Restoration works have been completed for central Sydney’s iconic Archibald Fountain which features the statue of the Ancient Greek god of light, Apollo.
Targeted upgrades of the 90-year-old artwork included structural, hydraulic, electrical and mechanical improvements, as well as water saving measures in the fountain’s function.
Speaking of a “nationally significant sculpture”, Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore highlighted the add-on value of the public hub for locals and passers-by alike.
“Families, friends and visitors enjoy meeting at the Archibald Fountain under the shade of tree canopy in Hyde Park, as a quiet respite from the city,” Cr Moore said and commented on its history:
“While the fountain was commissioned to honour an association forged through war, the sculptor made peace the theme of this work, a message that remains as poignant today as it was a century ago.”
Gifted to the City of Sydney as a tribute to France’s alliance with Australia in WWI the fountain was a war related project, but the commissioned artist, Francois Sicard, chose to avoid military themes and instead deployed Greek mythology and antiquity ideals in the design.
The Olympian God Apollo is the central sculpture of the artwork and stands surrounded by other ancient Greek figures including Diana, Pan and the Minotaur, in a base decorated with sculptured animals and formations depicting the movement of water.
Sicard had been commended as “wise in making it symbolical of the peaceful and enlightened ideals for which the soldiers gave their lives”.
Named after J.F Archibald, a then prominent Sydney figure who commissioned the work in 1926, the Archibald Memorial Fountain has been a landmark in the city’s Hyde Park.
It was officially opened in 1932 by Mayor Samuel Walder who praised it saying it was “without equal” in Australia.