26. Water Tower –
40 Blackler Street
Erected in 1880 to maintain a water supply when the Jervois Bridge opened to permit the passage of ships to the wharves south of the Bridge, as the water supply to the Peninsula, including Semaphore, had to be shut off whilst the bridge was open. The octagonal brick tower walls are 2 metres thick at the base, surmounted by a large tank.
E&WS employees used the site as a holiday camp during the Depression. Two comfortable apartments were added in 1936, and the tower itself became a residence in 1972.
The Water Tower overlooks the two-storeyed house at 36 Newman Street where famed aviator Sir Ross Smith was born in 1892.
