Item Type: Series

Linked To

Organisation

Sydney City Council

Controlled by series

Registers of Letters Received, 1853-1913

Preceding series

Committee Reports (Various committees), 1842-1899

Related series

Creating agencies

Related activities

Item

Items in this series (3,754)

Box

Boxes in this Series (14)

Series

No Copyright

This item is no longer under copyright in Australia and is in the public domain. It may be used freely. When using or sharing this item attribution should be given to the City of Sydney Archives.

Tools

Download Add to My Collection Contact us about this Suggest an edit to this item Citation for this item

Reports of the Improvement Committee, 1843-1887 [Municipal Council of Sydney]

Description

Unique IDAS-0023Start dateBetween 20th October 1843 and 14th September 1887Start date qualifierexactFormatVolume - Leather BoundShort descriptionThis series contains the Reports of the Improvement Committee, 1844-1887 (and its predecessor the Board of Works Committee) 1843-1844. The committee managed the construction, maintenance, repair and cleansing of City streets, surface drains, bridges, steps and stairs, wharves and jetties, parks, structures within parks such as the Exhibition Building, public baths, depots and produce markets. DescriptionThe series contains reports created by the Improvement Committee (AG-0119) for the period 30/11/1844 to 14/09/1887 and the Board of Works Committee (AG-0120) for the period 16/09/1843 to 30/11/1844. The Improvement Committee managed the construction, maintenance, repair and cleansing of City streets, surface drains, bridges, steps and stairs, wharves and jetties, parks, structures within parks such as the Exhibition Building, public baths, depots and produce markets. This included minor works to streets as well as major projects like the Argyle Street Cut.

The series was controlled by the Registers of Letters Received (AS-0002) for the period 27/12/1853 to 14/9/1887.

As part of its responsibilities the committee hired, dismissed and set wages for labourers, masons, quarrymen, surveyors, district surveyors and horses and carts; authorised surveys of the City by the City Surveyor; was involved in the selection of a site for the Sydney Town Hall; approved sites for horse troughs, water hydrants, and drinking fountains; erected street name plates; erected urinals from 1857; contracted for the removal of night soil, house rubbish and street sweepings and selected dumping sites; purchased and removed buildings required for street improvements and recommended street name changes. As early as 1848 it was voting to compensate employees injured at work.

From 1860 it was mostly concerned with street works although it did play a policy role in other significant events. For example, it was involved in selling the land that had been set aside for the Sydney Town Hall in Macquarie Street (1863); the purchase of 1208 patent enamel street name iron plates for city streets (1863); enclosing and planting the land surrounding the obelisk in Macquarie Place; recommending that Sydney Common be named Moore Park (1867); establishing the fish market in Woolloomooloo (1869) and cattle sale yards (1870); planting 1025 trees in Prince Alfred Park (1870); the erection of a jetty and public baths at Pyrmont (1874); wood paving from 1882 and the removal of large sand hills from Moore Park (1882).

The reports and related papers were pasted into large volumes. These related papers included many petitions and other correspondence from residents, and reports from the City Surveyor and occasionally the City Architect.

The petitions and other correspondence were registered as part of Letters Received (AS-0026), but instead of being placed into that series, they were forwarded to the Improvement Committee for action. This could take some time to eventuate so some of the reports have correspondence from two or three years earlier attached to them.

The petitions often contain the names and addresses of City residents, leaseholders of stalls at the markets, employees etc. The reports of the committee from August 1879 until 1880 and some for 1881, 1882 and 1884 are bound up with the reports of the Finance Committee. (There is no volume of reports for 1883).

There are no reports for the years 1847 to 1856 in this series, but it is possible that these are part of Committee Reports (AS-0021) from 1842 to 1899, which includes reports of all committees 1847-1853, and the Commissioners who replaced the elected Council from 1854 to 1857.

Occasionally where petitions were received that related to the work of the Improvement Committee and the Lighting Committee, for example, where the residents were requesting improvements to the road surface as well as better lighting, the papers were bound up with the Reports of the Lighting Committee (AS-0024) for the period 1857 to 1892, instead of in this series.

The volumes are indexed alphabetically at the front of each volume, except for the first volume, covering 1843-1846 (A-00438757), which is not indexed. The indexes normally record the date of the report, the situation, the subject and the folio number of the report. The folio number is separate to the letter numbers that appear on the attached correspondence.

The start and end dates for this series were taken to be the first and last meeting dates of the Improvement Committee.

ANOMALIES IN THIS SERIES
Volume 29 is paginated; there are no folio numbers. The years bound into the volume are 1875, 1876 and 1877. The page numbers run from 1 to 845 marked with pink ink. Date ranges, using approximate date of presentation to Council Meeting:
-23/29/1 to 23/29/228 - January to November 1875;
-23/29/229 to 23/29/600 - January to 6 February 1876;
-23/29/601 to 23/29/630 [out of sequence] - 14 March 1878;
-23/29/631 to end - 27 March 1877 to 4 December 1877.

Volume 30 – Folio numbers are used. Date ranges, using approximate date of presentation to Council Meeting:
-23/30/1 to 23/30/51 - January 1878 to November 1878 with missing reports 14 March 1878 in 23/29
-23/30/52 to 23/30/54 - July 1879.

Meetings of the Improvement Committee from approximately July 1879 to end of 1880 were not called as the financial situation of the Council prevented any but urgent works being done. Matters that would normally have gone to the Improvement Committee in this period were instead sent to the Finance Committee. Volume 30 has in an index at front of the volume in which a number of matters are listed. The reports for those matters dealt with in 1879 are in Finance Committee Reports Volume 22/18 and those for 1880 are in 22/19.

Volume 31 - Folios. Folio 1-5, February 1881. Folio 5 contains 97 works recommended. To be numbered 23/31/5-01 to 23/31/5-97; Folios 6-12 March to November 1881.

Volume 32 - Folio 1, March 1882, 74 works recommended. To be numbered 23/32/1-01 to 23/32/1-74. Following folios are numbered 75 to 78. Number as: 23/32/75; 23/32/76 etc.

There are no reports between 28 September 1876 and 18 January 1877. Provision was made for later insertion.

Volume 33 - The index is entitled: Improvement Committee Index of City Street Works passed in Council during 1884 on Reports from Improvement Committee and in Finance Committee (indicated in red). The volume consists of three associated sets of reports/memos. There is no folio 1; folio 2 is additionally labelled 'A' on the report recommending wood paving in various streets and is followed by CS Memos numbered [internally in pencil] 1-10; folio 3 is additionally labelled 'B' recommending various works; following folio 4 has a further label 'B' and contains memos numbered from 1-125; folio 5 had the additional label 'C' recommending subdivision near Circular Quay, appended letters & memos; folio 6 is also labelled 'D' rec widening roadway Eliz & Devonshire Streets, appended petition; folio 7 at end is a ward by ward listing of works, whether carried or not, estimate figure.

Volume 34 contains Improvement Committee Papers for 1885, 1886 AND 1887. On 19 November 1885 the committee met and approved 67 works; on 1 October 1886 the committee approved 82 works; on 25 August 1887 the committee approved 73 works. The volume has an index covering all the works approved 1885-1887 inclusive. The papers for each year are arranged in the following way: A numbered list of the works approved followed by papers supporting each item with the corresponding list number in thick blue pen. The supporting papers usually take the form of a report from the City Surveyor but may also include letters or petitions; sometimes the City Surveyor's report is in the form of an annotation on one of these documents. Numbering of the documents: a prefix a, b or c representing years 1885, 1886 and 1887 has been used respectively; the list of works is 23/34/a or /b or /c, and the supporting papers are listed as a1-a67, b1-b82, c1-c73. a/b/c is pencilled on the papers.

The start date of the full series is 28/08/1843 and the end date is 07/05/1891.
Relationship summaryPRECEDED BY: Committee Reports AS-0021 (7/4/1857)
RELATED TO: Printed Materials AS-0030 (12/07/1844 to 30/10/1848)
RELATED TO: Construction and maintenance of buildings and structures AY-0001 (6/7/1844 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Letters Received AS-0026 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Reports of the Lighting Committee AS-0024 (1/7/1857 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Street furniture management, including fruit and news stands AY-0112 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Drainage works and maintenance AY-0101 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Depots management AY-0097 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Architectural and engineering design and drafting AY-0087 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Management of parks and reserves AY-0084 (1/11/1866 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Contractual arrangements for the supply of goods and services AY-0077 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Street openings AY-0050 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Construction and repair of bridges, overpasses and tunnels AY-0049 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Surveying AY-0046 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Provision and management of public toilets AY-0039 (5/6/1857 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Management of sports facilities, swimming pools, recreation and community centres AY-0037 (04/05/1857 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Management of Council property AY-0019 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Purchase and sale of land and buildings AY-0018 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Disposal of waste by punting, tipping or destruction AY-0008 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Removal of waste from streets, public places and premises AY-0005 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Regulation of produce, fish and livestock markets AY-0002 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Road construction and maintenance AY-0047 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Meetings of Council and Committees AY-0060 (20/10/1843 to 14/9/1887)
RELATED TO: Allocation and changes of street names and street numbers AY-0051 (09/10/1873 to 14/9/1887) LanguageEnglish (eng)

Item

Report of the Improvement Committee submitting a plan and section of the proposed permanent levels

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the kerbing and guttering of Cooper St from

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the forming and ballasting of Union St between

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the re-laying of the kerbing and guttering of the

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the forming, ballasting and blinding of Gloucester

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the cutting down of Bettington St and adjacent

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the kerbing and guttering of Fort St from the

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the blue metalling of the centre 10 ft of Athlone

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the kerbing and guttering of the west side of

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the filling in, ballasting, blinding and blue

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the kerbing and guttering of the west side of

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the blue metalling of Mount St from John St as far

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the repair, ballasting and guttering of Deans Lane

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the kerbing and guttering of Forbes St between

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the repair of Woods Lane between Chapel Lane and

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the repair and ballasting of Macleay St between

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the kerbing and guttering of Campbell Place

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the kerbing and guttering of both sides of Yurong

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the forming and ballasting of Crown Lane between

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the ballasting and blinding of Liverpool St

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the kerbing and guttering of Broughton St between

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the purchase of two hundred alignment posts by

Report of the Improvement Committee recommending the ballasting and blinding of Edward St from the

Box

CSA044382

CSA044381

CSA044380

CSA044379

CSA044378

CSA044377

CSA044376

CSA044375

CSA044374

CSA044373

CSA044372

CSA044371

CSA044370

CSA044369

Series

Reports of the Finance Committee I [Municipal Council of Sydney]

Committee Reports (Various committees), 1842-1899

Minutes of the Improvement Committee [Municipal Council of Sydney], 1843-1891

Access

Public access statusOpen to public access

Identification and Arrangement

Source system ID23System of arrangementChronological

Digitisation

Digitisation statusNot digitised

Data Quality

Authenticity & integrityThese are the original Reports of the Improvement Committee for Municipal Council of Sydney. The record has been held in the Council’s custody and has a high level of authenticity. Users should be aware that this is an historical record and the language used within the record was the language of the time it was captured, and may not reflect current community values or expectations.

Relationships

OrganisationSydney City CouncilControlled by seriesRegisters of Letters Received, 1853-1913Preceding seriesCommittee Reports (Various committees), 1842-1899Related seriesReports of the Lighting Committee, 1857-1892Letters Received, 1843-1899 [Municipal Council of Sydney]Printed Materials, 1837-1930Creating agenciesBoard of Works CommitteeImprovement CommitteeRelated activitiesAllocation and changes of street names and street numbersMeetings of Council and CommitteesRoad construction and maintenanceRegulation of produce, fish and livestock marketsRemoval of waste from streets, public places and premisesDisposal of waste by punting, tipping or destructionPurchase and sale of land and buildingsManagement of Council propertyManagement of sports facilities, swimming pools, recreation and community centresProvision and management of public toiletsSurveyingConstruction and repair of bridges, overpasses and tunnelsStreet openingsContractual arrangements for the supply of goods and servicesManagement of parks and reservesArchitectural and engineering design and draftingDepots managementDrainage works and maintenanceStreet furniture management, including fruit and news standsConstruction and maintenance of buildings and structures

Menu

Reports of the Improvement Committee, 1843-1887 [Municipal Council of Sydney]