BOTANIC GARDENS
(7) Continuation.
Even then, the fountain remained a decidedly ornamental piece of stonework, with a large number of jets in operation.
I reproduce a photograph taken a good many years ago, showing the structure as it appeared before the repairs: even then, it will be observed wire struts had been used to keep the upper portion of the structure from toppling over.
The old fountain was dismantled in 1932, to make way for the service reservoir in the Gardens.
The old military tank referred to, from which the water supply was drawn, is located off Peak Road, about a hundred feet higher than Robinson Road: it is still to be seen there, and recalls the time of Hongkong's rather primitive water supply. This tank at one time apparently provided Murray barracks with its water.
It was a regular thing for regimental bands to perform in the Gardens, right up to the Eighties.
ILLUSTRATION