NSWPort & river
Botany
Before the airport and the container port, Botany ran on fresh water.
1815Simeon Lord dams a stream for his mills
WHAT STARTED IT
Sandy ground over the Botany wetlands held plentiful fresh water close to Sydney. Simeon Lord dammed a stream near the bay in 1815 for a woollen mill and flour mill, and other water-hungry trades followed.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
From 1859 to 1886 steam pumps at Botany helped supply Sydney’s water, while market gardens, tanneries and wool scourers spread around the swamps. Fishing families lived in the bayside village, and Botany was incorporated as a municipality in 1888.
TURNING POINTS
1815Ex-convict Simeon Lord dams a stream near Botany Bay and opens a woollen mill on its banks.
1823Lord is granted another 600 acres at Botany and moves his household and factory there.
1859The machinery of the Botany Water Works is completed, to pump swamp water to reservoirs in the city.
1886The Nepean scheme takes over Sydney’s water supply and the Botany pumps fall idle.
1899Governor Lord Beauchamp opens Botany’s new Town Hall on 13 July.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A residential and industrial suburb beside Port Botany and Sydney Airport. Lord’s Mill Pond and Engine Pond survive as local landmarks.