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City Scene - Christchurch City Council Newsletter - March 1996
The painstaking restoration of one of Christchurch's most striking examples of Victorian public garden features, the Peacock Fountain, is soon to be completed. It is expected to be returned to its original home in the Botanic Gardens about April.
The fountain was ordered from England in 1911 from a bequest of 1,000 pounds to the Christchurch Beautifying Society by the Honourable John Peacock after his death in 1904.
The Hon. John Peacock was an early colonist of Canterbury and prominent local businessman who became a member of the Provincial Council, member of Parliament for Lyttelton and the first mayor of the former borough of St Albans. The bequest was to be set aside for "the purpose of beautifying the reserves and gardens in the City of Christchurch and improving the Avon River".
The fountain's design, according to the Council's Parks Unit parks consultant, Neiel Drain, was based on designs in England from the 1880s. The fountain was imported from England and installed in the Botanic Gardens in 1911.
" The fountain stands 6.5 metres high and features cast iron dolphins, herons, leaves and rushes."
In succeeding years there were recurring problems with the installation and in 1949 a Council report noted that due to cracks in the metalwork the fountain could not function properly and should be removed. When the fountain was dismantled the internal pipes were found to be badly corroded and, in many instances, broken.
Questions about the fountain had been asked since 1967 by various people including the Christchurch Beautification Society, the Christchurch Civic Trust and city councillors. However, it was not until March 1995 that a conservation plan, prepared by consultant George Lucking for the Christchurch City Council, began the process for the full restoration of the Peacock Fountain.
Neiel Drain, who is managing the project, says "It was not, in fact, the restoration of the fountain that was one of the major problems but where to put it".
Many suggestions were proposed over the years, including Mona Vale and on the lawn in front of the Provincial Chambers but eventually a new site near the Museum entrance to the Botanic Gardens was selected.
New planting's and the shifting of the current entrance to the Gardens to opposite the Rolleston Avenue entrance to the Arts Centre, will complement the fountain, making it the focal point of the new grand entrance to the Gardens.
The fountain stands 6.5 metres high and features cast iron dolphins, herons, leaves and rushes. The fountain is made up of three tiers with a small bowl at the base of the top tier, a slightly larger bowl at the base of the middle and a large pond, yet to be built, within which the fountain will sit. "Interestingly, there are some 309 individual parts which make up the fountain, all requiring repair or replacement," according to Neiel.
Funding for the restoration has come from a Peacock Fountain Restoration Fund. At one time the fund had $3 sitting in the account but now stands at $227,000 of which $62,000 has come from Lotteries Board Funding. A further $47,000 is still to be found and suggestions for obtaining this, or donations, are welcomed by Neiel.