Restoring the Bronze Bust of William K. Burton 威廉.巴爾頓銅像的恢復
In order to pay tribute to William K. Burton and his outstanding contributions, the Governor-General of Taiwan, through the petition of Yashirō Hamano, approved the erection of a bronze bust of Burton on the water source facilities of Taipei Waterway (today Taipei Water Park). This bronze statue was designed by Suda Hayato and Moriyama Matsunosuke, both engineers from the Civil Engineering Bureau of the Government-General of Taiwan, and was cast by Shizumi Saito. It was officially unveiled on March 30, 1919 after a commemorative speech was presented by Goto Shinpei. Later, due to the outbreak of the Pacific War, this bronze bust was requisitioned by the military and later demolished during the war.
Before his death, Burton had made outstanding achievements in various fields, from designing earthquake-resistant architecture, urban planning, sanitary engineering to documentary photography, which all garnered much attention from scholars across many disciplines. The "Japan Association of Drainage and Environment" which has been studying the history of sewer development for many years, has in recent years explored the profound relationship between Burton and his last years in Taiwan. In 2019, the association was represented in a conference by Dr. Inaba Norihiro, Professor Emeritus of Osaka University of Economics, where he emphasized the importance of recent historical research on Burton’s achievements. He also proposed the restoration of the bronze statue of Burton at the Museum of Drinking Water in Taipei to commemorate a century of waterworks development and to instill the spirit of gratitude to past contributors.
Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, who was deeply impressed by Burton’s past contributions, instructed the Taipei Water Department to preside over the restoration of a bronze bust of Burton. The sculptor Pu Hao-ming was commissioned to carefully restore it based on available historical records. The "Japan Association of Drainage and Environment" and the descendants of Burton raised a special fund and presented precious historical archives, two commemorative benches, and a Podocarpus pine tree to the Taipei City Government. Taipei Water Park also established "Burton Hall" on its premises to showcase the life’s work of William K. Burton, as well as his pioneering and selfless dedication to the people of Taiwan.
Burton left behind many blueprints for infrastructure development, and his successors continued his work, thereby greatly improving Taiwan's public health and sanitary conditions while keeping the threat of epidemics at bay. In order to commemorate Burton's outstanding contributions, the Governor-General of Taiwan, through Yashiro Hamano 's petition, approved the erection of a bronze bust of Burton on the water source facilities of Taipei Waterway (Taipei Water Park today), and a commemorative speech was presented by Goto Shinpei. Later, due to the outbreak of the Pacific War, this bronze bust was requisitioned by the military and later demolished during the war.
Before his death, Burton had made outstanding achievements in various fields, from designing earthquake-resistant architecture, urban planning, sanitary engineering to documentary photography, which all garnered much attention from scholars across many disciplines. The "Japan Association of Drainage and Environment" which has been studying the history of sewer development for many years, has in recent years explored the profound relationship between Burton and his last years in Taiwan. In 2019, the association was represented in a conference by Dr. Inaba Norihiro, Professor Emeritus of Osaka University of Economics, where he emphasized the importance of recent historical research on Burton’s achievements. He also proposed the restoration of the bronze statue of Burton at the Museum of Drinking Water in Taipei to commemorate a century of waterworks development and to instill the spirit of gratitude to past contributors.
Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, who was deeply impressed by Burton’s past contributions, instructed the Taipei Water Department to preside over the restoration of a bronze bust of Burton. The sculptor Pu Hao-ming was commissioned to carefully restore it based on available historical records. The "Japan Association of Drainage and Environment" and the descendants of Burton raised a special fund for the restoration and presented precious historical archives, commemorative benches, and a Podocarpus pine tree to celebrate the friendship. Taipei Water Park also established "Burton Hall" on its premises to showcase the life’s work of William Burton, as well as his pioneering and selfless dedication to the people of Taiwan.
In order to pay tribute to William K. Burton and his outstanding contributions, the Governor-General of Taiwan, through the petition of Yashirō Hamano, approved the erection of a bronze bust of Burton on the water source facilities of Taipei Waterway (today Taipei Water Park). This bronze statue was designed by Suda Hayato and Moriyama Matsunosuke, both engineers from the Civil Engineering Bureau of the Government-General of Taiwan, and was cast by Shizumi Saito. It was officially unveiled on March 30, 1919 after a commemorative speech was presented by Goto Shinpei. Later, due to the outbreak of the Pacific War, this bronze bust was requisitioned by the military and later demolished during the war.
Before his death, Burton had made outstanding achievements in various fields, from designing earthquake-resistant architecture, urban planning, sanitary engineering to documentary photography, which all garnered much attention from scholars across many disciplines. The "Japan Association of Drainage and Environment" which has been studying the history of sewer development for many years, has in recent years explored the profound relationship between Burton and his last years in Taiwan. In 2019, the association was represented in a conference by Dr. Inaba Norihiro, Professor Emeritus of Osaka University of Economics, where he emphasized the importance of recent historical research on Burton’s achievements. He also proposed the restoration of the bronze statue of Burton at the Museum of Drinking Water in Taipei to commemorate a century of waterworks development and to instill the spirit of gratitude to past contributors.
Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, who was deeply impressed by Burton’s past contributions, instructed the Taipei Water Department to preside over the restoration of a bronze bust of Burton. The sculptor Pu Hao-ming was commissioned to carefully restore it based on available historical records. The "Japan Association of Drainage and Environment" and the descendants of Burton raised a special fund and presented precious historical archives, two commemorative benches, and a Podocarpus pine tree to the Taipei City Government. Taipei Water Park also established "Burton Hall" on its premises to showcase the life’s work of William K. Burton, as well as his pioneering and selfless dedication to the people of Taiwan.
Burton left behind many blueprints for infrastructure development, and his successors continued his work, thereby greatly improving Taiwan's public health and sanitary conditions while keeping the threat of epidemics at bay. In order to commemorate Burton's outstanding contributions, the Governor-General of Taiwan, through Yashiro Hamano 's petition, approved the erection of a bronze bust of Burton on the water source facilities of Taipei Waterway (Taipei Water Park today), and a commemorative speech was presented by Goto Shinpei. Later, due to the outbreak of the Pacific War, this bronze bust was requisitioned by the military and later demolished during the war.
Before his death, Burton had made outstanding achievements in various fields, from designing earthquake-resistant architecture, urban planning, sanitary engineering to documentary photography, which all garnered much attention from scholars across many disciplines. The "Japan Association of Drainage and Environment" which has been studying the history of sewer development for many years, has in recent years explored the profound relationship between Burton and his last years in Taiwan. In 2019, the association was represented in a conference by Dr. Inaba Norihiro, Professor Emeritus of Osaka University of Economics, where he emphasized the importance of recent historical research on Burton’s achievements. He also proposed the restoration of the bronze statue of Burton at the Museum of Drinking Water in Taipei to commemorate a century of waterworks development and to instill the spirit of gratitude to past contributors.
Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, who was deeply impressed by Burton’s past contributions, instructed the Taipei Water Department to preside over the restoration of a bronze bust of Burton. The sculptor Pu Hao-ming was commissioned to carefully restore it based on available historical records. The "Japan Association of Drainage and Environment" and the descendants of Burton raised a special fund for the restoration and presented precious historical archives, commemorative benches, and a Podocarpus pine tree to celebrate the friendship. Taipei Water Park also established "Burton Hall" on its premises to showcase the life’s work of William Burton, as well as his pioneering and selfless dedication to the people of Taiwan.
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