Hurling Pump
On the corner of Prince and Sir George Grey Streets is the last example of a Hurling pump erected in 1812. It was declared a National Monument in 1937. It was one of a series of wells that were installed as there was no household running water. Slaves would collect water for the household. The wells were part of an improved water scheme for the city designed by Sir John Cradock in 1812. Water was fed to these wells using wooden and iron pipes.Â
The pumps were worked manually by the slaves, also known as Hurling pumps or swaai pumps introduced by Jan Frederik Hurling, a Swedish Colonist who arrived at the Cape in 1743. Slaves would swing the weighted handle from side to side which produced water from a pipe, often from the mouth of a bronze lion.
Public fountains brought water off the Mountain into the city, The fountains were generally placed in central areas, like on Grand Parade or Greenmarket Square.
Â
.