The story of one immigrant’s rise to prominence and undeserved fall into disrepute has now culminated with the restoration of his name and legacy. 

The unveiling of a fountain thought lost for more than 100 years this morning marked not only the revival of a historic monument, but also the legacy of William Vahland – once regarded an enemy alien, now officially revered as one of Bendigo’s most prominent founding fathers. 

A crowd of several hundred gathered at the newly renamed William Vahland Place to see water flow from the Vahland Drinking Fountain for the first time since it was dismantled at the start of the 1900s. 

Its pieces were then scattered across the city and forgotten.

Chairman of the Bendigo Bank – which led funding efforts for the restoration – Robert Johanson, said the fountain evoked a Bendigo of Vahland’s era. 

He described a cosmopolitan city of wealth, proud buildings and operas, and said the fountain was one of three designed by the architect, including the iconic Alexandra Fountain.

A cosmopolitan city of operas and grandeur

“In Vahland's vision, these three fountains framed the city,” Mr Johanson said.

“[It was] then this new, prosperous, vibrant city, by then constructing these great, proud, beautiful buildings – many designed by Vahland, such as Town Hall – where the deepest mines in the world disgorged extraordinary wealth, operas were performed and one of the busiest stock exchanges in the world was humming.

“Maybe 50,000 people had come form all over the world to live here, from all parts of the British Isles, from all over Europe and the new United States, Muslim drivers from Afghanistan, Hindu hawkers from the Punjab, Chinese miners from Guangzhou, Jewish entrepreneurs from Russia.

“English was the most common language, but German was second, Chinese was third.” 

However, the multicultural fabric of the city was eventually torn apart by world events, and a then elderly Vahland would suffer the consequences. 

Dying an ‘undeservedly broken man’

One of Vahland’s ancestors, John McInnes, spoke of how this morning’s ceremony touched the decedents of an architect and civic leader who died “an undeservedly broken man”. 

“At the outbreak of the World War I in 1914, Vahland was 86 and had lived in Australia for 60 years,” Mr McInnes said.

“He’d served his adopted community faithfully and could claim to be as patriotic an Australian who'd come from England, Scotland or Wales.”

“He was born in the kingdom of Hanover when it was closing aligned with England and he came to Australia before it had been annexed by Germany in 1866.

“In Australia, he'd always claimed to be Hanoverian.

“Despite this, he was officially deemed by the authorities to have come from Germany and therefore was declared to be an enemy alien.

“As a result his assets were frozen and he was required to surrender his passport.

“He was deeply hurt by this and became more or less a recluse, withdrawing from all public life.

“However his humiliation did not last long and he died in his home in Barkley Terrace on July 21, 1915 an undeservedly broken man.

"It is perhaps because of this that his decedents are particularly pleased that he is being recognised by the re-installation of the drinking fountain, and I’m delighted to see that around the base of the fountain there is considerable recognition of the contribution that those who came out here from Germany made to the city.”