Bankstown Reservoir

Bankstown Reservoir is a heritage-protected water tower and a local landmark situated in the suburb of Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney CBD, the reservoir is elevated and was built on reinforced concrete piers, which is one of the oldest of this type that is still in use. The reservoir features various decorative attributes, plastered by hand, which lack in other functional reservoirs. Established in 1920, the reservoir serves a large area of South-Western Sydney. In 1826, the reservoir was once a hanging site for bushrangers. Patrick Sullivan and James Moran, both members of Sullivan's gang, were hanged at the site on 18 October 1826 after creating a stir in the Bathurst district. The site on which the Reservoir sits may be connected with the earliest period of Bankstown's European settlement, transport routes, the bushrangers which traversed Liverpool Road and the appearance and carrying out of law and order in the district. Construction of Bankstown Reservoir began in October 1918. The reservoir was built to meliorate the pressure on Ashfield Reservoir and obviate pumping from Ryde. In November 1918, the cornerstone for the piers were unveiled in stiff clay to an unfaltering shale foundation, to an average depth of . The concrete for the reservoir was made on site, with the sandstone acquired from a quarry at Potts Hill. Power was administered by a portable steam engine. The rendering was made by ornamental exterior plastering and waterproofing of the interior of tank by cement gun. Hand rendering began in February 1920. Extra adjustments to the reservoir include the aluminium roof built in 1962 to preserve water quality. It is likely that the concrete walkway was removed or covered by the roof. At the time of its construction, Bankstown reservoir was the largest elevated reinforced concrete reservoir in the country. After its completion, elevated reservoirs built in reinforced concrete became common until the 1950s, with one similar tower established in the 1930s in Padstow Heights.