Peacock Fountain at 1 Maritime Plaza

1 Maritime Plaza
Embarcadero

This Peacock fountain was designed by architect Robert Woodward.

Robert Raymond (Bob) Woodward (1923 – 2010) was an Australian architect who gained widespread recognition for his innovative fountain designs. Woodward was educated at Granville Technical Granville and Sydney Technical College.Upon completion of his military service he enrolled in the architecture course at the University of Sydney. After graduating he worked locally for a year and then travelled to Finland to work for architects Alvar Aaltol and Viljo Revell. Upon his return he went into partnership, forming Woodward, Taranto and Wallace, specialising in commercial and industrial architecture.

In 1959, he won a competition to design a fountain in Kings Cross in Sydney to commemorate the war service of the 2/9th Division of the Australian Imperial Forces. The El Alamein Memorial Fountain, as it became known, was completed in 1961. Combining his architectural and earlier metalwork training he developed the “dandelion” inspired fountain which became one of the world’s most copied designs. Due to the success of this fountain, Woodward was approached for further commissions for fountain designs, significantly altering his career path.