Forgotten Spring's Secret?

Question

I stumbled upon the Freshwater spring and 1860s cistern ruins near Manly, wow, what a find! The whole place is overgrown, almost swallowed by nature. I spent ages just wandering around, imagining what life was like back then, when that cistern was actually used. It felt incredibly peaceful, despite the sounds of the nearby city. I'm curious though, are there any documented stories about specific people who relied on that spring and cistern? Did anyone ever live right next to it? I couldn't find much online.

maritamende · Answer

there's a bit of a story about a guy named thomas cook who was the water bailiff for manly council in the 1880s. he used to maintain that spring and cistern, lived in a small cottage about 200m down the hill. his diary entries are in the state library's manuscript collection, mentions hauling buckets up for the quarry workers. the cistern was actually part of a larger scheme to supply water to the manly barracks before the desalination plant came in. you can book a session with the library's local history team, they'll pull the records for you

rembert · Answer

That's amazing! Finding forgotten places like that is such a thrill. The overgrown nature aspect really adds to the mystery. You'd probably have better luck digging into local historical societies archives or the Manly library's local history collection than online. They often have old newspapers, census records, and maybe even personal diaries or family histories that mention the spring and cistern. Someone might have written about it, or even a photo exists. It's a long shot, but worth a try! Good luck with your research, I'm genuinely interested to hear what you uncover.

caecilia · Answer

Oh yeah, I've heard about that spot. I think there's a bit of local lore about a family of squatters who camped out near the spring in the early 1900s, apparently they were seasonal workers for the quarry nearby. Might be worth checking the old council rate books at the State Library, they sometimes list who owned the land around the cistern.

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