Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE LAY OF THE LAND
Ever since Captain Arthur Phillip slurped from the Tank Stream, water has shaped
Sydney's development. The Tank Stream now runs in brick culverts beneath the city, but in
the early days of the First Fleet it defined Sydney. Phillip used the stream to separate con-
victs on the rocky west from the officers on the gentler eastern slopes, hemming in the con-
victs between the sea on one side and the soldiers on the other. Following this pattern, gov-
ernment institutions were concentrated to the east of the stream, while industry set up shop
on the western side of town. Social differences were thus articulated, establishing a pattern
that can still be seen in Sydney more than 200 years later.
THE ROCKS
If the city centre is ideal for tracing the development of institutional and financial building
styles, The Rocks is the place to gain an understanding of the social structures behind
Sydney architecture. Millers Point highlights some impressive social housing policies and the
area's strong industrial maritime heritage.
According to scientist and author Dr Tim Flannery, many Aboriginal campsites used to
lie near fresh water on Sydney Harbour's north-facing shore - and the colonists took their
cue from the original inhabitants. Topographically, it makes sense. The area catches the
winter sun, and is relatively sheltered from chilly southerly and bullying westerly winds.
The northeasterly breeze, meanwhile, comes straight through the mouth of the harbour, de-
livering warm winter and cool summer breezes.
In one of history's great coincidences, Frenchman Jean Compte de la Pérouse arrived at
Botany Bay days after the First Fleet. That event and fierce competition from other colonial
powers meant there was a perceived threat of invasion from the outset. As a consequence,
the navy appropriated much of the harbour foreshore. This was fortunate indeed - much of
the land was not built upon, conserving these regions as wilderness while the rest of
Sydney clambered up around them.
