Ballarat Art Gallery

I went to the Ballarat Art Gallery today and was really impressed with some of the art works on display - paintings of Fred Williams, Rupert Bunny, Septimus Power (love his horses!) and lots of others.

..but...

Maybe I'm a bit odd, but the image I took away with me was part of the building itself... one of two highly polished brass taps! That's right. Poking out of the wall above the rather grand main stair case as you enter the gallery. Going up the stairs they are behind you, so they are not easily seen. They are things of wonder. They are huge... they are about 10 inches long - about 4 times larger than a standard tap. These were part of the original fire hydrant system in this building from the 1800's.

Behold, the tap!

Its hand cast and finished  friend is on the same wall,  about a foot out out from the balcony on the other side - about 30 feet from the floor below.