I loved the carnival at Semaphore every summer. The Merry-go-round at Semaphore is supposed to be the oldest one in Australia. I am not sure of my facts but this is my story so I accept no complaints. The horses on the Merry-go-round were brown, gray and my favourite a beautiful cream. I would probably have been around four or five when Mum started taking me to have a ride on this lovely carousel. All the little kids were tied on to the pole that the horses moved up and down on by a heavy strip of leather about as wide a thick twine. There were also little seats where the mum's could sit holding their tiny ones and babies. The centre of the carousel was cream and red and gold and had mirrors that reflected the riders and the lights. It was like a fairy land to a little kid and I loved it. Every time I passed Mum I waved just as the children wave today. The floor around the outside of the merry-go-round seemed to be made up of large shreds of leather. I remember a leathery smell but of course it could have been something else. (Hey, I was four right!) The highlight of any day at the beach was a ride before we caught the train home to Woodville. One extremely hot night the ride was packed and it was getting late. Mum wanted to catch the next train and I wanted a ride. There was a young man (probably an older child) who told Mum that I could have a ride on his horse. Now that is lovely of him and Mum was happy but not me. No, I was furious I hated it, and I am sure I looked most ungrateful, however, the boy was riding a brown horse and of course I wanted to ride the cream one. The Merry-go-round is still there and I still love it. I think I am a little heavy to go on the ride now and I could sit on one of the little seats but I want to ride the cream horse. If I can't ride the cream horse I don't want to ride.
I was fascinated by the Big Whipper. It was for older kids and too scary for me to ride on even if there had been a nice boy who said I could ride in his car. I loved the way it whipped the seats around the ends and I knew if I ever did get to ride it I would be sick. There was a big wooden tower with stairs around the inside and when you got to the top you slid down around and around the outside of the tower on a hessian bag. I liked to watch the bumper cars that were another of the rides that were for the big kids. There were young men who jumped on the back of the cars and tried to turn the steering wheels to keep everyone going in the right direction. They leapt from on car to another and I was fascinated with them. I also like to watch the cars crash in to each other and jolt the drivers.
The old carnival was an exciting place with all sorts of games, they had the clown faces, games of skill like the duck shoot and a ball rolling game and other rides and my favourite little shop run by a Mr. Smith. He actually had two shops with one in the ground level of the old Palais. I didn't go to that shop but to the one in the middle of everything it was exciting and nearly every time we went Mum would buy me a choc-ice. This delicacy was chocolate encasing icecream and wrapped in blue and silver foil. This has to be the best treat ever invented. I just loved them but if Mum didn't have enough money I had a child sized icecream. I suppose as long as it was icecream so it didn't really matter. Mr. Smith also sold pink sugar mice with a cotton tail. These were another favourite but I don't imagine I would have been allowed to have one of these plus a choc-ice.
There was also a carnival for the older kids. One was the bucking horses. I never had a ride on that until I was going out with my boyfriend when I was about 20. It was a long wait but I think I enjoyed it all the more. If you were really brave you could swing yourself up and out over the heads of the watchers. However, I was never that brave. I remember saying to Mr. Healy, the ride operator, that the music he was playing made Elvis sound funny. Well how was I to know it was Roy Orbison ? I was a Johnny O'Keefe fan myself.
As time passed the carnival was tidied up. It shifted to a long row of purpose built shops and had the atmosphere of a bowl of mashed potato without salt. The old area was razed and all the wonderful and scary rides became sterile and safe. I realize some people would disagree but unless they had lived through the time of the old carnival they really don't know what they have missed.
When I go to Semaphore or Largs I always have an icecream. It is imperative to have an icecream or it would not be a trip to the beach. When I take the dogs with me I buy them a double icecream to share. Semaphore has changed but the most important part of it is still there. The beach, the sea, the smell of salt and seaweed and the cries of those pesky seagulls are there for me to enjoy and I'll tell you what; you can share it too. Just get yourself down to the beach, have some fish and chips from the kiosk, and of course an icecream and let the whole ambience wash over you.
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