A SPARK OF HOPE AT CURRIES FOUNTAIN STADIUM/CURRIES FOUNTAIN STADIUM LIVES UP TO ITS NAME

By Esivani Naidoo

​In the midst of a nationwide drought, there is a spark of hope and reminiscence at the Curries Fountain Sports Development Centre. On Friday 22 January 2016 as workers drove a project to improve the conditions of the sportsfield, there was a glimmer of relief as they struck a water source, which is believed to be a fountain that was situated on the property.
 
The name of the sports ground Curries Fountain originated in 1870 when a drought and water shortage prompted Councillor HW Currie to sink an artesian well, in search of water in the area below Botanic Gardens. Water was struck and the well was named Curries Fountain.
 
The water resource provides opportunities for Curries Fountain Sports Grounds itself, the Botanical Garden and surrounding schools such as Sastri College and Orient Islamic School and neighbouring units if this water is harvested.
In 1879 Councillor HW Currie described the well as an inexhaustible source of water. We see that true in 2016 as the Curries Fountain Sports Development Centre undertake an initiative on how to best use the water during the current drought.
Through consultation with Ethekwini Municipality Water and Sanitation Department it has been verified that the water is unsuitable for human consumption, however Curries Fountain Sports Development Centre is looking into options of how to redirect the water and use it wisely. The Centre hopes that conscientious entities, both private and public, could provide solutions in harvesting the water and welcomes any interested parties to contact the office.
The fountain was discovered after KZN MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, welcoming the announcement of the province as a disaster area by national government due to the drought. The MEC warned that “communities still need to conserve water and use water sparingly because these dry times are actually a global phenomenon that is said to be going to prevail along with the climate change and global warming phenomena”.