Public Art in Central Christchurch

Peacock Fountain

Category: Fountain Title: Peacock Fountain Foundry / fabricator: Coalbrookdale Foundry, Shropshire, England Other collaborators: Andersons Ltd acted as agents Installation date: Installed by June 1911, reinstalled 1996 Media: Iron Approximate dimensions: h 7.6m diameter 3.65m Location: Christchurch Botanic Gardens Setting: Placed in the Gardens, on the south side of the Canterbury Museum Owner / administrator: Parks Unit, Christchurch City Council

When the Peacock Fountain was first installed in 1911 it attracted a lot of unfavourable comment. These comments were strongly reiterated when the fountain was reinstalled and repositioned in 1996.

When John T. Peacock died in 1905 his will stipulated a bequest to the Christchurch Beautifying Association of £500 to be "..used by the Society in beautifying the Reserves and Gardens in the said City and in improving the River Avon."¹ The Beautifying Association decided on the idea of using the money to procure a fountain. Andersons Ltd met with the Association to present designs supplied by Coalbrookdale Company, England. After a lot of consideration the association settled on an iron fountain at a cost that did not exceed the amount that had been bequeathed.

The decision was made to place the ornate fountain in the Botanic Gardens adjacent to where the Robert McDougall Art Gallery now stands. The fountain was installed and operational by June 1911. However the fountain was moved to the Archery Lawn a few years later.

In 1949 the fountain was dismantled and put into storage because of recurring maintenance problems. In the 1980s the Council transferred the components to the Ferrymead Historic Park. Over the years pieces of the fountain went missing or deteriorated in storage.

After many years languishing in storage a committee was formed to restore the Peacock Fountain. In 1995 a conservation plan was prepared. The restoration was a large undertaking. Of the 309 cast pieces that made up the fountain there were 158 that had to be re-cast. The Peacock Fountain was returned to the Botanic Gardens in 1996 with an improved pipe system and a new colour scheme. A local artist W.A Sutton was consulted by the committee on possible colours. However the final choice did not leave everyone happy. Some interesting responses were given in the letters to The Press, the fountain was described as looking "like a refugee from a confectioner's nightmare." The new colour scheme was blamed for "cause(ing) flu-like symptoms when looked upon." There was also the statement that "The new colour coding of the fountain has a closer cultural relationship to a nouveau riche garden in Bangkok."²

Whether the responses were favourable or not we can be sure that the Peacock Fountain will not go unnoticed.

¹From the will of John T. Peacock, 21 May 1903. Held at National Archives, Peterborough Street, Christchurch.

² Taken from letters to The Press, May, 1996

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