This exciting water feature is located in Hyde Park, in Sydney. The fountain was built to honor J.F. Archibald, the owner and editor of The Bulletin, who actually left the funds to have the fountain created. His specific instructions were that the fountain needed to be built by a French artist, because he had a love for the culture, and also wanted a way to celebrate the Australia and French association in World War I. His will stated, “a proportion of his estate should be devoted to the creation of some beautiful bronze symbolic open-air memorial by a French artist, commemorative of Australia and France having fought side by side for the liberties of the world. … such memorial to take the form of an electrically lighted fountain to be placed if possible in the Botanical Gardens Sydney or if not in some suitable place in one or other of the public gardens of Sydney.”
The artist that was chosen to create the fountain was Francois-Leon Sicard. The fountain was presented to the public by the Lord Mayor Samuel Walder on March 14, 1932. Sicard was a renowned sculptor in his day, classically educated in Greek and Roman art and literature. When he submitted his design plan he described it as, "It depicts Apollo, representing beauty and the arts, on a central column holding out his right arm as a sign of protection over all nature. On the three plinths radiating from the central column there are figures representing Diana, the goddess of purity; a group representing the good things of the earth; Theseus slaying a Minotaur, representing the sacrifice for the good of humanity."
Sicard uses Pliny as an ancient source for the modern understanding of the gods and their qualities. Sicard chose to use classical figures because it was the normal European tradition of sculpture and architecture that was already resent in Hyde Park. There is also no indication that the figures Sicard created have any link to any religious or sexual nature.
The massive Appollo figure was completed in May of 1930, cast in Bronze in Paris. All of the parts of the fountain were assembled and the fountain as unveiled on March 14, 1932, five days before the Sydney Harbor Bridge was opened. The Depression of the early thirties resulted in a financial constraint. This resulted in the materials that were used in the first fountain not lasting very long. Obviously various alterations have occurred to the fountain over time. In 1946, the synthetic granite pedestals were replaced with actual granite. In 1963, architect Robert Woodward, was commissioned to redesign the lighting of the fountain, as well as reconfigure the play of the water. He restored the fan shape of the water that forms from jets behind the massive statue of Apollo, as it was intended to by Sicard. This was to represent the rising of the sun. This particular aspect is a celebrated part of the fountain appealing especially to lovers of the Art Deco design.
This fountain is a popular tourist destination. It is a popular site for photos, rallies, or just a nice place t meet up and hang out. There are also park benched nearby the fountain which made the site a popular site for workers while on their lunch break.
