The centre piece of the Park is the Carousel, housed in a
purpose-built domed pavilion.
It was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Co. of the USA in 1913
on order for the White City amusement park in Sydney.
This park closed in 1918 and the Carousel was later purchased
for £15,000 and moved to Luna Park, Melbourne.

A Grand Carousel

PTC#30, the thirtieth machine made by the Philadelphia
Toboggan Company (PTC) in Pennsylvania, USA, was
built in 1913. The carousel was specially for the new,
White City amusement park in Sydney. Like a giant
puzzle, the huge carousel, complete with cast iron
machinery and hundreds of timber parts, set sail from
America in October 1913 and arrived in Sydney in November.
Ten years later PTC#30 came to Melbourne for the grand re-opening
of Luna Park in 1923. This was the carousel’s second location where
it has remained ever since and is fondly remembered by generations of Melburnians.


The carousel was one of PTC’s “high class” rides, a grand machine designed for a permanent location. With a platform 52 feet in diameter,
it still has the original 68 horses four abreast, 2 Roman chariots, elaborate decoration and 36 cherubs frozen in flight on the rounding boards.
26 original scenery paintings adorn the center panels and rounding boards, painted by PTC’s Max Soltmann. During the restoration of PTC#30,
it was discovered that much of the original paint was in tact on the majority of horses, rounding boards and center panels.

PTC#30 is almost identical in design in the four and five row machines PTC#20, 21 and 22, made between 1911 and 1912.
These carousels and #30 shared the romantic theme “War and Peace” which allowed skilled PTC carvers great scope for creative invention and
individuality in horse carving. Armour, swords and shields adorn the dark, spirited horses following the eagle chariot of War on PTC#30.
The Peace chariot is more serene with a “Columbia” figurehead surrounded by carved flowers. Lyrical flowers and butterflies are typical
of PTC’s romantic style and are liberally scattered around PTC#30.

Most PTC carousels had a lead horse, usually the most magnificently carved and often armoured like a medieval knight’s steed. PTC#30’s
golden lead horse embodies both war and peace with it’s war helmet and gentle angel. Of the 68 horses on PTC#30, 66 are jumpers
(moving up and down) and 2 are standers (stationary on the platform). They were identified as “king horses” by the company on the
1913 assembly plans that accompanied the carousel to Australia.

RESTORATION

In the ten years between the late 1980s and 90s PTC#30 suffered the greatest neglect in its history. Horses were left in the weather
under the scenic railway where several fell apart, four heads went missing along with many broken legs. One horse disappeared for two years.
(Fortunately, the horse and two heads were later found)

Nevertheless the carousel continued to function with about half the horses on the platform. Some alterations to original parts of the carousel
were made during this period: the Auchy drive was replaced with a hydraulic system; the rotten, borer ridden platform was repaired with new,
baltic pine boards; and the rusted metal ceiling was replaced with colorbond sheets. The 1923 carousel building roof was also repaired –
leakages had caused water damage to the centre panels.

In 1990 Friends of Luna Park (FOLP) raised public awareness of the poor state of the carousel and were responsible for obtaining heritage
listings effectively protecting the carousel from removal and destruction. When BCR Asset Management took over the 45 year lease of Luna Park
in 1998, FOLP lobbied for a major restoration of the carousel. BCR agreed to their proposal to return the carousel to its magnificent, 1913,
PTC appearance.


The interpretation meticulously detailed the original colours, designs and finishes to be reproduced by painting contractors, including coloured
renderings of each horse’s original scheme. Archival factory photos of PTC#30 were an invaluable source where original finishes had been
almost lost, such as on the chariots.

A heritage requirement of the restoration was that all original paint be left in tact under two layers of old paint, then sealed and covered by
the new topcoats. The arduous process of manually stripping layers of over paint took several weeks by painting contractors. During this
process many horses were actually taken back to the original paint.

The information revealed on these horses confirmed details already found in the intensive paint investigation, and subsequent interpretation,
used for the recreation of their original schemes.

In 1999, the carousel was completely taken down and rebuilding began from the footings up. The whole restoration process took over fifty
skilled people two years to complete and cost AU $2.2 million (US$1 million). The carousel’s PTC paint scheme involved producing
comprehensive diagrams, illustrations and photos of all carousel components.

Painting PTC30’s 68 Horses

PTC#30’s 68 horses were a complex part of the carousel’s restoration. The first stage, to investigate and document the original paint,
finishes and designs, took conservators five months. Up to 24 layers of old varnish and overpaint were found on some horses. Others,
along with the chariots, had been partially stripped during previous park renovations.

Throughout this process, complete readings of the original paint scheme were possible for each horse using eyeglasses and in some cases
a microscope. Where saddlecloth designs had been lost in certain outer row horses, PTC archival photos provided the details.
The inside horses’ saddlecloths revealed a variety of designs from flowers and butterflies to scrolls and stylized leaves.


Probably the most interesting revelation of the original paint findings was how carefully the decorative scheme had been worked out, across
the whole carousel, with the 68 horses being but one element of the whole scheme. Gilded, glazed finishes featured with certain colours
repeating throughout. Rich hues were offset by the natural tones of the horses – blacks and creams, palominos and pintos plus all sorts
of dappled varieties following a particular painting style possibly originated by PTC head painter, Gus Weiss.

The process of reproducing the elaborate, decorative finish on the carousel horses was achieved over several months. A small specialist team
accurately reproduced the PTC finishes, designs and colours down to the last pinline found on each horse. The method of paint and varnish
application was important – everything was done by hand, a crucial factor in obtaining the final result.

Roman Chariots

PTC#30’s two Roman chariots bear out the carousel’s theme, War and Peace. An eagle displayed signifies War while the Columbia
figurehead with serene expression conveys Peace. Both chariots are extensively hand-carved with elaborate, glided and glazed decoration.
Although most of the original finish had been lost on the chariots, there was enough evidence in crevices of carving to establish the glaze
colours and areas of gold and aluminium leaf. PTC archival photos of the chariots were invaluable in understanding the placement of tone
and glaze as well as detailing lost decoration.

PTC produced Roman chariots for several of its large machines.
Each chariot was uniquely carved and the figureheads were a little different from one another as were the eagles. Who styled the chariots is uncertain.
The company ledger of 1913 reveals that head painter, Gus Weiss decorated the chariots.

Rounding Boards

The carousel has eighteen rounding boards adorned by 36 plaster cherubs. They carry tambourines and trumpets and they flank the
mirrored shields, ornately carved with wooden angel heads. The rounding boards feature seventeen scenery paintings, original to the carousel.
Scenes of leisure and hunting predominate. The company sign, hidden for 83 years, was revealed during the restoration.

This history was provided by the Friends of Luna Park Inc.
Excerpts from Equus Art and PTC #30 website