Spring Hill Reservoirs
| Spring Hill Reservoirs | |
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Spring Hill Reservoirs, 2015
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| Location | 230 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°27′58″S 153°01′23″E / 27.4661°S 153.0231°ECoordinates: 27°27′58″S 153°01′23″E / 27.4661°S 153.0231°E |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1871 - 1882 |
| Official name: Service Reservoirs | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600174 |
| Significant period | 1871, 1882 (fabric) 1870s-1880s, 1900s-1960s (historical) |
| Significant components | tank - reservoir |
| Builders | Henry Holmes |
 Location of Spring Hill Reservoirs in Queensland
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The Spring Hill Reservoirs are two heritage-listed former underground water storage reservoirs at 230 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (closed to the Old Windmill) . They are also known as Service Reservoirs. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
The first reservoir was built in 1871, and the second just metres from the first some eleven years after. Both were built primarily of red-brick and mortar, set in-ground. Interiors feature columns and arches between walls for reinforcement. At the time of planning, Spring Hill was considered to be the ideal location for a Brisbane water source, due to its elevation above most of what is now Brisbane CBD. Water was sourced from Enoggera Dam via gravity feed. They were built in 1871 and 1882 by Henry Holmes. They serviced water to what is now Brisbane City until 1962. Currently, the reservoirs are covered by three hut-like structures above ground. For many years the reservoirs were locked and inaccessible to the public. However, since 2014, they are used occasionally for cultural events.
The reservoirs were built as an essential part of Brisbane's second phase of water supply development. During the first self-service stage, the inhabitants relied mostly upon natural water courses, wells, tanks and water-carriers. The only public supply was the old convict dam and a hardwood pipeline in the Roma Street hollow (1838), supplemented by an elevated tank in Tank Street (1859). So inadequate and polluted was the water supply that this became a controversial issue as soon as the Brisbane Municipal Council was formed and Queensland's Separation gained in 1859. Despite strenuous debate amongst aldermen regarding the best solution, and continual conflict between council and parliament over control, the new water supply system from Enoggera Dam was constructed by the Brisbane Board of Waterworks and their engineer Joseph Brady in 1863-1866. This was the first reticulated gravity supply and the first municipal engineering undertaking in Queensland. Although Brisbane Mayor Thomas Blacket Stephens proposed a service reservoir on Windmill Hill (Wickham Terrace) as early as 1862, this was postponed for financial reasons until 1871, when the water pressure was already inadequate due to population expansion and increased consumption. Henry Holmes was the prominent building contractor. Further complaints led to the provision of the second, larger reservoir in 1882, particularly to service the high parts of South Brisbane and Kangaroo Point. Other improvements were made in the water supply system which coped with the population boom of the 1880s, including the building of the Gold Creek Dam in 1885-1886, and of the Highgate Hill service reservoir which was of mass concrete rather than arched brick walls in 1889. The commissioning of Mount Crosby pumping station in 1893 marked the decline of gravity water supply. The Spring Hill reservoirs were not used after the Gold Creek dam improved reticulation pressure from 1886 onwards, until a new policy of constructing service reservoirs to reduce the load on trunk mains was recommended in 1903. This resulted in reconditioning of the reservoirs in 1904-1905, including reconnection with the original Enoggera watermain, and the provision of roofs to prevent the growth of algae, a spray inlet, a floating outlet and a relief valve for the Mount Crosby supply. Other inground reservoirs were built on the hills of Brisbane and continue to serve the city today. The Spring Hill reservoirs remained an integral part of the Brisbane water supply system until 3 September 1962 when the watermain was shut down, unable to serve an increasingly highrise inner city due to their comparatively small capacity and low elevation. Redevelopment proposals during the 1980s included converting the area into an art gallery, restaurant, theatre in the round and bus exchange.
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