Fountain dismantled days after comeback
One of Christchurch’s best-known fountains has been dismantled just days after making a long-awaited comeback.
The Ferrier Fountain was turned back on after eight years to coincide with the opening of the Town Hall on February 23, but the surrounding pool is now bereft of water, the fountain heads and stamens have been removed, and scaffolding surrounds the area.
Christchurch City Council major facilities capital delivery manager Alistair Pearson said the fountain had not broken down.
He said the fountain heads and stamens had been taken away for cleaning after problems were highlighted during the precommissioning of the fountain, which was undertaken to coincide with the Town Hall opening ceremony.
The parts required further cleaning to remove bits of debris that had gathered over the eight years they were lying in storage, Pearson said. The problems could only have been identified following the first flush through.
‘‘The debris caused blockages at the end of the stamens, which prevented the fountain performing as it was originally intended to.’’
The fountain would be back up and running by mid-March if no further problems were found during the cleaning, he said. He did not know how much the work would cost.
‘‘The issues currently being addressed are typical of some of the issues that were faced by the original fountain maintenance team, in that they had to undertake regular maintenance of the stamens to remove debris clogging up the ends and restricting the flow of water through them.’’
The dandelion-style modernist fountain was first installed in 1972 after being donated by two of the city’s most wellknown benefactors, Claude Jack Ferrier and wife Marjorie, the daughter of Robert McDougall.
Created by a British company called Ustigate, the ‘‘sphere de fleur’’ design features two spheres, and one hemisphere that sits just above the waterline.