The Carousel was manufactured around 1892 by the New York company Armitage-Herschell. Music plays from a replica Gavioli & Co. band organ which typically accompanied portable carousels of the era. Twenty-four of the 36 horses are original and are believed to be hand-carved by the acclaimed American master carver Charles W Dare.
According to local historian and tour guide Colin Mockett the Carousel was bought by an unknown Australian showrunner in the early 1900s and shipped to Melbourne to travel around Victoria on the show circuit which ran throughout spring and summer.
“The Carousel was packed up onto a horse-drawn tray and would be pulled from show to show: from the Melbourne show to Geelong and then Bendigo and so on ” Colin said.
After World War I as travelling shows fell out of favour the Carousel was moved to the Mordialloc Pier where it operated until the 1930s. It was discovered many years later stored away in a barn on a Bendigo farm and was eventually purchased in 1996 by the Steampacket Place Development Board a joint group formed by the Victorian Government and the City of Greater Geelong.
The restoration took three years and sought the expertise of specialist historians craftspeople and artists from around Australia and North America. They undertook extensive research before the commencement of restoration to ensure the result was as authentic as possible.
The original horses took around 300 hours each to restore with the team scraping back around 40 layers of paint to reveal the original colours which have been faithfully reproduced.
The Carousel is one of only 200 still in operation globally and is housed in a glass pavilion designed by local architecture firm McGlashen Everist. The venue is open 364 days of the year COVID restrictions permitting and can host events and private functions including weddings birthday parties and anniversaries.
Local couple Bernadette Innes and Bart Turley got engaged at The Carousel on New Year’s Eve 2019. The location holds such special memories they chose it as their wedding venue and were married in early November this year.
Bart was “proudly born and bred” in Geelong and he explains that finding somewhere that was “very Geelong” was key when deciding where to propose to his formerly Melbourne-based partner.
“Geelong is such a great place; everything is accessible there are so many great opportunities and a great lifestyle here. The Carousel says Geelong to me ” Bart said.
Bernadette described the proposal as: “Absolutely beautiful it was like a movie. Everyone at the Carousel was cheering and clapping and crying and saying congratulations. Geelong is Bart’s hometown and my new home and the people of Geelong made our engagement so special.”
The couple who both work for Barwon Health said they booked the venue as soon as they found out it hosted wedding ceremonies.
“The Carousel staff were fantastic to deal with – they made everything so easy ” Bernadette said.
Bart’s father was one of 17 children who grew up in a house in Swanston Street South Geelong. The family have been Geelong Cats members for generations and in a nod to his heritage the couple’s wedding reception was held in the Captains Room at GMHBA Stadium.