New life for fountain as water flows again

The taps have been turned on again.

The picturesque Craig fountain in the Oamaru Public Gardens was officially reopened at a small ceremony on Friday.

The subject of much local debate in recent years and costing the Waitaki District Council $165,000 to completely renovate, the 105-year-old Italian marble fountain once again flowed, much to the delight of the spectators present at the relaunch.

Mayor Gary Kircher said it had been a long time not going and it had been a massive effort by many to get it going again.

The fountain was given to Oamaru in 1912 by Irish-born timber merchant James Craig (1837-1912), who left £500 in his estate for its construction.

Despite repairs in the early 1990s, the fountain eventually stopped working in the mid-1990s and was in a state of disrepair before being dismantled in March last year before the start of its rebuild.

- John Cosgrove