The landmark WWI J. F. Archibald Memorial Fountain is located in Hyde Park North, above St James Railway Station. The fountain was unveiled a few days prior to the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, in 1932. We delivered restoration and conservation works on the fountain, work done for the first time in around 20 years. The waterproofing, electrical, hydraulic, mechanical and illumination systems have all been completely renewed. The bronze statues have been cleaned, polished, and treated with a protective microcrystalline wax. The polished granite plinths have also been restored. It was a pleasure to partner with the Council of the City of Sydney again (previous projects including Glebe Town Hall, and the Golden Water Mouth Sculpture in Chinatown.)

1930s era images credit: City of Sydney Archives – City of Sydney Town Clerk. All other images captured by our own photographer.

Final testing of the water jets and fine-tuning of the lighting systems was completed and handover achieved in late December 2022.

Link to Council’s media release here.

The project was awarded Highly Commended in the Conservation – Built Heritage category for the 2023 National Trust Heritage Awards: link

We also extend our sincere congratulations to Ken Ellis, of Artisan of Stone Pty Ltd, for his Heritage Skills award from the National Trust. Ken delivered all the stone and bronze restoration works to the Fountain. The Trust’s recognition of his dedication to heritage conservation is well deserved.