Paddington and Scout go for a Ride on a Armitage-Herschell Merry-Go-Round

            SCOUT:  "Look Paddy: horsies!"  

PADDY:  "Yes Scout, this is a very special merry-go-round."  

SCOUT:  "A merry-go-round Paddy?  What's that?"  

PADDY:  "Well Scout, a merry-go-round is a large machine at a fair that turns round and has wooden animals on which children ride."  

SCOUT:  "Only children Paddy?"  *Disappointed.*

PADDY:  "Oh please don't be sad Scout!  Bears can ride on them too!"  

SCOUT:  "Oh!"  *Happy.*  "Can we go for a ride on one of the horsies on the merry-go-round then Paddy?"  

PADDY:  "I think that sounds like a lovely idea!  Maybe we could ask the nice lady at the ticket booth to let us on."

SCOUT:  "Do we need money Paddy?"

PADDY:  "Oh no Scout.  Little bears can ride on merry-go-rounds for free."  

SCOUT:  "Oh that's a relief because I don't have any money!"  *Wipes brow with paws.*  "Excuse me please nice ticket booth lady.  Can we go for a ride on your merry-go-round?  Would you like a cuddle?"  

NICE TICKET BOOTH LADY:  "Oh thank you little bear!  I'd love a cuddle."  *Embraces Paddy and Scout.*  "Now, would you like to go for a ride on the merry-go-round?"

PADDY and SCOUT:  "Yes please!"  

*PADDY and SCOUT board the merry-go-round and mount a horse.*

SCOUT:  "Horsie ride Paddy!  Horsie ride!" *Jumps up and down with excitement.* 

NICE TICKET BOOTH LADY:  "Oh hold on tightly little bears!  I'm about to start the ride."

PADDY:  "Quick Scout, let's grab the horse's mane."  

SCOUT:  "Wheeee!  Horsie ride Paddy!  Horsie ride!  Wheeee!"

PADDY:  "Wave to Daddy Scout!"  

SCOUT:  "Hullo Daddy!  Horsie ride!  Wheeee!  Horsie ride!  Wheeee!"

PADDY and SCOUT *Wave to Daddy.*

DADDY:  *Waves back, smiles and wipes a tear of joy from his eye.*

One of the most delightful tourist attractions along the Geelong's Waterfront Esplanade is the beautifully restored 1892  portable steam driven, hand-carved wooden carousel.

Constructed around 1892, the Armitage-Herschell portable steam driven, hand-carved wooden carousel one of only 200 in operation around the world. It features thirty six Charles Dare horses (twenty-four of which are original) and two dragon chariots (both faithful replicas).  The horses still have their original real horse hair tails!  There are forty eight original artworks adorning the carousel's boards, inspired by the legend of King Arthur.  Each painting has a Holy Grail, and the artist's initials JMC hidden within it.  

The carousel can be traced back to the Mordialloc Pier where it operated after the Great War through until the 1950s.  It was purchased by the Steampacket Place Development Board in 1996 and painstakingly restored.   Each horse alone took over three hundred hours to restore as forty layers of paint were stripped back to reveal the brilliant original colours.  All in all the restoration took three years and cost thirty million dollars to achieve.  The time, effort and money has been well invested I think, as you cannot help but smile when you see the carousel in action; with or without playful children on board.

The Allan Herschell Company Incorporated was established in 1873 as a general engineering shop.  Later it became the North Tonawanda Engine and Machine Company.  In 1876 the name of the company was changed to the Armitage-Herschell Company.  The first carousel built by the company was in 1883.  By 1891 over one hundred carousels had been manufactured. Despite the commercial success, poor investments saw the company placed in receivership in 1899. Consequently, Allan Herschell and his brother-in-law, Edward Spillman, bought the ailing company and formed a new firm called the Herschell-Spillman Company. They went on to become the largest carousel manufactures in America.

It is believed that the horses were hand-carved by the American master carver, Charles Dare, which makes them very rare.

Paddy, Scout and I spent a delightful, if rainy, Saturday with the Famous Flickr Five+ Group along the Geelong Waterfront where we walked from central Geelong Esplanade to the Art Deco Eastern Beach.

Geelong is a city southwest of Melbourne, Australia. Lining its bay, The Waterfront Esplanade has a Nineteenth Century American carousel, a curved art deco boardwalk and sea bath at Eastern Beach, and scattered along the waterfront are more than one hundred bollards painted as colourful sculptures chronicling city history by artist Jan Mitchell. The Geelong Botanic Gardens lie at the eastern end of the bay. The central National Wool Museum hosts changing exhibitions, concerts and entertainments.

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / Geelong (show map)

Taken on: November 2, 2019

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Paddington

Paddington Bear

Paddy

teddy

teddy bear

bear

soft toy

vintage

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cute

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soft

Scout

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knitted

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Fair Trade

Fair Trade Bear

Scout House

Geelong Carousel

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Armitage-Herschell Carousel

Armitage-Herschell

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Charles Dare

Victorian

Victoriana

1892

1890s

wooden

hand carved

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King Arthur

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Geelong Waterfront

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Sets appears in: • Geelong the Victorian Wool City • The 1892 Armitage-Herschell Carousel more » • Adventures with Paddington « less

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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