Crown Street Reservoir & Site, Heritage water reservoir in Surry Hills, Australia

Crown Street Reservoir is a water storage facility in Surry Hills with brick perimeter walls built partly into bedrock and raised by earth embankments. Located at 285 Crown Street, the structure still operates today and supplies water to the inner city area.

The reservoir was built in 1859 by engineers Donohoe and Vaughan as part of the Botany Swamps Scheme operating from 1858 to 1886. Its construction marked a turning point in how Sydney managed water supply during the late 1800s.

The name comes from Crown Street, where the reservoir has stood since 1859; it is also listed as WS 34 in Sydney Water's system. It operated alongside Busby's Bore from 1859 to 1888, before the Upper Nepean Scheme and the formation of the Metropolitan Water Sewerage & Drainage Board in 1888. The site retains a two-storey red-and-white brick workshop building on Reservoir Street, now disused, behind an early sandstone, brick and wrought iron palisade fence.

The site can be viewed from Crown Street and the exterior brick walls are visible from the surrounding footpaths. As a protected structure, internal access may be limited, but the outside offers a clear picture of how it was originally built.

The structure was built using specially imported waterproof bricks designed to resist moisture over time. Most of the original components from 1859 remain in place today, showing the careful craftsmanship of Victorian engineers.