The merry-go-round, or carousel, located at the intersection of City Walk and Petrie Plaza in Civic is nearly a century old. Built in Melbourne in 1914/15, it first went into operation on St Kilda Esplanade in 1915. It was commissioned by a German showman, but it appears that anti-German sentiment in World War I forced its early sale, and from there it changed hands several times until being purchased by the Federal Government in 1973.
After relocation to Canberra and extensive restoration, the merry-go-round was opened in 1974. A canopy was built over it to protect it, and there are now metal grills to close it off when not in use (presumably to protect it from vandalism). The original pipe organ, imported from Germany, is in storage. There are 52 hand-carved horses and two elephant carriages (also imported from Germany), and most of the animals have names.
It was getting late and the merry-go-round was closed when I was there, but I'll try to get back and get a photo if it in action some time.
Merry-go-round
Petrie Plaza, Civic
Ph. 0412 482 676
Open Monday-Thursday 10am-5pm, Friday 10am-9pm, Saturday 9.30am-4pm, Sunday 11am-4pm, public holidays 11am-3pm
3 comments:
I love these beautiful horses, its great to see that this is still working.
Nice...
Pierre
MgR are such a relief from the modern fare in fun parks, which are just there to make one throw up, I reckon. I love the elegance of the horses in this one.
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