MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18630, 11 February 1924, Page 8

MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN.

UNVEILING AT ONEHUNGA. TRIBUTE TO MR. D. NEILSON, There was a "very large attendance at Jellicoe Park yesterday afternoon, to witness the unveiling of a drinking fountain erected by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Buchanan in memory of their uncle, the late Mr. Daniel Neilson, who died on August 21, 1922.. As stated in the inscription on the fountain, Mr. Neilson was a respected resident of Onehunga for over 50 years and his long connection with Onenunga, as well as the high regard in which he was always held, was emphasised by Mr. J. Park, late mayor of the borough, in his address on behalf of the donors. Mr. Park commended the memorial to the care of the citizens, and as Mr. and Ma Buchanan have not returned from England he invited their niece, Miss Hay, to unveil it. He then formally handed it, on their behalf, to. the mayor, Mr. J. E. Cowell, in trust for the citizens of Onehunga. Mr. Cowell accepted the gift as a tribute to an honoured fellow-citizen, and specially urged the children to respect his memory by protecting the fountain and by cultivating those qualities which had made Mr. Neilson respected by all. The fountain is a massive structure, standing on a base of Coromandel granite, forming a platform and steps. In honour of Mr. Neilson's birthplace the main part of the statue is of Balmoral granite, above which six columns of Aberdeen granite, from the famous Rubishaw quarries, support a canopy **' dome of Balmoral granite, capped with a small perpendicular column; A bowl or urn of the same material fills the space between the six supporting columns. The fountain is of the latest hygienic bubble type.