John Baptist Fountain to Flow Again |
City of Sydney Media Release:
One of Sydneys oldest and most historic fountains, John Baptist Fountain in Sydneys Hyde Park, will be restored back to original working order next year.
City of Sydney Council has approved the restoration of the John Baptist Fountain which will likely commence in mid 2011 following a public tender process.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said the fountain is truly a unique part of Sydneys heritage.
We are restoring a rare and historic treasure. John Baptist had an award winning nursery in Redfern which was once regarded as the show-grounds of Sydney, attracting Sunday visitors in the days before public parks,Ms Moore said.
It is thought the fountain was originally installed in the Baptist Gardens in the 1860s. It was donated to the trustees of Hyde Park in 1888 by John Baptist Junior following the death of John Baptist in 1873.
The fountain has a spotted history since then having been moved at least once and has fallen into disrepair on a number of occasions. Tree roots were blamed for damaging the fountain in 1912 and it was moved when Hyde Park was torn up to build Sydneys underground railway network in the 1920s.
In 1932 a City Engineers report recommended the fountain be removed but following concern from the family and media pressure the Council passed a motion in September 1932 to restore and repair the fountain.
Howe'ver in the late 1980s, years after the first restoration, the fountains clamshell bowl was broken off by vandals. It has since been restored by City of Sydney stonemasons and is in storage at Lidcombe awaiting repairs to the fountain before it can be reattached next year.
For the last few years the City has been working with conservators, heritage and fountain experts, garden historians, and descendants of John Baptist to carefully plan the conservation project.
The fountain is believed to be one of the earliest locally made sandstone statues in Sydney. It has a sandstone coral centrepiece surrounded by three carp that support a shell with their tails.
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