The Tank Stream is a heritage-listed former fresh water tributary of Sydney Cove and now tunnel and watercourse located in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The Tank Stream was the fresh water supply for the fledgling colony of New South Wales in the late 18th century. Today it is little more than a storm water drain. It originated from a swamp to the west of present-day Hyde Park and at high tide entered Sydney Cove at what is now the intersection of Bridge and Pitt Streets in the Sydney central business district. The catchment was 65 hectares, corresponding roughly the size of the Sydney central business district. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Brick-lined section of the Tank Stream, pictured in November 2008
Circular Quay and mouth of the Tank Stream, Sydney Cove, Frederick Garling Jr., 1839
Tank Stream on a November 2008 tour
Tank Stream Fountain, 2016
Sydney Cove is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney location between the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Sydney Cove, Circular Quay
Sydney Cove, Port Jackson in the County of Cumberland – from a drawing made by Francis Fowkes in 1788
Circular Quay and mouth of the Tank Stream, Sydney Cove, Frederick Garling Jr., 1839
The Founding of Australia by Captain Arthur Phillip RN Sydney Cove January 26th 1788, a 1939 oil painting by Algernon Talmage