104-578: The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is a heritage-listed fountain and war memorial located at Macleay Street in the inner Sydney locale of Kings Cross in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales , Australia. It was designed by the Australian architects Robert Woodward and Phill Taranto as employed by architectural firm Woodward and Woodward. The fountain was built from 1959 to 1961. It
208-441: A cafe with large awnings and cafe furniture; and a significant amount of recently planted vegetation. Although worthwhile in their own right, many of these elements interfere with views towards the fountain and should be repositioned when possible. As at 28 October 2010, The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is of State significance as a spectacular fountain and outstanding work of modernist design in water which has been copied all over
312-400: A computer, for dramatic effects. Fountains can themselves also be musical instruments played by obstruction of one or more of their water jets. Drinking fountains provide clean drinking water in public buildings, parks and public spaces. Ancient civilizations built stone basins to capture and hold precious drinking water. A carved stone basin, dating to around 700 BC, was discovered in
416-456: A difference of 130 feet (40 m) in elevation between the source and the fountain, which meant that the water from this fountain jetted sixteen feet straight up into the air from the conch shell of the triton. The Piazza Navona became a grand theater of water, with three fountains, built in a line on the site of the Stadium of Domitian . The fountains at either end are by Giacomo della Porta ;
520-422: A fearful price for their involvement, suffering almost 6,000 casualties between July and November 1942. The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history. The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is of State significance for its historical associations with the Australian soldiers of the 9th Division who fought near
624-588: A form of theater, with cascades and jets of water coming from marble statues of animals and mythological figures. The most famous fountains of this kind were found in the Villa d'Este (1550–1572), at Tivoli near Rome, which featured a hillside of basins, fountains and jets of water, as well as a fountain which produced music by pouring water into a chamber, forcing air into a series of flute-like pipes. The gardens also featured giochi d'acqua , water jokes, hidden fountains which suddenly soaked visitors. Between 1546 and 1549,
728-578: A fountain designer largely because of its popular and critical success. It is rare as a war memorial in NSW which commemorates a battle rather than the loss of individual members of the armed forces. It is also unusual because its beauty as a fountain has historically almost overwhelmed its solemn function a war memorial. El Alamein Memorial Fountain was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 14 January 2011 having satisfied
832-617: A fountain in the center of the cross, representing the spring or fountain, Salsabil , described in the Qur'an as the source of the rivers of Paradise. In the 9th century, the Banū Mūsā brothers, a trio of Persian Inventors , were commissioned by the Caliph of Baghdad to summarize the engineering knowledge of the ancient Greek and Roman world. They wrote a book entitled the Book of Ingenious Devices , describing
936-664: A fountain shooting a vertical jet of water for his favorite mistress, Diane de Poitiers , next to the Château de Chenonceau (1556–1559). At the royal Château de Fontainebleau , he built another fountain with a bronze statue of Diane , goddess of the hunt, modeled after Diane de Poitiers. Later, after the death of Henry II, his widow, Catherine de Medici , expelled Diane de Poitiers from Chenonceau and built her own fountain and garden there. King Henry IV of France made an important contribution to French fountains by inviting an Italian hydraulic engineer, Tommaso Francini , who had worked on
1040-446: A hexagonal base, where the water cascades down three levels. It is illuminated at night. Tom Heath's appraisal of El Alamein in 1962 captured the excitement of the moment: 'El Alamein fountain at Kings Cross has fulfilled beyond expectation the promise of the original design. Surely no one can pass this dandelion of water gleaming in the sun or glowing with its own internal light at night and resist its fascination. The bold formality of
1144-486: A high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is of State aesthetic significance as a spectacular fountain and outstanding work of modernist design in water which has been copied all over the world. It was described by architectural historian Max Freeland as "a splendid sculpture in water. Its ephemeral ever-changing ever-remaining lightness dances tantalizingly in
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#17328583389521248-592: A higher source of water it was not possible to make water flow by gravity, There are lion-shaped fountains in the Temple of Dendera in Qena . The ancient Greeks used aqueducts and gravity-powered fountains to distribute water. According to ancient historians, fountains existed in Athens , Corinth , and other ancient Greek cities in the 6th century BC as the terminating points of aqueducts which brought water from springs and rivers into
1352-854: A large basin, canal and marble pools. In the Ottoman Empire , rulers often built fountains next to mosques so worshippers could do their ritual washing. Examples include the Fountain of Qasim Pasha (1527), Temple Mount , Jerusalem , an ablution and drinking fountain built during the Ottoman reign of Suleiman the Magnificent ; the Fountain of Ahmed III (1728) at the Topkapı Palace , Istanbul , another Fountain of Ahmed III in Üsküdar (1729) and Tophane Fountain (1732). Palaces themselves often had small decorated fountains, which provided drinking water, cooled
1456-505: A length of 10 ft (3.05 m) and a diameter of 4 in. (10 cm). The central globe is made of cast brass [in fact bronze, according to CMP] and its diameter measures 46 cm. Each stalk consists of a tube 1.5 inch [2 cm] thick at the base and reducing to 0.5 inch [0.8 cm] at the outer end. A specially constructed nozzle has been fitted to each of these extremities. . . [There are] three terraced pools made of concrete and covered with white mosaic glass tiles. The perimeter coping
1560-412: A lion or the muzzle of an animal. Most Greek fountains flowed by simple gravity, but they also discovered how to use principle of a siphon to make water spout, as seen in pictures on Greek vases. The Ancient Romans built an extensive system of aqueducts from mountain rivers and lakes to provide water for the fountains and baths of Rome. The Roman engineers used lead pipes instead of bronze to distribute
1664-399: A name for Woodward and the firm that he went on to design many others, and his fountains are his best-known works. Woodward's Modernist design has been variously described as looking like a blown thistle , or dandelion . The sculpture is made of bronze with brass pipes. The small-nozzled spray heads make the sphere-shaped spray very fine, and sensitive to air movement. The fountain sits on
1768-712: A new award, the Civic Design Award, because of the El Alamein Fountain'. ' "A fountain of great beauty", said the Judges, in presenting the new NSW Chapter of the RAIA Civic Design Award to architects Woodward, Tarantino and Wallace for the breathtaking El Alamein Fountain at King's Cross, Sydney. The jury considered there could hardly be a more appropriate recipient of this first Civic Design Award'. An article in
1872-609: A program of aqueduct and fountain building. The city had previously gotten all its drinking water from wells and reservoirs of rain water, which meant that there was little water or water pressure to run fountains. Cosimo built an aqueduct large enough for the first continually-running fountain in Florence, the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria (1560–1567). This fountain featured an enormous white marble statue of Neptune, resembling Cosimo, by sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati . Under
1976-691: A wall fountain where the Trevi Fountain is now located. The aqueduct he restored, with modifications and extensions, eventually supplied water to the Trevi Fountain and the famous baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona . One of the first new fountains to be built in Rome during the Renaissance was the fountain in the piazza in front of the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere (1472), which
2080-557: A worthy capital of the Christian world. In 1453, he began to rebuild the Acqua Vergine , the ruined Roman aqueduct which had brought clean drinking water to the city from eight miles (13 km) away. He also decided to revive the Roman custom of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with a mostra , a grand commemorative fountain. He commissioned the architect Leon Battista Alberti to build
2184-542: Is Oceanus , the personification of all the seas and oceans, in an oyster-shell chariot, surrounded by Tritons and Sea Nymphs . In fact, the fountain had very little water pressure, because the source of water was, like the source for the Piazza Navona fountains, the Acqua Vergine, with a 23-foot (7.0 m) drop. Salvi compensated for this problem by sinking the fountain down into the ground, and by carefully designing
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#17328583389522288-566: Is a splendid sculpture in water. Its ephemeral ever-changing ever-remaining lightness dances tantalizingly in the sunshine or turns the reflections of gaudy neon lights into jewels at night. Its poetry was a sculptural breakthrough not only in Australia but in the world'. Carol Henty wrote for The Bulletin in 1978: 'It is to Sydney what Eros is to London. The inner city heads for it on New Year's Eve. Pranksters have dyed it green, put soap bubbles through it and bathed nude in it. It's sometimes called
2392-513: Is also known as El Alamein Fountain , Fitzroy Gardens Group , Kings Cross Fountain and King's Cross Fountain . It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 14 January 2011. The El Alamein Fountain was commissioned as a memorial to soldiers who died in 1942 during World War II in two battles at El Alamein , Egypt . The Australian 9th Division fought in both the first (July 1942) and second (November 1942) battles of El Alamein during World War II. Both were important for
2496-568: Is decorated with stone carvings representing prophets and saints, allegories of the arts, labors of the months, the signs of the zodiac, and scenes from Genesis and Roman history. Medieval fountains could also provide amusement. The gardens of the Counts of Artois at the Château de Hesdin, built in 1295, contained famous fountains, called Les Merveilles de Hesdin ("The Wonders of Hesdin") which could be triggered to drench surprised visitors. Shortly after
2600-405: Is faced with quartzite and the two upper pools' spillways are formed by bronze dentils . The water is pumped through the line strainer - at a rate of 500 gallons (2,270 litres) per minute and a pressure of 22 lb. [10 kg] per square inch - up to the central sphere where it emerges from each of the 211 nozzles as a thin 18 inch [45 cm] disc of water. These disks of water merge and create
2704-414: Is mounted in a metal cylinder with a clear Pyrex glass cover and a bronze-coloured spun metal shielding ring which projects several inches above the water level. For maintenance purposes the cylinders can be reached from the equipment room under the central pool. This room houses a 25 h.p. electric motor, a 3-inch pump, a 3-inch strainer, switchboards and a set of three stainless steel screening baskets. Below
2808-622: Is nevertheless contemplated that Fitzroy Gardens will become a local assembly point on Anzac Day and the fountain will be known as a war memorial fountain." This association between the park and a war memorial began in October 1957 when the Kings Cross Sub-Branch of the Returned Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia approached the Council about the possibility of changing
2912-405: Is obstructing the traffic and being regarded with contempt by old men who have been studying it all comfortably from benches for hours'. El Alamein Fountain won the inaugural RAIA NSW Chapter Civic Design Award in 1964. Woodward explained 'We had nominated it for design awards but it was considered not to be architecture and so it didn't get an award. [The NSW Institute of Architects] then instigated
3016-522: Is of State significance as a war memorial to the Australian soldiers of the 9th Division who fought near the Egyptian town of El Alamein in two battles which helped turn the course of World War II towards victory for the Allies. It is also of State significance for its associations with its designer Bob Woodward, a World War II veteran whose career was consequently shifted into national and international prominence as
3120-449: Is recognized as the world's top fountain designer. Last month he came back from San Francisco, where he supervised the installation of a fountain built to his own design. Night and day, people come to take pictures of his King's Cross fountain. . . Everybody seems to know about the fountain and it is now a recognised easy-to-find meeting place because "anybody will tell you where it is". Mr C.S. Garth, Sydney's Director of Parks, said, 'We knew
3224-544: The Alexanderplatz in Berlin (1891). The fountains of Piazza Navona had one drawback - their water came from the Acqua Vergine, which had only a 23-foot (7.0 m) drop from the source to the fountains, which meant the water could only fall or trickle downwards, not jet very high upwards. The Trevi Fountain is the largest and most spectacular of Rome's fountains, designed to glorify the three different Popes who created it. It
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3328-498: The Cortile del Belvedere , was designed by Donato Bramante . The garden was decorated with the Pope's famous collection of classical statues, and with fountains. The Venetian Ambassador wrote in 1523, "... On one side of the garden is a most beautiful loggia, at one end of which is a lovely fountain that irrigates the orange trees and the rest of the garden by a little canal in the center of
3432-565: The Gardens of Versailles to illustrate his power over nature. The baroque decorative fountains of Rome in the 17th and 18th centuries marked the arrival point of restored Roman aqueducts and glorified the Popes who built them. By the end of the 19th century, as indoor plumbing became the main source of drinking water, urban fountains became purely decorative. Mechanical pumps replaced gravity and allowed fountains to recycle water and to force it high into
3536-659: The Neptune fountain to the north, (1572) shows the God of the Sea spearing an octopus, surrounded by tritons , sea horses and mermaids . At the southern end is Il Moro, possibly also a figure of Neptune riding a fish in a conch shell. In the center is the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi , (The Fountain of the Four Rivers) (1648–51), a highly theatrical fountain by Bernini, with statues representing rivers from
3640-495: The New South Wales State Heritage Register published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under CC-BY 4.0 licence , accessed on 14 October 2018. Fountain A fountain , from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring , is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into
3744-484: The Palace of Versailles . In this garden, the fountain played a central role. He used fountains to demonstrate the power of man over nature, and to illustrate the grandeur of his rule. In the Gardens of Versailles , instead of falling naturally into a basin, water was shot into the sky, or formed into the shape of a fan or bouquet. Dancing water was combined with music and fireworks to form a grand spectacle. These fountains were
3848-636: The Piazza Barberini (1642), by Gian Lorenzo Bernini , is a masterpiece of Baroque sculpture, representing Triton , half-man and half-fish, blowing his horn to calm the waters, following a text by the Roman poet Ovid in the Metamorphoses . The Triton fountain benefited from its location in a valley, and the fact that it was fed by the Aqua Felice aqueduct, restored in 1587, which arrived in Rome at an elevation of 194 feet (59 m) above sea level (fasl),
3952-542: The 1st century BC, and in the villas of Pompeii. The Villa of Hadrian in Tivoli featured a large swimming basin with jets of water. Pliny the Younger described the banquet room of a Roman villa where a fountain began to jet water when visitors sat on a marble seat. The water flowed into a basin, where the courses of a banquet were served in floating dishes shaped like boats. Roman engineers built aqueducts and fountains throughout
4056-437: The Egyptian town of El Alamein in two battles which helped turn the course of World War II. It is also of State significance for its associations with its designer Bob Woodward, a World War II veteran whose career as a fountain designer was consequently reoriented into national and international prominence largely because of its popular and critical success. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or
4160-560: The Fitzroy Gardens fountain was assessed by a panel of architects (Max Collard, President of the RAIA (NSW Chapter), and Professor Leslie Wilkinson ), sculptors ( Douglas Annand ), and the City Council. The Committee's design brief for the fountain was: "The fountain shall cost not more than £ 10,000 complete. Whilst the fountain is not to be a war memorial in the generally accepted sense, it
4264-735: The Garden of Eden was shown with a graceful gothic fountain in the center (see illustration). The Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck , finished in 1432, also shows a fountain as a feature of the adoration of the mystic lamb, a scene apparently set in Paradise. The cloister of a monastery was supposed to be a replica of the Garden of Eden, protected from the outside world. Simple fountains, called lavabos, were placed inside Medieval monasteries such as Le Thoronet Abbey in Provence and were used for ritual washing before religious services. Fountains were also found in
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4368-690: The Gardens, at the intersection of the main axes of the Gardens of Versailles, is the Bassin d'Apollon (1668–71), designed by Charles Le Brun and sculpted by Jean Baptiste Tuby. This statue shows a theme also depicted in the painted decoration in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles: Apollo in his chariot about to rise from the water, announced by Tritons with seashell trumpets. Historians Mary Anne Conelli and Marilyn Symmes wrote, "Designed for dramatic effect and to flatter
4472-498: The Imperial household, baths and owners of private villas. Each of the major fountains was connected to two different aqueducts, in case one was shut down for service. The Romans were able to make fountains jet water into the air, by using the pressure of water flowing from a distant and higher source of water to create hydraulic head , or force. Illustrations of fountains in gardens spouting water are found on wall paintings in Rome from
4576-496: The Medicis, fountains were not just sources of water, but advertisements of the power and benevolence of the city's rulers. They became central elements not only of city squares, but of the new Italian Renaissance garden . The great Medici Villa at Castello, built for Cosimo by Benedetto Varchi , featured two monumental fountains on its central axis; one showing with two bronze figures representing Hercules slaying Antaeus , symbolizing
4680-581: The Memorial gates opposite the wharves in Woolloomooloo". Robert (Bob) Woodward (1923–2010) together with Phill Taranto was commissioned to build the fountain in 1959. Woodward, himself an Army veteran, was 36 at the time and had studied architecture at Sydney University, and worked in Finland. The structure was completed in 1961 and officially opened by Harry Jensen , Lord Mayor of Sydney. The fountain made such
4784-589: The Middle Ages, Roman aqueducts were wrecked or fell into decay, and many fountains throughout Europe stopped working, so fountains existed mainly in art and literature, or in secluded monasteries or palace gardens. Fountains in the Middle Ages were associated with the source of life, purity, wisdom, innocence, and the Garden of Eden . In illuminated manuscripts like the Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1411–1416) ,
4888-466: The NSW chapter of the Institute of Architects created a new design category for it, the "Civic Design Award" of which it became the inaugural winner in 1964. The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is of State significance for its rarity as a war memorial in NSW which commemorates a battle rather than
4992-848: The Roman Empire. Examples can be found today in the ruins of Roman towns in Vaison-la-Romaine and Glanum in France, in Augst , Switzerland, and other sites. In Nepal there were public drinking fountains at least as early as 550 AD. They are called dhunge dharas or hitis . They consist of intricately carved stone spouts through which water flows uninterrupted from underground water sources. They are found extensively in Nepal and some of them are still operational. Construction of water conduits like hitis and dug wells are considered as pious acts in Nepal. During
5096-698: The Sultan in the gardens of Generalife in Granada (1319) featured spouts of water pouring into a basin, with channels which irrigated orange and myrtle trees. The garden was modified over the centuries – the jets of water which cross the canal today were added in the 19th century. The fountain in the Court of the Lions of the Alhambra, built from 1362 to 1391, is a large vasque mounted on twelve stone statues of lions. Water spouts upward in
5200-676: The Sydney Fountains Committee, which was established in September 1958. Its aim was to put fountains in public places in Sydney to enhance their natural beauty and to commemorate families, individuals and organisations. A Designs Committee was responsible for the design competitions for fountains in a number of selected sites, such as the Fitzroy Gardens in Kings Cross, Moore Park , Customs House Square, and Macquarie Place. The competition for
5304-467: The Younger , Pliny the Elder , and Varro . The treatise on architecture, De re aedificatoria , by Leon Battista Alberti , which described in detail Roman villas, gardens and fountains, became the guidebook for Renaissance builders. In Rome, Pope Nicholas V (1397–1455), himself a scholar who commissioned hundreds of translations of ancient Greek classics into Latin, decided to embellish the city and make it
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#17328583389525408-408: The air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were originally purely functional, connected to springs or aqueducts and used to provide drinking water and water for bathing and washing to the residents of cities, towns and villages. Until the late 19th century most fountains operated by gravity , and needed a source of water higher than the fountain, such as a reservoir or aqueduct, to make
5512-614: The air, and made a pleasant splashing sound. One surviving example is the Fountain of Tears (1764) at the Bakhchisarai Palace , in Crimea ; which was made famous by a poem of Alexander Pushkin . The sebil was a decorated fountain that was often the only source of water for the surrounding neighborhood. It was often commissioned as an act of Islamic piety by a rich person. In the 14th century, Italian humanist scholars began to rediscover and translate forgotten Roman texts on architecture by Vitruvius , on hydraulics by Hero of Alexandria , and descriptions of Roman gardens and fountains by Pliny
5616-594: The air. The Jet d'Eau in Lake Geneva , built in 1951, shoots water 140 metres (460 ft) in the air. The highest such fountain in the world is King Fahd's Fountain in Jeddah , Saudi Arabia, which spouts water 260 metres (850 ft) above the Red Sea. Fountains are used today to decorate city parks and squares; to honor individuals or events; for recreation and for entertainment. A splash pad or spray pool allows city residents to enter, get wet and cool off in summer. The musical fountain combines moving jets of water, colored lights and recorded music, controlled by
5720-415: The atrium, or interior courtyard, with water coming from the city water supply and spouting into a small bowl or basin. Ancient Rome was a city of fountains. According to Sextus Julius Frontinus , the Roman consul who was named curator aquarum or guardian of the water of Rome in 98 AD, Rome had nine aqueducts which fed 39 monumental fountains and 591 public basins, not counting the water supplied to
5824-400: The cascade so that the water churned and tumbled, to add movement and drama. Wrote historians Maria Ann Conelli and Marilyn Symmes, "On many levels the Trevi altered the appearance, function and intent of fountains and was a watershed for future designs." Beginning in 1662, King Louis XIV of France began to build a new kind of garden, the Garden à la française , or French formal garden, at
5928-408: The cities. In the 6th century BC, the Athenian ruler Peisistratos built the main fountain of Athens, the Enneacrounos , in the Agora , or main square. It had nine large cannons, or spouts, which supplied drinking water to local residents. Greek fountains were made of stone or marble, with water flowing through bronze pipes and emerging from the mouth of a sculpted mask that represented the head of
6032-465: The course of the war. They halted the advance of Axis forces into Egypt and routed them, and are considered a turning point in the Western Desert Campaign . The El Alamein Fountain in Sydney commemorates the Australian army's roles in the North Africa campaign in general, and the two El Alamein battles in particular. Woodward & Taranto won the main prize of £ 500 in 1959 in the City Council fountains competition. The competition had been organised by
6136-564: The dandelion. Or the puff ball. Or the porcupine. Officially it's the El Alamein Fountain in Fitzroy Gardens, Kings Cross - the first fountain designed by Sydney's Bob Woodward, opened 18 years ago but with a touch of magic that's still potent. At last count 72 American companies were manufacturing it in seven different sizes and exporting it worldwide, making it probably the world's most copied fountain'. In an interview with Woodward in 1996, architectural historians Paul Alan Johnson and Susan Lorne Johnson stated, 'Australians really seem to have taken
6240-478: The enclosed medieval jardins d'amour , "gardens of courtly love" – ornamental gardens used for courtship and relaxation. The medieval romance The Roman de la Rose describes a fountain in the center of an enclosed garden, feeding small streams bordered by flowers and fresh herbs. Some Medieval fountains, like the cathedrals of their time, illustrated biblical stories, local history and the virtues of their time. The Fontana Maggiore in Perugia , dedicated in 1278,
6344-418: The equivalent of ~32 troughs. This means that the weirs draining the pools and all 9 glory holes have identical flow. The fountain sits above the top pool of a series of four pools, set among cobblestone paving near the south-western edge of Fitzroy Gardens. As the land is sloping gently eastward, its design responds to the site, with successive pools lower down this slope towards the east. The top pool in which
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#17328583389526448-552: The floodlights and water-circulating mechanism absorbs $ 3048 of the maintenance allotment.' Freeland's Architecture in Australia, 1967 stated: 'Fountains were particularly popular and prestigious because of their patent luxury after nearly sixty years when circumstances had demanded a practical return for any money spent. Only one of the many fountains erected throughout Australia was really successful - and it could hardly have been more so. The El Alamein fountain designed by Woodward and Taranto and erected at Kings Cross in Sydney in 1961
6552-432: The floor is a concrete tank of 3,000 gallons (ca 13 cu. m.). The operation of the fountain is controlled by a time switch.' Two "London / hybrid" plane, Platanus x acerifolia (syn. P. x hispanica) trees dating from the time when the fountain was completed are considered to be of significance. The curtilage for the SHR listing is in the shape of a triangle with its three corners enclosing the three main viewing cones towards
6656-420: The following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is of State historical heritage significance as a war memorial to the battles fought by Australian soldiers near the Egyptian town of El Alamein which helped turn the course of World War II towards victory for the Allies. The Australians paid
6760-415: The fountain apparatus is mounted is hexagonal in form. Lower pools reflect this form but are larger, with expanded dimensions. A series of spillway dentils in bronze direct water down from pool to pool through a fine series of "teeth" which make a very precise noise, helping dull traffic noise. Below ground to its immediate north-east is the fountain's pump room, which houses its operative mechanisms. Also to
6864-457: The fountain to their hearts... Australians don't usually seem to be overly enthusiastic about their sculpture or their architecture... The fountain is now an icon in Australia and internationally admired'. 'The El Alamein Fountain represents an important technological innovation in fountain design, and has been much replicated throughout the world.' The fountain won Woodward the New South Wales Institute of Architects Civic Design Award in 1964. Over
6968-427: The fountain was original, that it was unique. We knew it would create a lot of interest. But I don't think anyone realised just how much interest it would create. Overseas visitors come here, take color pictures, and take them home, Now everyone seems to want a fountain like ours'. . . Mr Garth said the original cost of the fountain was $ 32,028 and the annual maintenance bill was about $ 3248. Cost of electricity to operate
7072-509: The fountain, from Darlinghurst Road, from Macleay Street north and from the Police Station. Within this curtilage are many non-significant or intrusive urban design elements including: roads and traffic signals; a Telstra telephone booth; a glass enclosed bus shelter; a tourist sign-post showing directions / distance to numerous world cities; a light post with multiple circular lights; a large bronze sculpture "Angled Wheels of Fortune" designed and donated by property developer Dennis Wolanski in 1988;
7176-462: The fountains of the villa at Pratalino, to make fountains in France. Francini became a French citizen in 1600, built the Medici Fountain, and during the rule of the young King Louis XIII , he was raised to the position of Intendant général des Eaux et Fontaines of the king, a position which was hereditary. His descendants became the royal fountain designers for Louis XIII and for Louis XIV at Versailles . In 1630, another Medici, Marie de Medici ,
7280-423: The four continents; the Nile , Danube , Plate River and Ganges . Over the whole structure is a 54-foot (16 m) Egyptian obelisk , crowned by a cross with the emblem of the Pamphili family, representing Pope Innocent X , whose family palace was on the piazza. The theme of a fountain with statues symbolizing great rivers was later used in the Place de la Concorde (1836–40) and in the Fountain of Neptune in
7384-453: The impression of a huge thistledown [or dandelion]. The water from the nozzles falls first to the top pool and then runs between the spillway dentils from pool to pool. Through nine glory hole outlets and underground pipes the water returns into the screening baskets and back to the tanks so that it can circulate again.'. The glory holes compensate almost exactly for the consecutive reduction in weir length from pool to pool. Each glory hole drains
7488-455: The king, the fountain is oriented so that the Sun God rises from the west and travels east toward the chateau, in contradiction to nature." Besides these two monumental fountains, the Gardens over the years contained dozens of other fountains, including thirty-nine animal fountains in the labyrinth depicting the fables of Jean de La Fontaine . There were so many fountains at Versailles that it
7592-570: The kings of the Artuqid dynasty in Turkey commissioned him to manufacture a machine to raise water for their palaces. The finest result was a machine called the double-acting reciprocating piston pump , which translated rotary motion to reciprocating motion via the crankshaft - connecting rod mechanism. The palaces of Moorish Spain, particularly the Alhambra in Granada, had famous fountains. The patio of
7696-588: The loggia ... The original garden was split in two by the construction of the Vatican Library in the 16th century, but a new fountain by Carlo Maderno was built in the Cortile del Belvedere, with a jet of water shooting up from a circular stone bowl on an octagonal pedestal in a large basin. In 1537, in Florence , Cosimo I de' Medici , who had become ruler of the city at the age of only 17, also decided to launch
7800-514: The loss of individual members of the armed forces. It is also unusual because its beauty as a fountain has historically almost overwhelmed its solemn function as a war memorial. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. The El Alamein Memorial Fountain is of State significance as an example of internationally outstanding fountain design and representative of excellence in Australian modernist design of
7904-618: The merchants of Paris built the first Renaissance-style fountain in Paris, the Fontaine des Innocents , to commemorate the ceremonial entry of the King into the city. The fountain, which originally stood against the wall of the church of the Holy Innocents, as rebuilt several times and now stands in a square near Les Halles . It is the oldest fountain in Paris. Henry constructed an Italian-style garden with
8008-555: The mid twentieth century. A similar fountain can be found in Szczytna , in south-western Poland . A similar fountain can be found in Houston , Texas . The Gus S. Wortham Memorial Fountain was inspired by the El Alamein Fountain. Minneapolis , Minnesota ’s Berger Fountain (1971) is a copy, funded by Ben Berger, a former parks commissioner who saw the original. This copy was built by Woodward in Australia and shipped to Minnesota, where it
8112-502: The name of the park to El Alamein Park. In December 1958 the Council resolved to hold a public competition for designs for a fountain to be provided in Fitzroy Gardens that may also serve as a memorial. The Australasian Post explained further: 'The plan for the fountain was suggested by the King's Cross RSL, when they asked that a place be set aside for memorial services "because older servicemen are finding it very difficult to get to and from
8216-746: The new Baroque art, which was officially promoted by the Catholic Church as a way to win popular support against the Protestant Reformation ; the Council of Trent had declared in the 16th century that the Church should counter austere Protestantism with art that was lavish, animated and emotional. The fountains of Rome, like the paintings of Rubens , were examples of the principles of Baroque art. They were crowded with allegorical figures, and filled with emotion and movement. In these fountains, sculpture became
8320-542: The north east of the fountain is a plinth with two plaques which read: 'THE EL ALAMEIN MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN THIS FOUNTAIN WAS ERECTED IN COMMEMORIATION OF THE DEEDS OF THE NINTH DIVISION, AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCES IN WORLD WAR II BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SYDNEY AND PLACED IN OPERATION BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD MAYOR OF SYDNEY ALDERMAN H.F. JENSEN ON 18.11.61 E.W. ADAMS TOWN CLERK' 'THIS FOUNTAIN WAS DESIGNED BY AND CONSTRUCTED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF WOODWARD & TARANTO ARCHITECTS' The complete fountain head above
8424-428: The popular magazine Australasian Post in 1967 stated: 'It is probably one of the most beautiful man-made things in the land. . . Since Sydney's beautiful King's Cross fountain was first turned on, little over six years ago, people from all parts of the world have asked, "Who dreamed it up?" And they're still asking. The designer is an Australian, Mr Robert Raymond Woodward, and the fountain has made him famous. Today he
8528-458: The principal element, and the water was used simply to animate and decorate the sculptures. They, like baroque gardens, were "a visual representation of confidence and power." The first of the Fountains of St. Peter's Square , by Carlo Maderno , (1614) was one of the earliest Baroque fountains in Rome, made to complement the lavish Baroque façade he designed for St. Peter's Basilica behind it. It
8632-524: The ruins of the ancient Sumerian city of Lagash in modern Iraq . The ancient Assyrians constructed a series of basins in the gorge of the Comel River, carved in solid rock, connected by small channels, descending to a stream. The lowest basin was decorated with carved reliefs of two lions. The ancient Egyptians had ingenious systems for hoisting water up from the Nile for drinking and irrigation, but without
8736-406: The sphere catches one's attention immediately, yet this first impression of simplicity gives way at once to a fascinating complexity. The sphere is not a sphere but a mass of saucer shaped facets. The facets are not saucer-shaped but complex curves deformed by wind and gravity. There are transparencies, reflections and rainbow effects in the curtain of spray. By the time one has observed this much, one
8840-453: The spread of Islam, the Arabs incorporated into their city planning the famous Islamic gardens . Islamic gardens after the 7th century were traditionally enclosed by walls and were designed to represent paradise . The paradise gardens , were laid out in the form of a cross, with four channels representing the rivers of Paradise , dividing the four parts of the world. Water sometimes spouted from
8944-497: The story of how the peasants of Lycia tormented Latona and her children, Diana and Apollo , and were punished by being turned into frogs. This was a reminder of how French peasants had abused Louis's mother, Anne of Austria , during the uprising called the Fronde in the 1650s. When the fountain is turned on, sprays of water pour down on the peasants, who are frenzied as they are transformed into creatures. The other centerpiece of
9048-565: The sunshine or turns the reflections of gaudy neon lights into jewels at night. Its poetry was a sculptural breakthrough not only in Australia but in the world". Throughout the decades of the 1960s and 1970s it was an icon of Sydney, rivalling the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House for the frequency with which it was represented in tourism imagery. Described as "an important technological innovation in fountain design" (,
9152-564: The syphon (called shotor-gelu in Persian, literally 'neck of the camel) to create fountains which spouted water or made it resemble a bubbling spring. The garden of Fin , near Kashan, used 171 spouts connected to pipes to create a fountain called the Howz-e jush , or "boiling basin". The 11th century Persian poet Azraqi described a Persian fountain: Reciprocating motion was first described in 1206 by Arab Muslim engineer and inventor al-Jazari when
9256-654: The vasque and pours from the mouths of the lions, filling four channels dividing the courtyard into quadrants. The basin dates to the 14th century, but the lions spouting water are believed to be older, dating to the 11th century. The design of the Islamic garden spread throughout the Islamic world, from Moorish Spain to the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent . The Shalimar Gardens built by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1641, were said to be ornamented with 410 fountains, which fed into
9360-427: The victory of Cosimo over his enemies; and a second fountain, in the middle of a circular labyrinth of cypresses, laurel, myrtle and roses, had a bronze statue by Giambologna which showed the goddess Venus wringing her hair. The planet Venus was governed by Capricorn , which was the emblem of Cosimo; the fountain symbolized that he was the absolute master of Florence. By the middle Renaissance, fountains had become
9464-399: The water flow or jet into the air. In addition to providing drinking water, fountains were used for decoration and to celebrate their builders. Roman fountains were decorated with bronze or stone masks of animals or heroes. In the Middle Ages, Moorish and Muslim garden designers used fountains to create miniature versions of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France used fountains in
9568-401: The water throughout the city. The excavations at Pompeii , which revealed the city as it was when it was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, uncovered free-standing fountains and basins placed at intervals along city streets, fed by siphoning water upwards from lead pipes under the street. The excavations of Pompeii also showed that the homes of wealthy Romans often had a small fountain in
9672-426: The waterline and stalks were originally manufactured by Eric L. Williams under the supervision of Robert Woodward. At night, this lighted fountain makes the impression of a display of fireworks bursting asunder. The light emanates from six reflector lamps of 500 W, mounted under the water-level of the upper basin. These lamps are placed around the main delivery pipe, in a circle with a diameter of some 1.20 m. Each lamp
9776-591: The widow of Henry IV, built her own monumental fountain in Paris, the Medici Fountain , in the garden of the Palais du Luxembourg . That fountain still exists today, with a long basin of water and statues added in 1866. The 17th and 18th centuries were a golden age for fountains in Rome, which began with the reconstruction of ruined Roman aqueducts and the construction by the Popes of mostra , or display fountains, to mark their termini. The new fountains were expressions of
9880-553: The work of the descendants of Tommaso Francini , the Italian hydraulic engineer who had come to France during the time of Henry IV and built the Medici Fountain and the Fountain of Diana at Fontainebleau . Two fountains were the centerpieces of the Gardens of Versailles, both taken from the myths about Apollo, the sun god, the emblem of Louis XIV, and both symbolizing his power. The Fontaine Latone (1668–70) designed by André Le Nôtre and sculpted by Gaspard and Balthazar Marsy, represents
9984-422: The works of the 1st century Greek Engineer Hero of Alexandria and other engineers, plus many of their own inventions. They described fountains which formed water into different shapes and a wind-powered water pump, but it is not known if any of their fountains were ever actually built. The Persian rulers of the Middle Ages had elaborate water distribution systems and fountains in their palaces and gardens. Water
10088-576: The world. Throughout the decades of the 1960s and 1970s it was an icon of Sydney, rivalling the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House for the frequency with which it was represented in tourism imagery. Aesthetically it is rare in NSW as a local adaptation of the organic school of Scandinavian architectural design and as an example of the application of modernist design technology to fountain design. The El Alamein Memorial Fountain
10192-410: The years, its iconic shape has made it a well-known landmark that has been imitated by other builders. As the focal point of the Kings Cross area, the fountain often serves as a meeting place. 'This fountain has a globe-like shape, with a diameter of 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) and comprises 211 radially arranged "stalks" fitted to a hollow metal globe, itself placed on top of a brass pipe column with
10296-406: Was built beginning in 1730 at the terminus of the reconstructed Acqua Vergine aqueduct, on the site of Renaissance fountain by Leon Battista Alberti . It was the work of architect Nicola Salvi and the successive project of Pope Clement XII , Pope Benedict XIV and Pope Clement XIII , whose emblems and inscriptions are carried on the attic story, entablature and central niche. The central figure
10400-401: Was carried by a pipe into the palace from a source at a higher elevation. Once inside the palace or garden it came up through a small hole in a marble or stone ornament and poured into a basin or garden channels. The gardens of Pasargades had a system of canals which flowed from basin to basin, both watering the garden and making a pleasant sound. The Persian engineers also used the principle of
10504-573: Was fed by water from the Paola aqueduct, restored in 1612, whose source was 266 feet (81 m) above sea level, which meant it could shoot water twenty feet up from the fountain. Its form, with a large circular vasque on a pedestal pouring water into a basin and an inverted vasque above it spouting water, was imitated two centuries later in the Fountains of the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The Triton Fountain in
10608-582: Was impossible to have them all running at once; when Louis XIV made his promenades, his fountain-tenders turned on the fountains ahead of him and turned off those behind him. Louis built an enormous pumping station, the Machine de Marly , with fourteen water wheels and 253 pumps to raise the water three hundred feet from the River Seine , and even attempted to divert the River Eure to provide water for his fountains, but
10712-750: Was installed on a base (1974-75) that he approved. Tupperware Brands ' world headquarters in Kissimmee , Florida , has a replica of the fountain (1970) dedicated to the millions of independent sellers around the world. Nuneaton in the UK has a similar fountain called the Dandelion Fountain, voted 'UK Roundabout of the Year'. There is a similar fountain in Oslo, Norway. [REDACTED] This Misplaced Pages article contains material from El Alamein Memorial Fountain , entry number 1847 in
10816-406: Was placed on the site of an earlier Roman fountain. Its design, based on an earlier Roman model, with a circular vasque on a pedestal pouring water into a basin below, became the model for many other fountains in Rome, and eventually for fountains in other cities, from Paris to London. In 1503, Pope Julius II decided to recreate a classical pleasure garden in the same place. The new garden, called
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