4 September 2023:
The #ArtDeco #rocket of the 1935 #O’DonnellFountain, in the O’Donnell Gardens, both named after Edward O’Donnell, a St Kilda resident and grocer from the 1850s, then councillor from 1888 for forty-four years, and six times Mayor. He died in 1933, and enough people liked him enough to raise the £750 to build this, which is nice. It’s made of sandstone, and designed and built by Modern Art Co. Info from St Kilda Historical Society, photo of him@from 1889, and of the gardens c1930 Port Phillip Heritage Collection. I must say if it’s a fountain, I’ve never seen water flow; it’s also called a drinking fountain, but I don’t see how you’d drink from it. Photos from March 2023.
Update : @somers_garden on my Instagram says the water flowed down from behind the top sunburst motif, then dribbled over the lower pool edges into the wider pool, but the pump broke some time ago and Council thinks too costly to repair.
Storey of Melbourne 