Expansion Rename the ridiculous Battle Of The Bridge

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Tank Stream Rumble

The story behind "Tank Stream Rumble" ...

... It starts back in 1788 (true) when Govenor Arthur Philip arrived on the First Fleet at Botany Bay (present day Sydney Airport) to establish a colony. Turns out they had been given dud instructions by Captain Cook because there was no fresh water there. They looked around for a few days and found a small cove to the north (present day Circular Quay) which had a source of fresh water. So they relocated there, arriving on 26th January 1788 which we now commemorate as Australia Day / Invasion Day depending on your point of view.

The source of fresh water was called the "Tank Stream" which still runs underneath Sydney. For anybody who has ever noticed that the Main Street of Sydney - George St - doesn't run in a straight line, it's because it follows the path of the Tank Stream, half a block to its west.

Anyway, back in 1788 Arthur Philip made the rather arbitrary decision to settle the convicts on the western shore of the Tank Stream, and the officers and gentry were settled on the eastern shore. That might have seemed like a decision of little consequence at the time, but it had a profound affect on Sydney's evolution from a colony, to a town, to a city, to a metropolis. Today, just as back in 1788, the lower socioeconomic areas remain to the west in GWS / Spotless Stadium territory, and the upper socioeconomic areas remain to the east in Swans / SCG territory.

So the term "Tank Stream Rumble" represents a historic clash of classes that dates back to when this country was colonised.
 
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