Rondebosch Fountain, historic site in Cape Town, South Africa

Rondebosch Fountain is an ornamental Victorian drinking trough for horses standing on a traffic island at the intersection of Belmont Road and Main Road in Rondebosch, Cape Town. It was cast in 1891 in cast iron by Walter Macfarlane & Co. at the Saracen Foundry in Glasgow: a circular trough supported on horses' legs, with a central post topped by a hexagonal lantern. Four decorated brackets may originally have held cups for people drinking from the spouts, while horses used the trough and dogs smaller basins at ground level.

The fountain was made in 1891 at Saracen Foundry in Glasgow, Scotland, and brought to Rondebosch as a gift to the community. It was declared a National Monument in 1964, but was destroyed in a car accident in 2015 and later reconstructed from aluminium in 2020.

The fountain was originally called the Moodie Fountain after George Pigot Moodie, who presented it to the community in 1891. Its four decorated brackets may once have held cups so people could drink from the spouting water, while horses used the trough and dogs drank from smaller basins at ground level.

The fountain sits at a busy intersection on the corner of Belmont and Main Road, making it easy to reach on foot, but be aware of heavy traffic. It is a good idea to check beforehand if water is available and to note safe spots to stand near the structure.

The lantern was not South Africa's first electric streetlight: it was first switched on on 25 April 1892, almost ten years after Kimberley's streetlights. It ran on George Pigot Moodie's private power plant until a municipal plant on the Liesbeek River was finished. The fountain appears as Water Trough number 27 in the sixth edition of Macfarlane's Castings Catalogue.