Ryde, Sydney,NSW, Australia
-33.816395, 151.109207
In 1897, as the colonies of Australia enthusiastically celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of the reign of Queen Victoria, a committee was formed in the Ryde area to organise local celebrations. They came up with the idea of buildng a drinking fountain to be installed at the intersection of Church Street and Glebe Street in North Ryde. Glebe Street has since been incorporated into the through road named Victoria Road and the fountain was relocated in that process to its current location on the corner of Victoria Road and Blaxland Road, Ryde. That is where I stumbled across it.
The original design sported a handsome gas burner with a gilded crown to provide light as well as water.
After nearly 80 years of stirling service, the fountain was renovated by the local Rotary Club in 1975 and in the process it lost its gas light and its drinking fountain and transformed into an ornamental fountain.
Why does this warrant any attention at all?
I was stranded at the corner of Victoria Road and Blaxland Road and spent considerable time looking at the celebrated fountain. It was only after some time staring that I realised that the base of the fountain was fashioned to present the profile of Queen Victoria all around the fountain. The Ryde Library website confirmed my suspicions and noted that the ‘profile of Queen Victoria on the pedestal was judged “most excellent” and presumed to be “the only one of its kind in the colony, if not the world‘
It has now been adopted by a loud group of Ibis (bin chickens) probably due to its reliability as a water source. They have left their mark as the picture at the top of the page shows. Below are some pictures of the fountain and its official sign. Love the green water.
