Archibald Fountain

In 1919, a bequest in the will of J. F. Archibald, founding editor of the Bulletin, provided for the erection in Sydney of a symbolic, open-air memorial. As directed in Archibald’s will, this was to commemorate the association between Australia and France during World War 1, ‘for the liberties of the world’ and was to be sculpted in bronze by a French artist.

Archibald’s expressed preferences came not from his French lineage, as some erroneously thought, but from an acquired interest in modern French culture, which he admired for its ‘clarity of thought and resourceful originality’.

Archibald stipulated that the money be invested for seven years before work began on the memorial. Francois Sicard was selected as sculptor for the memorial in July 1926 after a series of interviews in Paris by the President of London’s Royal Academy.

The figures sculpted in bronze by the lost wax process, took several years to complete but they were ready for display in Paris at the Grand Palais in May 1930, before being sent to Australia. The display was greeted with enthusiasm and praise both in Paris and London. The fountain was handed over to the City of Sydney on 14 March 1932, following delays caused by customs duty, and is integral to the design of Hyde Park.