Khgmo
wordssondyGly PhorographyJulhn
AG,AIN
UP ITSCLASSIC
FAIRGROUND
ATTRACTION.
MERRY-GO.ROUND
ASLUNAPARKSPRUCES
j|i
ver since St Kida's Luna Park
.' acqukedii ln 1923,generalions
oi
.: .r ocalsandlolrrists
havefallen
nlove
wth the park'sspectacular
carousel,
Now ihanksto a multim on dollarreft,
ihls llnep eceoffa rgroundart hasbeen
restoredto iis originalbeauty.
Afterstartingup n 19T2,LunaPark
wasshutdownin l916lhanksto World
War . Theparkce ebratedits 1923grand
parlyby adorningthecarouse
reopening
boughtfor !15,000lrom Whte City
Amusement
Parkn Sydney,
whch closed
in 1918- wth 1500sparkling
Lghts.
Built
by Germanartsts and craftsmenfor the
phlaToboggan
Philade
Company
in 1913,
ihe carolse s the largesi and most
elalroraiein the couniry,and one oi the
was a eak ln the roof wh ch had badly
damagedapainting,andihe horseswere
cakedwith up to 20 ayersof paini. '
got
n 1990,a groupof enthusiasts
togetherto form Friendsof Luna Park
and obbed to restor€the carouse.
In 1998,andwth thenewlobbygroup's
supporl,thedecaying
carousel
underwent
a $2.2mllliontransformaton.
A ieam of restorationexperis from
InternationalConservatonServces
began work on the heritage-isted
carousein late 1999i it reopenedin
2001.Led by artisticd rectorPatricia
N4uiins,the restorerspainstakngly,
examned the carousel'spainlworkto
revealits originacolours.
Ai a smal inneFlvlelbourne
factory,
craftspeople
fromMulholandDecorating,
Featurng two imposng Roman-stye a companyinvolvedln the restofaton
charots,68 prancinghorses,36 cherubs of many l\,,lelbourne
landrnarks,slowly
frozen n flght on m rroredroundng scrapedawaydecadesof pa ntfromihe
horses,a processwh ch look up to 100
boards,and 26 originalo paintings,
the
woodcaryers
carousells one of only lhree of its kind hoursperanimal,Specjalist
(wth four rows of horses)n the world. shapedmorethan45 new legsand two
ts charots are designedon the theme new heads out of basswoodior the
of "War and Peace".'War" featuresa
damagedhorses.Workingfrom original
spreadeaglefgureheadwith armoured phoiographsand informationfrom the
horses,while"Peace"displaysa serene Phiadelphia
Toboggan
Company
archives,
Colurnbiafgure leadingchariothorses lMulinsthen paintedthe horses n the
wiih carvedfowers. Hand- originaldazzlingcoloursihai she and
emblazoned
her coleagueshad discoveredand
carvedfrom Americanbasswood,the
horsesandcharotswereoriginaLyrichly docunrented
d!ring iheir invesiigaiions.
adornedin god and auminiumleai, Drawngon his 47 years experiencen
whichreflected
theirvibrantcoloursafter resioraton,lvu ho lands BruceWalker
paintng and glazing.
thencarefuy applied22 caratgoldand
However,by ihe late 1980s, the a uminium€afto the chariots.
The resuli ls a wonderlu pece of
carouse,alongwith rfany of the park's
otherattractons,was n seriousdisrepalr fairground
equpmentthat is as majesiic
Ltsdetaishiddenbyrottingbeams.There as ii waswhenii ikst arrivedn Austfaa
90 yearsago. Now fully restored,this
classiccarouserldesagainas ihe official
"Jewe in the Crown"at LunaPark.
Luna Park, Lawer Esplana.le,St Kilda,
Melbaurne,Victatia. Ca 13AA888 272
or visit www,Iunapark.com.au
Open weekends,public halidaysand
thraughout\,4ctariat\schoalholidays.
\,.ForoirforescalOonlos on 131313or visil
qonioscom tor holdoy poclogesro
MelboumecolloonlosHolidoyson 131415.
OANTAS
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