. This includes modifications introduced to improve the operation, e.g. terracotta drains.<ref name=nswshr-636-636-6/><ref name=nswshr-636/>

The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

The Tank Stream is of State significance for its recognition in the community with the placement of Sydney in its current location, as evidenced by the popularity of tours. Community value of the Stream has increased with the growth of heritage consciousness since the 1970s.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The sections of the former Tank Stream south of King Street which survive have potential for retaining evidence of the earliest periods of its human use. This includes early construction, brickmaking and waterproofing techniques. The swampy source of the stream may provide evidence of past environmental conditions and potentially of Aboriginal occupation prior to European arrival.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

Tank Stream is of State significance as the only water source available to the First Fleet arrival in their settlement of Sydney. Tank Stream is the only surviving evidence of this early period of water resource development.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The fabric of the Tank Stream and its enclosing stormwater drain contains rare surviving evidence of the eighteenth and nineteenth century water supply and sewerage construction in the one linear site.<ref name=nswshr-636-636-7>Sydney Water 2005:69</ref><ref name=nswshr-636/>

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.

The Tank Stream is representative of a significant collection of water and wastewater heritage assets from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. From the operational perspective the Tank Stream competently serves as a stormwater drain, from the historical and social perspective, the Tank Stream serves to represent the system and Sydney Water as a whole, as its most high profile, historic and valued heritage item.<ref name=nswshr-636/>

The fabric of the Tank Stream and of the enclosing stormwater drain is representative of a range of technologies associated with water reticulation, sewerage and drainage for a period of two centuries.<ref name=nswshr-636-636-8>Sydney Water 2005:70</ref><ref name=nswshr-636/>