The Bucket Fountain is an iconic kinetic sculpture of Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

, capital city of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It can be found in Cuba Mall, which is part of Cuba Street

Cuba Street, Wellington

Cuba Street is one of the most prominent streets in Wellington, New Zealand.-Location and origin:Named after an early settler ship to New Zealand, the Cuba, it is to the south of the CBD, but still in the inner city. Cuba Street was once the route of the Wellington trams...

. It consists of a series of "buckets" that fill with water until they tip, spilling their load into the buckets and pool below. The fountain was designed by Burren and Keen and erected in 1969.

Much of the water does not reach the buckets below but instead splashes outside the fountain onto pedestrians and onlookers. On windy days (common in Wellington) water from buckets and the hose are carried several metres from the fountain.

People often add dishwashing detergent to the water, which spreads bubbles all over the mall. This is common to see on Friday and Saturday nights.

Wellington City Council upgraded the fountain in 2003, and some buckets were turned around so they intentionally tip their water onto the pavement.

Incidents

• Elijah Wood
  Elijah Wood
  Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
  
  , who played Frodo in Peter Jackson
  Peter Jackson
  Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
  
  's The Lord of the Rings
  The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
  The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
  
  movies, climbed on and urinated in the fountain while in New Zealand filming the movies. This was confirmed by the actor during an interview with Jay Leno.

• In March 2006, The bucket fountain was coated in a mud-like substance by New Zealand artist John Radford.

External links

• Tribute website http://www.bucketfountain.co.nz
• Bucket fountain group on flickr http://flickr.com/groups/bucketfountain
• Bucket Fountain documentary 'In The Night Kitchen'

http://www.vimeo.com/20313085