The lost Dolphin Fountain of Carlton Gardens

This photograph shows a fountain that once stood in the pathways of Carlton Gardens during the 1870s.

Known as the Victoria Fountain or Dolphin Fountain, it occupied the spot where the Exhibition Building now stands and was among Melbourne’s earliest public fountains – possibly the very first. Today, it has been almost entirely lost to history.

In 1859, the Melbourne City Council announced a design contest, offering a £20 premium for the winning fountain to be built for £150. Of the eight entries, Joseph Sullivan submitted two designs, and it was his “Imperial A” concept that won. Standing around 16 feet high with a 10-foot base, the fountain featured six dolphin figures (some spurting water from their nostrils), while a tall central stem supported a shell-shaped basin six feet above. At the top, a set of miniature dolphins framed the highest jets, and, as required by the council, a lamp was attached to the very peak.

By June that year, construction had begun at the intersection of Collins and Swanston streets, celebrated as “the first public fountain in Victoria” (The Age, August 2, 1859). It was officially opened on August 9 before a crowd of 3000 to 4000 people kept at bay by police. The Mayoress, wife of Mayor Henry Walsh, performed the naming ceremony, christening it the Victoria Fountain in honour of Queen Victoria.

Public reception was swift and brutal. The day after its unveiling, The Argus dismissed it as a “dull caricature … ugly enough to repel without being grotesque enough to amuse”. A letter to the editor described it as “that most disgusting edifice” and demanded its removal. Practical problems soon added to the complaints: the fountain obstructed growing traffic and turned dirt roads to mud. By 1861, it was removed to Carlton Gardens and set in the centre of the grounds.

During its relocation, the fountain underwent major aesthetic changes. A grotto of artificial stone and stalactites was constructed around it, and the entire structure was painted green. But even this drew criticism. In 1863, The Leader questioned its unfinished appearance and commented on the “occasional jerks” of water. Nursemaids reportedly warned children that an “old man” lived inside the grotto to encourage them to behave.

For more than a decade, the Dolphin Fountain remained part of the Gardens during a period of major improvements, particularly after the Government reclaimed the park in 1873 and placed it under the oversight of Clement Hodgkinson, Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands. He recommended replacing nearby deformed cedars with palms, ferns and flax to improve the setting.

However, by the late 1870s, the Gardens were selected as the site for the new Exhibition Building for the 1880 International Exhibition. As construction preparations began in 1879, the Mount Alexander Mail reported the fountain’s impending “dismemberment”. Nothing more appears in the record, and it is presumed to have been destroyed.

The Gardens did not remain without fountains for long. After the Exhibition Building opened, two new fountains were installed: the grand Hochgurtel Fountain, featuring mermaids, fisher-boys, alligators and platypi; and the smaller French Fountain at the Nicholson St entrance, depicting three children supporting a dolphin and shell-shaped basin.

Unlike the Dolphin Fountain, these later additions have survived – enduring as iconic features of Carlton Gardens while their forgotten predecessor has slipped quietly into history. •