in private practice. In November 1853, the tender of W. Randle was accepted. Before dam construction could begin, it was necessary to cut and shape stones from the quarry and to excavate steps in the abutments to receive each course of masonry. By June 1855, sufficient work had been done for the first stone to be ceremoniously laid in the dam wall. This was done by James Pye. He was a member of both Water Committees and his support for the Hunts Creek Scheme had never wavered. The contractor employed about 150 men and worked them on day and night shifts. By August 1855 the available funds had been expended and work was suspended. When more money was allocated the next year, work resumed and the dam was completed in September 1856, at a cost of about pounds sterling 17 000 ($34,000). The cylindrical arch dam had a vertical water face with a radius of 240 ft (73m). The wall was 41 ft (12.5m) high, 15 ft (4.5m) thick at the base and 8 ft (2.4m) thick at the crest, with an 0.3m high parapet. It was constructed of solid sandstone quarried from the creek. Each block was carefully dressed to accurate dimensions and laid in courses 0.6m high. The dam wall extended about 4m into the abutments on each bank. At Moriarty's suggestion the stones were bonded together with cement mortar to ensure watertightness. Two different cements were imported from England. Roman cement was used where the joints were in contact with the water, and Portland cement elsewhere. For the next 25 years the dam was only used to replenish the Town Dam and as a bathing pool for boys. Plans to reticulate water to the town awaited the granting of appropriate powers to the local authority and the funding of a pump house, filter beds and pipes. This process was not completed until 1881. By the mid-1890s the population of Parramatta had grown to 13 000, and a succession of drought years emptied the reservoir on several occasions. Increased storage became a necessity, and in 1898 C. W. Darley recommended the raising of the wall by 6 ft (2 m). The height was actually increased by 11 feet (3.3 m) in the form of a concrete arch founded on the stonework. The original spillway was a channel excavated at the northern abutment of the dam. This spillway was