Dripstone
Maker & role
Unknown, Maker
Production date
circa 1840
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Object detail
Production place
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 71 x W: 63 x D: 54cm (H: 710 x W: 630 x D: 540mm)
Credit line
Gift, 1984
Elizabeth Farm Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Elizabeth Farm Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Dripstone, circa 1840, originally from Vineyard/Subiaco at Rydalmere, and now located in the rear service courtyard of Elizabeth Farm.
Description
Located in the house's rear service courtyard, the dripstone at Elizabeth Farm is originally from Vineyard/Subiaco at Rydalmere, which was the home of John Macarthur's nephew Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur. It is held in a replacement timber stand made 2010, copied from one at Brownlow Hill (the country poperty of the Macleay family).
Dripstones, or filtering stones, were used in colonial New South Wales to provide potable water.They were made from a suitably porous stone, hollowed out in the shape of a pointed bowl, and suspended in a frame. Water poured into the bowl passed through the stone, collecting at the under-point of the base and dripping into a receptacle, leaving any solid particulate matter within the bowl. The timed flow rate is approximately 1.3 litres per hour. In effect, if the stone was full, maximising the surface area and kept scrubbed clean, you could get just over one litre per hour of filtered water.
The dripstone at Elizabeth Farm has been assumed to have originated from Norfolk Island but other sources for such stones were the Canary Islands and Barbados.
Dripstones, or filtering stones, were used in colonial New South Wales to provide potable water.They were made from a suitably porous stone, hollowed out in the shape of a pointed bowl, and suspended in a frame. Water poured into the bowl passed through the stone, collecting at the under-point of the base and dripping into a receptacle, leaving any solid particulate matter within the bowl. The timed flow rate is approximately 1.3 litres per hour. In effect, if the stone was full, maximising the surface area and kept scrubbed clean, you could get just over one litre per hour of filtered water.
The dripstone at Elizabeth Farm has been assumed to have originated from Norfolk Island but other sources for such stones were the Canary Islands and Barbados.
Accession number
EF87/44-1:2
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