Coat of Arms detail, Drinking Fountain, North Melbourne Town Hall, (date unknown)
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Coat of Arms detail, Drinking Fountain, North Melbourne Town Hall, (date unknown)
Reference number:
20239
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materials
Part of:
Sub-collection: North Melbourne and West Melbourne (HC_NORTH)
Access restrictions:
Unrestrictedlibrary owns image (image on public access)
Use restrictions:
Unrestricted
General notes:
Detail of Errol St drinking fountain, showing Hotham coat of Arms.The drinking fountain stands outside of The North Melbourne Town Hall Post Office. In 1877, Thomas Henderson presented the fountain to the people of Hotham (now North Melbourne) to mark the end of his term as mayor. Designed by Walter MacFarlane and cast by his prominent Glaswegian Saracen Foundry, it has an imposing circular canopy richly decorated with cast-iron lacework. The fountain was originally sited in the roadway at the intersection of Errol and Queensberry Streets, but was moved in 1889 to allow for the construction of the new cable-tram tracks. In 1917, it was moved to the footpath, but without its bluestone steps and iron railings. In 1972, a vehicle collided with the fountain, damaging its wonderful canopy. Consequently, the following year it was moved to its current and safer location outside the Town Hall. Prior to the mid-1960s, the fountain's drinking spout was replaced with a modern Danks 'bubbler', but in 2001 a duplicate of the original was created - including the small figure of a kangaroo - based on MacFarlane's original drawings and on moulds from similar fountains. Thomas Henderson, the great-grandson of the donor, attended the ceremony for the fountain's restoration.Two early settlers dressed in the traditional attire of the day, on either side of an emblem. A bird can be seen perched inside the emblem, towards the left. Both men appear to be bearing swords. Atop of the emblem, is a British Coat of Arms, detailing a lion on the left and a unicorn on the right. Although the detail has been somewhat eroded, a leopard is perched on the very top.(Source: https://en.topwar.ru/177938-gerby-i-forma-i-soderzhanie.html)
Record types:
Images, maps and artefacts
Record number:
747152
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 20239 | 1 PH | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |