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Charles Adam Irwin - Sali Cleve Drinking Fountain

Location Catani Gardens, near Jacka Boulevard,, ST KILDA VIC 3182 - Property No B7168 File Number B7168 Level State

[1/1] B7168 Sali Cleve Drinking

Statement of Significance

The Sali Cleve drinking fountain, erected in April 1911 in the Catani Gardens, St Kilda, was designed by Charles Adam Irwin. The stone components were constructed by Adamant Monumental Works and the bronze work was completed by James Marriott. Sali Cleve, a prominent St Kilda resident and public benefactor, donated the fountain to the City of St Kilda. While a drinking fountain is a functional object, the Sali Cleve fountain is elaborate and surprising in design. The four water outlets, each positioned over a granite basin, are grouped around a tall ionic column surmounted by a small sculpture of an ancient sailing vessel. The fountain is built from four different types of granite with a number of beautifully cast and wrought bronze attachments, all in a finely executed Beaux Arts Classical style.
The Sali Cleve drinking fountain is aesthetically significant for its unusual design, the elaborate and distinctive ship sculpture and the fine bronze attachments. The drinking fountain also has a prominent place in the highly significant Catani Gardens. It has historical significance as the only identified public piece in bronze by C.A. Irwin. The fountain's social significance lies in its being a privately donated drinking fountain, a reminder of the era's spirit of civic pride and private philanthropy. Drinking fountains were also valuable public amenities in the Victorian and Federation eras.
Classified: 05/08/2002