Otago Sculpture Trust

In Site Library - Greater Dunedin: Wolf Harris Fountain (Botanic Garden) (1889-90)

InSite

Wolf Harris Fountain....... Shakespeare Garden, Dunedin Botanical Gardens.

A photograph in the December 9 1903 edition of the "Otago Witness" shows the Wolf Harris Fountain as part of a charming park area known as the Triangle. The photograph was taken to show off the new offices of "The Witness" and its sister publication the "Otago Daily Times" which were located on the fringe of this peaceful scene where water sported in the fountain and visitors to the city could take a quiet stroll. The place which we now know as Queen's Gardens was designed to be a recreational space for visitors to the important Exhibition held in Dunedin over the years 1889 -90, the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition. This was one of the many industrial and cultural fairs that were held throughout the world in imitation to the Great Exhibition which opened at Crystal Palace in London in 1851.

The area was left in an unpleasant mess after the Railway Station was moved away.  Mr Wolf Harris, a Dunedin businessman, was a founding member of an amenity group that campaigned to conserve the Triangle as a recreational area and improve its appearance and facilities. His contribution was the gift of this fountain By August 1889 the society had seen and approved drawings of the proposed fountain. It is made of cast iron and was probably sent out from England and assembled on arrival. It was formally gifted to the city on May 28, 1890.

Wolf Harris was a member of the Woolf Harris family who were among the first Jewish settlers in Otago.

After the 1914-18 War the city council decided to locate the War Memorial in Queen's Gardens. The fountain was removed. It was gifted by Mr Wolf Harris to the Botanical Gardens in 1924 but before that it had formed an important feature at the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition of 1924-25 where the fountain was displayed in front of the main pavilion.

In 1933 it was incorporated in the newly developed  Shakespearean Garden at the Botanical Gardens where it has remained ever since. In May this year the fountain was again featured in a photograph in the newspaper as conservator Francois Leurquin neared the end of recent conservation work. Throughout the years it has needed regular attention. In November 1910 a great storm dislodged the figure of the swan which was damaged in a fall. After its move to the botanical gardens the fountain basin was found to be cracked. It leaked so much that it was not useable.  It was not until the Dunedin Amenities society (then known as the Conservation Society) took an interest in 1994 that the fountain was restored to working order. The Society offered to pay $10,000 towards an estimated restoration cost of $21,000. In the event, additional costs were incurred when it became necessary top move a tree, a golden ash.

The fountain has recently undergone further conservation work and is now functioning again and on view to the public.

Richard Dingwall

1 November, 2004

Text Copyright © Richard Dingwall