Content area
Full Text
Simon Plant plots the fascinating rebirth of Melbourne Zoo's own whirligig of time
MELBOURNE Zoo is making merry. For weeks now, skilled tradespeople have toiled in the fairground, applying final touches to a superbly restored 19th-century carousel.
But when Planning Minister Rob Hulls reveals the carousel's million-dollar facelift tomorrow, the zoo will also be marking the end of an epic six-year project.
Battalions of painters, carpenters, engineers and "rare trade" experts, specialising in everything from scrolling to mirror frosting, laboured to revive the steam-age structure.
Damaged horses were rebuilt, mechanical parts repaired and decorative panels restored.
While three Heritage Victoria grants underpinned the extensive work, old-fashioned elbow grease in Melbourne and country Victoria got our merry-go-round going again.
"Conserving an object is always a challenge," supervising architect Dr Timothy Hubbard says.
"You are balancing heritage values with safety issues and this job was especially challenging."
The Savage company in Norfolk, England, built the zoo's clockwise- turning carousel in the late 1870s.
Shipped...