In the early twentieth century, shared taps and drinking cups were
identified as being unhygienic. The solution to this problem
was the production of bubbling water, enabling the user to
drink without a cup and without bringing the lips in contact
with the pipe or tap. The first free-standing bubble fountain
was installed in Sydney on 2 June 1914, although by that date
a few of the older stone fountains had been modified to incorporate
bubblers. In 1916 the council resolved to abolish all drinking
cup fountains in the city, and the remaining 46 fountains
were gradually replaced with bubbling fountains.
Images
Dank
by name, not by nature
This bubbler – identified by the Cleansing Department
as the new style – was installed beside the Comrie
Memorial Fountain in Queens Square to replace the old
cast iron font and cups. John Danks and Co.of Pitt Street
in the city, was one of the companies that produced the
bubble fountains that were installed by the council around
the city. (City of Sydney Archives, CRS
538/57; CRS 34/5545/23)
A
new bubbling fountain
This photograph was taken by the Cleansing Department
to document the new style of bubbling fountains introduced
around the city in the late 1910s. In this example, the
sleek Danks bubbling fountain was encased in an octagonal
sandstone plinth to give the fountain a monumental presence.
This was the style of fountain that was adopted for the
Frazer Fountain at Hyde Park. (City of
Sydney Archives, CRS 538/58)
The
modern memorial fountain
The Oddfellows Memorial Drinking Fountain, erected in
1920, was one of the first memorial fountains to incorporate
the new bubblers. A bubbler was placed on each corner
of the square plinth of the monument. These have since
been removed and today the memorial has only a commemorative
function. (City of Sydney Archives, CRS
538/63)
Inventory
This list, produced in October 1942, identifies all the
pedestal or bubbling fountains within the City of Sydney.
There were 115 bubblers, in addition to the ornamental
drinking fountains and canopy fountains. The city was
blessed with drinking facilities well into the 1970s.
When a citizen complained in 1977 about the lack of bubblers
in the city, the Controller of Cleansing replied incredulously
to the Town Clerk that there were 247 fountains within
the council’s boundaries, of which some 80 were
to be found in the city proper. (City of
Sydney Archives, SRC Fountains; CRS 34/732/77)
Modern
meets ancient
The Walter Renny Drinking Fountain was installed at Argyle
Place in 1869. Initially a new bubbling drinking fountain
was installed in 1917 at the western end of the reserve
to replace the old stone fountain. However after restoration
work in the 1980s the old stone fountain was adapted to
incorporate a bubbler. This photograph was taken in 2002.
(City of Sydney Archives, Gary Diermendjian
Photographic Collection.)
