Venturing Through The City

Part Four of Vent Visits

On Saturday I caught the M52 bus from Bowden Street, Ryde to Victoria Rd, Rozelle and walked towards Lilyfield Rd, Lilyfield. The reason for my longer than I anticipated walk, to visit the Lilyville sewer vent.

Lilyfield Road runs from Rozelle into Lilyfield, running along the edge of Rozelle’s Easton Park where I discovered Rozelle Sewerage Pumping Station. A cute little red brick cottage, almost inconspicuous except for the three Sydney Water signs! It’s small yard is surrounded by a wooden fence, white picket in the front and brown standard on sides and back. There are two small modern metal sewer vents in the yard on the right.

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Lilyfield sewer vent is located on a hill,which with it’s size makes it extra imposing. It is a massive metal sewer vent, similar in design to the Burwood and Bondi Junction metal sewer vents but his time it’s green. Although I can’t smell the tell-tale sign of sewage, it is the first sewer vent where I can physically hear and see the ventilation process in action! I hear sounds that making me think of rushing, gargling water and see what appears to be at first glance, white smoke wafting off from the top of the vent but in fact is the gases escaping into the air.

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Lilyfield’s vent is exactly a street away from the light rail, which is quite convenient. On my walk from Rozelle to Lilyfield I had past small boutique shops, many bus stops, a vet, industrial areas, a park, crossed a walking bridge, many houses of single, double story and townhouse variety, and of course spotted quite a few smaller modern sewer vents.

I took the light rail to Central and caught the next train to North Sydney and walked I would estimate an even longer stretch (which has nothing to do with it being mostly uphill) towards my next stop Falcon St, North Sydney. I walked along Miller Street away from the skyscrapers, smaller shops, houses and three parks, spotting a few smaller modern metal vents on the way.

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North Sydney’s sewer vent standing 3o metres tall, a monumental scaled brick affair positioned in the middle of a traffic island and surrounded by foliage. Channelling traffic and sewer fumes, now that’s multitasking! It is however not fenced off, allowing close-up contact.

After walking back to North Sydney station I caught the next train back to Central and walked along Broadway to York St, Glebe. Another long walk, I know!

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I walked a long Broadway, Arundel Street and Ross Street before arriving at my destination York Street, Glebe. Passing out of the city, away from the skyscrapers, universities, parks, boutique stores, shopping centres, houses and schools. Again I spotted smaller modern sewer vents before spying the brick beauty that is Glebe sewer vent smack bang in the middle of York Street, boxed in between houses and surrounded by a wooden fence.