Original post 1 August 2020

Always worth another shot ! The laughing face of #MrMoon at #LunaPark; created 1912, which is a long time ago now, and reproduced in fibreglass in 1999 which is what we see now. The broken remains of the original, made out of cement on chicken wire, which had been repaired and added todo often it had lost all character.

14 November 2024

The Dodgem’s Building at Luna Park is a fun fantasy thing in the style of a French Chateau, all in timber and paint – or at least it was, it’s now stripped back to the 1926 steel structure, pending reinstatement, but only as it was just before, rather than restoring the many details that have dropped off in the last 50 years. It was missing detailing to the pointy roof and window, the whole left side, the top crenellations on the long side, and the battlements between the windows. It’s not the end of the world, but why not restore it completely? I’ve emailed the park but no answer, anyone know people there ? The plans were approved in 2022, but it turns out the Dodgems isn’t officially heritage listed. Colour pics mine from 2012, first B&W is via Facebook from an album someone found, and looks to be probably 1926. The second one is from the @heraldsunphoto_retro in the 1970s, the last one c1930 port phillip heritage collection. My detail of a surviving battlement from 2012.

26 March 2025

Yes it really is that wonky, but perfectly safe. In fact early photos show there was less structure in 1912, so it’s possibly over engineered now. Hmm 113 years old! And yes the right hand tower leans inwards, possibly always did. The front was scaffolded for ages, but not sure what they were doing; it had been repainted only a few years ago. Meanwhile, the City of Port Phillip repaved the plaza, and …. made it worse. It had a fan of spikes, done quite spikily, but now it’s two tone squared off tiles, looks awful. It’s not even necessary, there’s no need to decorate the pavement, let alone with a version of what’s in front of you, if you were going to do anything, how about a great long red tongue 👅? 😁

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