St Jude's Fountain

Sandstone fountain consisting of three bowls which originally were fed by an underground spring. St Judes fountain was the first public water supply in the area, replacing the original St Judes well. It was used by early residents of Randwick and travellers on Randwick (now Alison) Road.

The original St Jude's well, which was opened in 1858 but dried up soon afterwards, was situated opposite its successor.

Local residents including John Dawson, a mayor of Randwick for four terms in the early 1860s, felt it desirable to have "a drinking fountain more befitting the improved position of the suburb and the time." With the assistance of Randwick Council and public subscription the new fountain was opened on 9th November 1866. Four hundred children from the nearby Destitute Children's Asylum (now part of the Prince of Wales Hospital complex) watched the former mayor, John Dawson, break a bottle of water over the fountain and dedicate its use to the public.

Walter McGill, stonemason and sculptor, was particularly active from about 1850-1874 although most of his work was done at Port Fairy in Victoria. In NSW he was responsible for carving the columns for the Australian Museum (circa 1864) and sculpting the Captain Cook statue in Belmore Road, Randwick.