The Mgarr Ix-Xixi valley in south Gozo is recognized for its prehistoric remains but also for the dominating structure known as the Mgar Ix-Xini Pumping Station.

In the late 18th century, Gozo was facing a fresh water shortage. British Engineer Osbert Chadwick, who worked on Chadwick Lakes in Malta, surveyed the area and found ample ground water. However, its difficult location made it a complicated engineering endeavor.

Developed as a coal-powered pumping station, the Mgarr Ix-Xini pumping station contains many stairwells, shafts, pipes, mines and tunnels and once provided fresh water to nearby communities eliminating the need to manually transport water by horse and cart.

At the end of the Second World War, the pumping engines were improved and the underground galleries were extended and merged with the development of another nearby pumping station.

By the 1960s, the operating costs of the Mgarr Ix-Xini Pumping outweighed the nearby pumping station and it was decided by the local government to be decommissioned.

Caroline Said Lawrence was born in Africa with a Maltese father and Irish mother she was educated at the St. Martin’s School of Art in London, England and moved to Malta in 2002 to establish an art studio and educational program. She is skilled in capturing an atmosphere of a location and putting it on canvas.

Caroline Said Lawrence Collection
60cm x 90cm
Acrylic on Canvas
Framed in white wood

€550.00 EUR Plus Shipping
* Free delivery within Malta

Mark Magro Collection
Two A3
One A2
PVC Photography Canvas

€100.00 EUR Plus Shipping
* Free delivery within Malta