Among the first European residents was George Wilson and his wife and family of 8 who built a homestead in Bellevue Street in the 1860s. He is thought to have named the locality Highgate Hill (possibly after Highgate Hill in London), and the name first appears in an advertisement for a land sale in 1864. The large portions of land from early land sales were slowly subdivided into residential blocks, and advertisements mentioned the notable residents of the area to emphasise its attractiveness. However the lack of water proved to be an obstacle to significant take up. Water had to be collected in rain water tanks when possible or fetched from springs in the West End area. This problem was solved by the completion in 1889 of the Highgate Hill Service Reservoir near the corner of Dornoch Terrace and Gladstone Road. The reservoir is still in use today