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C3846 Water filter, dripstone, limestone, made at Norfolk Island, Australia [1825-1890], used by Captain James Little, Moore Park, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 2, C3846 Water filter, dripstone, limestone, made at Norfolk Island, Australia [1825-1890], used by Captain James Little, Moore Park, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 2, C3846 Water filter, dripstone, limestone, made at Norfolk Island, Australia [1825-1890], used by Captain James Little, Moore Park, New South Wales, Australia. Click to enlarge

Water filter, Norfolk Island dripstone

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 …

Summary

Object No.

C3846

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.

Short URL

https://ma.as/216906

Cite this Object

Harvard

Water filter, Norfolk Island dripstone 2023, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 26 March 2023, <https://ma.as/216906>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/216906 |title=Water filter, Norfolk Island dripstone |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=26 March 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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