Water, water every where: a virtual
historical exhibition...
From the drains
and sewers under the surface of the ground to the water cooling
plants on the top of tall buildings, the city is full of water
features. Like the line in Coleridge’s famous poem The
Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, there is ‘water,
water, every where’. Some you are meant to ignore, some
is there to be noticed and enjoyed.
The use of water changes with time. Today there are no horse
troughs in the city. A hundred years ago they were common.
The same goes for drinking fountains. Once people bathed and
swam in the harbour. Now they take aqua aerobic classes in
enclosed pools. With time the use of water for ornamental
purposes has increased.
This
exhibition explores the theme of water in the City.
It has been curated by the History Program at the City
of Sydney and is part of the City’s contribution
to the National Trust Heritage Festival, 5 – 13
April, 2003 and Archives and Records Management Week
25-31 May 2003. The theme for this year’s Heritage
Festival is Freshwater- water, waves and wanderings.
The City is also conducting
guided tours of the City’s water features
on Saturday 12 April. Or download
(PDF document - 272 KB) the water features brochure
and explore them for yourself.
