Holt's & Cameron Hill Reservoir & Filtration Plant

The Holt’s Hill complex was commissioned as part of the expansion of the Mount Crosby Waterworks. Built as a filtration plant, it opened in 1919 with eight slow sand filters, a regulator house, a covered storage reservoir and an office/store. A further three filters and extra facilities were added in 1924. In 1936, one filter was converted to a rapid filter. The regulator houses, office and rapid-filter building were all constructed in the same style and materials, giving a sense of harmony to the site. The layout of the plant is dominated by the problem of building eleven sand filters and a water storage on the top of a hill. Cameron’s Hill, connected to Holt’s Hill by a narrow neck, has been used for the storage of purified water since 1969. The complex is a major industrial site developed in response to the rapidly growing demand for water in Brisbane. It demonstrates an important part of the evolving technology of water supply in Queensland.