Water filter, Norfolk Island dripstone
Object No. C3846
In 1851 the Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania, Sir William Denison, who was also responsible for the administration of Norfolk Island, sent a dripstone made in that tiny remote penal settlement to London. It was displayed at the world's first international exposition, the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. Dripstones, the island's only manufactured export, were used for decades in Australian homes and on board ships to filter drinking water. They were particularly popular both in Tasmania and in Sydney, but fell from favour in the 1890s when public health experts condemned them as potential sources of diseases such as typhoid, rather than as a means of protecting against disease. It is possible that the owner of this dripstone, retired army captain James Little, purchased it during a typhoid epidemic such as the one in his home suburb of Moore Park, Sydney, in 1885. The dripstone could have been made by convicts between 1825 and 1855 or, after the remaining convicts were shifted to Tasmania, by Pitcairn Islanders who settled on Norfolk Island and continued the industry. It was hard work, quarrying limestone and carving it to the requisite shape, and particularly unpleasant when the workers had to stand in seawater to access an offshore outcrop. The island's calcarenite limestone was well suited to the purpose, as sand-sized grains constitute about half its volume, creating pores for water to percolate through. In France in the 1860s, Louis Pasteur's experiments disproved the theory that life forms can appear spontaneously. These and other experiments led to widespread acceptance of the theory that many diseases are spread from person to person by micro-organisms. In Sydney in the 1890s, Professor Anderson Stuart studied water samples with a microscope and showed that dripstone filters were worse than useless as typhoid bacteria could multiply in their pores. Although water looked clearer and tasted better after passing through the stone, it could be much more dangerous than before it was filtered. Anderson Stuart, who was president of the NSW Board of Health, advised householders to replace dripstones with porcelain filters of a type invented in Pasteur's laboratory to prepare water for his experiments. He warned that the filters needed to be cleaned frequently and checked for cracks, which could also harbour germs. Water-borne diseases became very rare in Australia when authorities began adding chlorine to water supplies. Today (2017), Sydney's water supply is disinfected with chlorine and ammonia after being filtered through beds of sand mixed with crushed coal, a similar process to filtering with a dripstone. Debbie Rudder 2017 References Professor Anderson Stuart's advice http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14034471 Sir William Denison's contribution to 1851 Exhibition http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65573607 Elizabeth Farm dripstone https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/stories/elizabeth-farm-dripstone Cumberland dripstone: https://books.google.com.au/books?isbn=0387769854 Diana Jolliffe Belcher, 'The mutineers of the Bounty and their descendants', 1870. COMMERCIAL. (1861, November 14). Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), p. 5. Retrieved October 5, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60481210 Advertising (1875, December 4). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 705. Retrieved October 5, 2017, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162488162
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Summary
Object Statement
Water filter, dripstone, limestone, made at Norfolk Island, Australia [1825-1890], used by Captain James Little, Moore Park, New South Wales, Australia
Physical Description
The dripstone comprises a deep round stone bowl, with oversize square rim that allows it to be supported in a wooden frame with the lower portion of the bowl hanging clear of the frame. The bowl is carved from calcarenite, a form of limestone with a high content (around 50 percent) of sand-sized grains; pores in the stone allow water to percolate through under gravity. In use, water intended for drinking was placed in the bowl and allowed to drip into a vessel sitting below it, leaving sediment behind and so improving the water's clarity and taste. The current timber frame was made by the museum to replace the original louvered wooden frame, whose base had perished by the time it was donated.
PRODUCTION
Notes
Natural stone suitable for this application was quarried in Tenerife, Barbados and Norfolk Island. It is most likely that this object was made on Norfolk Island from stone quarried there, either by convicts between 1825 and 1855 or by the Pitcairn Islanders who settled there after the last convicts were moved to Tasmania. The stone was carved on the island to the required shape and size. This was an onerous and unhealthy occupation, with some of the stone being quarried offshore by men standing in seawater for long periods. As the dripstone is of similar size to others held by several Australian museums, it was probably the most common size, designed to meet the needs of an average household or the occupants of a ship's cabin. The one on display at Elizabeth Farm, Rosehill, near the Sydney suburb of Parramatta, appears to be suitable for a larger establishment. One held by Augusta Museum in Western Australia was recovered off the nearby coast from the wreck of the sailing ship 'Cumberland'; studies of its fabric, using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope, confirmed that the stone was sourced from Norfolk Island. Similar studies could be carried out on this dripstone to confirm its origin.
HISTORY
Notes
The dripstone was donated to the Museum in 1902 by David Little from the Sydney suburb of Redfern. It was owned and used by David's father, Captain James Little, at his house in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Moore Park. That suburb had experienced outbreaks of typhoid in 1885 and 1896, and there was another in 1900, the year that James died. James Little was born in Ireland in 1820 and came to Sydney in 1845 as a soldier in the 11th Devonshire Regiment of Foot. He might have served for some time on Norfolk Island and acquired the dripstone there. He was discharged from the regiment as a sergeant and remained in Sydney as Quartermaster General Staff NSW Military Forces, with the honorary rank of lieutenant and then captain. In that role, he might have distributed dripstones to military establishments or sold them to individual officers. Of course, he could also have acquired the dripstone second-hand. In 1851, his first wife, Ann, gave birth to Frances, reputed to be the first child born in Victoria Barracks. Ann died in 1856, and James married Janet Dick in 1862; David Little was one of their children. Janet died in 1896 and James in 1900. As the only family member named as executor, David took responsibility for disposing of his father's minor effects. By that time, it was well known that dripstones harboured microscopic organisms, making the object a useless but interesting one worthy of donation to Sydney's Technological Museum (now the Powerhouse Museum). The existence of a hand-written label confirms that the object was on display for some time in the Harris Street museum building. From 1988 it has featured in the Powerhouse Museum, in a section of the 'Steam Revolution' exhibition devoted to the history of Sydney's water supply.
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