Workers at E.E. McCormick Place at Upper Roma Street reinstalling the fountain. Credit:Cameron Atfield "This will obviously require approvals from the state and we'll have to engage with Maritime Safety Queensland around that as well, but I can say today it will be known as the Daphne Mayo Fountain in recognition of the tremendous works that Daphne Mayo has done in our city of Brisbane," he said. "We will announce more details around that as time unfolds." Cr Quirk said no design work had been undertaken for the Daphne Mayo Fountain, while the other three fountains would be completed by "mid-December". The lord mayor said the council had enlisted the help of 84-year-old artist Nickolaus Seffrin to oversee the E.E. McCormick Park fountain.

Nickolaus Seffrin's fountain sculpture at E.E. McCormick Place. Credit:Cameron Atfield "Nickolaus, as the designer of this fountain back in 1971, really never ever saw his dream achieved in terms of how he was wanting this fountain to appear," Cr Quirk said. "So what we are doing is using Nickolaus to relive that dream, to re-enliven that dream, and to have it implemented as part of this fountain, so instead of a single jet, we're looking at a central jet as well as eight supporting jets to really bring this wonderful creative piece to life." The fountain would also be lit up using LED lighting, Cr Quirk said. "That means we will be able to make this a centrepiece as people come off the Grey Street bridge," he said.

Inspecting the site on Thursday, Mr Seffrin said his workmates would often say to him "your fountain's looking pretty miserable". "It was a bit disappointing having spent all the money that it never really was a real fountain," he said. "It was a piece of sculpting that was interesting to see, but seeing it now coming alive is quite thrilling." Mr Seffrin said the fountain "didn't work as well as it should have" when it was completed in 1971. "It's just a disappointment, really," he said.

"In your mind you see things, but then (you see the end product) and it's not what I saw." Cr Quirk said all the fountains would be able to operate even during sustained periods of drought, so there would be no repeat of the past decade. "The beauty of today is the technology has changed, so that we can get recycling functions within the fountains," he said. "If you look at a lot of the fountains earlier on, for example the Mooney Memorial Fountain, every time water went through it, it went straight into the drainage system so it was lost. "What we can do now is reuse that water and be conservation-minded about the water usage.

"So these are here to stay, I want to assure the people of Brisbane of that, and even in a drought in the future, the mechanisms will be such that we'll be able to keep these going." Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding said Cr Quirk had "the wrong fountain". "Time and time again people tell me they want a fountain back in King George Square," he said. "I'm fully in favour of recommissioning the existing fountains around Brisbane but, seriously, I don't know anyone other than Graham Quirk who doesn't want a fountain in King George Square. "If the people of Brisbane give me the nod on March 19, we're building a fountain in the Square."

Cr Quirk said there were engineering issues preventing the re-installation of the King George Square fountain. Mayo was responsible for some of Brisbane's most significant sculptures, including the City Hall tympanum, the Queensland Women's War Memorial and the Sir William Glasgow memorial.