Why the long face?
Carousel put out to pasture
THE historic Broadbeach carousel will be out of action for next year’s Commonwealth Games while the Gold Coast City Council takes extreme measure to ensure its safety.
Every single piece of the mechanism will be taken apart and x-rayed in a $250,000 effort to ensure the 100-year-old icon is safe.
Broadbeach councillor Paul Taylor said regular maintenance in August had found issues which needed repair.
The overhaul was also prompted by the fatal tragedy at Dreamworld last year.
“Since that accident everyone has been jumping on to make sure everything ticks all boxes when it comes to safety,” Cr Taylor said.
Dismantling of the carousel will be immediate and is expected to take some time.
“If everything is well it will be back after the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
Cr Taylor said if it cannot be repaired the council will consider purchasing a new carousel to put in its place.
It is not the first time the carousel’s future has been in doubt.
In 2013 a public campaign was able to save the carousel from the scrap heap.
A similar campaign was waged in 2009 after it had been closed for two years to undergo maintenance.
The carousel is owned by the council but run by the Rotary Club of Southport to raise money for charity.
In July about 1500 people used it for $2 each, raising about $3000 a month.
Rotary Club of Southport president Rhonda Whitton said it was the club’s main source of fundraising.
“We are hopeful that the carousel will be repaired and that we get the opportunity to continue to operate it,” she said.
Money raised from the carousel is split between Gold Coast charities.
The council’s city infrastructure committee spent about half an hour debating the issue behind closed doors yesterday before voting unanimously to have it dismantled.
“It’s historically significant and it’s so important to the city,” committee chairwoman Dawn Crichlow said.
“We don’t want to lose the carousel.”