Alexandra Fountain

Alexandra Fountain is regarded as one of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia's most prominent landmarks and monuments.^[1]

The fountain is located in Bendigo's "Charing Cross", the intersection of View Street and Pall Mall. Charing Cross effectively stands at the centre of the city and is one of Bendigo's busiest and most prominent intersections. The fountain stands opposite to the main entrance of Rosalind Park.

Alexandra Fountain was funded from the proceeds of the Bendigo Juvenile Industrial Exhibition (1879), a £500 gift from George Lansell and a further £700 from the Sandhurst City Council (now the City of Greater Bendigo). The fountain was designed by W. C. Vahland,^[2] a local architect responsible for some of the cities most prominent buildings.^[3] The fountain was named in honour of Alexandra, Princess of Wales and the grand opening (5 July 1881) was attended by her sons Prince Albert and Prince George.^[4]

Other than the Exhibition Fountain, built in 1880 and located in the Melbourne's Carlton Gardens, the Alexandra Fountain is the largest and most ornate municipal fountain in Victoria.^[4] The fountain stands 28 feet (8.5 m) high and sits in a 50 feet (15 m) diameter circular pool which itself is 2 feet (0.61 m) deep. It is made from 20 tonnes (22 tons) of Harcourt granite, cast iron and painted stone. Decoratively the fountain includes lion head spouts, four allegorical female figures, spouted bronzed mer-horses and dolphins, medallions of seashells, dolphins and tridents also decorate the fountain. The pool is bordered by a decorative cast iron fence and lit with four cast iron lamps.^[4]

Historically the fountain is a monument to the success of the Goldfields and the Bendigo region. Aesthetically the fountain is fairly typical of late Victorian monumental design but is unusual in that few fountains were built according to this theme.^[4]

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