Rossmore Terrace Drain

Naming

Rossmore terrace is named after the Rossmore family.  The Rossmores were English aristocrats with connections to the Westenra family. Captain Richard Westenra (1794‐1880) was a “grandson of a former Lord Rossmore”. Frederick Herbert Wilson (1832‐1902) and Frances Sarah Wilson, née Westenra, (1831‐1903) named their eldest son Rossmore Cracroft Wilson (1863‐1942).  The road first appears in street directories in 1921.

Rossmoremap
Rossmore Terrace Drain shown in red. The green lines are stormwater pipes. Click to enlarge

For a higher resolution map, click here

About the waterway

The history of the waterway’s creation is not recorded but probably dates to before the land was subdivided for housing.

The waterway is largely a wood-lined channel that turns into a swale at its higher end.  It is largely designed to collect stormwater runoff from associated residential sections, but also manages to collect some low-flow spring water along the way and has a trickling base flow throughout the year.  The Paulus Terrace Drain joins the Rossmore Terrace Drain providing drainage from Kidson Terrace and intervening properties.

The Rossmore Terrace Drain open channel ends at Centaurus Road where it joins a 900mm piped culvert beside the road for a 230m run to the outfall beside the junction with Sloan Terrace.

Where it joins the river

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The outfall of the Rossmore Terrace Drain beside Sloan Terrace. Click to enlarge

A view of the waterway

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At it highest section where it moves away from the side of the road, the waterway is an earthsided swale. Click to enlarge
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The Paulus Terrace Drain is piped under Rossmore Terrace to feed into the Rossmore terrace Drain near this view. Click to enlarge
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A further view of the open channel as it follows the road. Click to enlarge
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The final section of open channel before the drain is piped to the outfall at the Sload Terrace corner. Click to enlarge