II. T. W. KEELE, 
bering 1,030 souls, were landed by the 6th February at 
Sydney Cove, where, on the banks of the clear running 
stream, the tents and huts of the infant settlement were 
erected. 
The area drained by this stream was not more than 178 
acres, which, although small, was well fitted for the reten- 
tion of water, there being a spongy swamp at the head of 
it, extending from where King Street is now situated, back 
toward Park Street, and laterally between George and 
Castlereagh Streets. 
With so considerable a number of people depending on 
this stream, it was not long before the supply of water 
became a source of anxiety, and before the settlement was 
in its second year, it fell into great straits for want of 
water, owing to an intense drought in 1789. Wells were 
sunk, and the rivulets falling into other parts of the harbour, 
such as the Blackwattle Swamp, were laid under contribu- 
tion, but for a number of years the Tank Stream, as it was 
called, appears to have been the main dependence, and 
strenuous efforts were made from time to time to husband 
the supply, and preserve its purity. 
About the year 1802, three tanks were hewn out of 
the rock close to where Hunter and Pitt Streets intersect, 
and these were fenced round, to prevent pollution. These 
tanks appear to have served their purpose, together with 
supplies drawn from Blackwattle Swamp, and other streams 
up to the year 1830, when water from Busby’s Bore first 
became available. 
Busby’s Bore, 1830 to 1858.—This source of supply is 
extremely interesting, and is thus referred to by Professor 
Smith :— 
‘In 1824, Mr. John Busby had arrived in the Colony, with the 
appointment of Mineral Surveyor to the Government, and his 
labours were soon turned to a search for water by Sir Thomas 
