The Harbour City

Yesterday I talked to my colleague about Brisbane flood alert:

He: Oh my God, in Brisbane they have a river flowing through the city.
I: Yes, just like in Sydney.
He: We don’t have a river in Sydney.
I: We do – it’s Parramatta River.
Puzzled look, then: Oh, right!

This just shows how much Sydney is the Harbour City in Sydneysiders’ psyche. Interestingly, the first settlers chose this location for Sydney not because of beautiful harbour views and not because it would be a nice place to build an opera house and a bridge. Their immediate concern was a source of fresh water, and it was humble Tank Stream that they built their settlement around.