The cranes were originally purchased for WR Wilson’s St Albans’ Park homestead in around 1873 for £400. Mr Wilson was a race horse breeder and trainer with an appreciation for Asian cultures. The cranes were then purchased by City of Greater Geelong in 1929 and placed in the newly developed water fountain under the Eastern Beach Improvement scheme. The cranes were consistently vandalised therefore they were moved to the Geelong Botanical Gardens in the 1970’s and were replaced by replicas.