BRICK CISTERN

A handmade brick cistern / well that indicates activity associated with the former rural property. The date of construction is unconfirmed, but it may relate to the later stages of the nineteenth century when a homestead was possibly constructed in this area. The cistern / well has the potential to contain artefactual material dating to the period prior to when it was deliberately backfilled in the 1970s when the park was created.

The cistern / well has archaeological significance as an early water storage feature associated with the farming practices of the property prior to it being converted to public parkland.

The original rural property is now within public parkland and the cistern / well is a physical element that relates to the rural settlement of the area. Increasing urbanisation in the Wheelers Hill area has removed much of the evidence for original pastoral settlement and the cistern / well is a physical remnant of this occupation. The cistern / well is indicative of intensification of farming activities to areas further away from the creek, the main water source, as well as using higher ground that is further away from low lying areas that may be subject to flooding.