Luna Park - a post card from 'your stony broke daughters'

This delightful postcard of five women in an aeroplane over Luna Park, St Kilda was written on January 3, 1914.

Luna park postcard, 1914

Whitney Bros., Electric Post Card Studio.

This is the letter on the back of the card -

3/1/14

Dear mum,

What to you think of this photo? Isn't it a brakeup? A friend of uncles took up us in an aeroplane last night. We went all over St Kilda, it is a bonza place. Got through all our money for goodness sake. Send us some money or else we won't come home, we will have to go to work. We are just going down to Hampton, Ethel is leaving for Sydney this afternoon. Love and kisses to Amy and yourself,  from your stony broke daughters. [I have added punctuation]

Reverse of postcard

Whitney Brothers Electric Post Card Studio

The postcard was produced by the Electric Post Card Studio. The Herald of December 10, 1913 had this report -

Inside Luna Park. Kaleidoscopic Features. 

Messrs Whitney Bros.' attractions are again a feature of the Big Show. The number of their concessions has been doubled, and only the most popular of their last year's list have been retained. They are introducing for the first time in this country their Automatic Shooting Forest, the most ingenious mechanical rifle range, ever brought to Australia; the Canadian Logwalk, an original and provokingly enjoyable conception ; the Melbourne Cup and Egyptian Palace of Fortune, both wonderful fun provokers; the Joy Club, Aunt Jemima's Washday, the Arabian Darts, Tip-'em-Over and Add-'em-up, the Plate Board, Giant Punch and Lift, the High Kick, and many other laughable novelties.

The Electric Photographic Studio is where sitters are snapped amid new settings, including an aeroplane apparently among the clouds at an elevation of 3000ft. above Luna Park, and the St. Kilda Beach, which are seen in miniature below. Apart from this clever photographic illusion, the post-cards are taken "while you wait," and delivered the same evening.

A delicious aroma of the pop corn crispettes greets one at the gates, and bridges over the interval since last year with many pleasurable reminiscences of the fun of 1912, and makes the old-time visitor feel at home again. Messrs Whitney Bros., are well satisfied with their move from America to Melbourne, where in their opinion Australian amusement seekers are more exacting than elsewhere, but none the less appreciative of a really good show. 

(The Herald, December 10, 1913, see here)

The Herald's full page promotion of St Kilda by the Sea and the main attraction - Luna Park.

The Herald, December 10, 1913  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page26289633

Luna Park first opened in December 1912. The is a short article on the origin of Luna Park and the people involved in Table Talk of October 3, 1912, see here and a report of the opening, also in Table Talk, of December 19, 1912, here.

St Kilda's Wax Museum

On Monday, November 23, 1970 the London Wax Museum was officially opened by the Mayor of St Kilda, Cr G. Manning, in the South Pacific Building, Lower Esplanade (now Jacka Boulevard) (1).  The South Pacific was the old St Kilda Baths, completely renovated and re-opened in 1956 (2).The 45 (3) figures on display - replicas of the famous and infamous (4) -  had been sculptured and  modelled by Jack Armytage, of Interwax Ltd, at the time the only company in the Southern Hemisphere producing wax models. Jack also designed the display, the costumes and provided the display bodies - it was only the head and the hands which were created in wax (5).

Jack Armytage with Queen Victoria

The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21.

In an interview in The Age newspaper of November 20, 1970 Jack explained his entry into the Wax Model world -

It started 15 months ago when I was helping to lay out the wax museum at Surfers' Paradise. They had some trouble with the wax models brought from London and I thought that they could have been made here.

I had a trip around the world looking at wax museums and that convinced me. I hadn't done any sculpture before, or sculpted from life, but I think being in television for years helped me. Jack had previously been the art director of  a Brisbane Television station. 

Each figure, estimated to be worth $1,000 each, took over 200 hours to create, with each hair being individually implanted (6).

An interesting employment opportunity at the Wax Museum

The Age July 8, 1972, p. 71.

Amongst the models made for the St Kilda Museum were Queen Victoria, King Henry VIII, whose costume alone cost $400; the then Prime Minister, John Gorton; Dame Nellie Melba. Charles Dickens, Dr Christiaan Barnard, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Princess Anne, Michelangelo, Napoleon, Sir Francis Drake, Madame Tussaud, Rolf Harris, Sir Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli, American Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Nixon, Hitler, Stalin and Mao Tse-tung (7).

The manager, John Pittman, surrounded by Benjamin Disraeli, Prince Phillip, Princess Anne, The Queen and Queen Victoria.

The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12

The Museum, owned by New Zealand Company London Wax Museums Ltd was managed by John and Joy Pittman (8). They had no previous experience in the Wax Museum World  - Neither of us had any experience in the world of wax. I worked for an electrical company and Joy had a background in dress making," Mr Pittman said (9).

After 18 months (10) the Museum, also known as the World in Wax,  moved to 32 The Esplanade on the corner of Acland Street to the building erected in 1917, by the  Prahran and Malvern Tramway Trust at the terminus of its line. The building had a long history of use as a cafe - initially the Empire Cafe, then the Green Knoll, and from mid-1940s to 1970 as the function centre known as both Katharina and Catherina (11).

The World in Wax museum, 32 The Esplanade, St Kilda.

Image: Victorian Heritage database https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/66317 

Image enhanced by Isaac Hermann.

The Pittmans operated at 32 The Esplanade, until January 27, 1975, when they had to close as the building was to be demolished and all the models were put into storage.  By this stage 250,000 visitors had viewed the collection. It was not an easy task to find a suitable building to house what was then reported to be 50 wax models, and they had been searching for over a year when they were interviewed by The Age on the day of the closure. The interview reported that they were considering a site in Barkly Street, but it is likely to be some time before the Museum opens again (12).  Some time later they re-opened at 168 Acland Street, corner Barkly Street, in the building which until recently housed the Big Mouth Cafe (13).

Souvenir from London's Wax Museum.

I don't know how long they were at 168 Acland Street, but it seems less than a year. In 2002, the Riverine Herald had an interview with the Pittmans and it was reported that the couple, now in their 80s, bought the London Wax Museum in St Kilda in 1975 and moved its occupants to Echuca in 1976 to open World in Wax Museum on High St.  (14)

This is 'Deadly Earnest'  on display at the Wax Museum.

Life sized guillotine and victim, displayed at the London Wax Museum in St Kilda.

Image: Isaac Hermann

It appears that the Pittmans managed the Museum from its opening until 1975, when they purchased the business and then began looking for a new location, and that the Acland Street location was only ever meant to be a temporary location. This is supported by the fact that the Riverine Herald reported in February 1975 that the Echuca Council was to make a bid to have the Wax Museum set up in Echuca, thus they may have been in talks early on (15).  Secondly, this advertisement, below,  appeared in The Age on October 1, 1975. It is of course possible that R. Inlander was looking for a location for a rival wax museum in 'Melbourne or nearby' but even though I have found no connection yet between Mr Inlander and the Pittmans, I believe that he was advertising on their behalf.

Advertisement for  a  location for a Wax Museum. 

Was it for the St Kilda Museum or a rival museum?

This is likely to be  Rudolf Inlander, listed in the Electoral Roll in the 1970s at Hosken Street, Balwyn North, occupation - dental mechanic.

The Age October 1, 1975. p. 23.

The Riverine Herald article from 2002, was written because the Pittmans were retiring and their manager, John Walton, was taking over the business. At the time of their retirement the Wax Museum displayed 59 models and each figurine can cost anywhere between $8,000 and $10,000 because of the time it takes to make them (16).  An interesting increase in value from the $1,000 per model that Jack Armytage said they were worth in 1970.

The Wax Museum in St Kilda was a short-lived part of St Kilda's rich history as Australia's  premier pleasure resort (17). 

Acknowledgment
I had not heard of the Wax Museum at St Kilda until I was told of it by my fellow historian, Isaac Hermann, when he purchased some souvenir postcards of the Museum, one of which I have reproduced here. Some of this research was done by or in conjunction with Isaac. Thanks, Isaac.

Footnotes
(1) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21. Available on newspapers.com

(2) The South Pacific, read the report of official re-opening in The Argus of November 3, 1956, here. However a report in the Australian Jewish Herald of May 18, 1956 said there was a Grand Opening on May 23, 1956, read this report here.

(3) The number of figures on display was listed as 45 in The Age of  November 20 article and 42 in The Age, November 19, 1970, p. 16

(4) Replicas of the famous and infamous was from an advert for the Museum in The Age, December 11, 1972, p. 11. 

(5) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21.

(6) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21.

(7) The Age, November 20, 1970, p. 21; The Age, November 19, 1970, p. 16; The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12.

(8) The Age, November 19, 1970, p. 16. Available on newspapers.com

(9) Riverine Herald, December 2, 2002, see here. 
(10) The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12. Available on newspapers.com

(11) I will be writing a history of the building shortly, but I have created  a list of articles on Trove on the various businesses which  occupied the building, access it here https://trove.nla.gov.au/list/157656

(12)  The Age January 28, 1975, p. 12.

(13) Isaac Hermann told me about this location. See also here https://www.realestatesource.com.au/big-mouth-shuts-after-27-years-building-re-rents/ and here https://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/big-mouth

(14) Riverine Herald, December 2, 2002, see here. 

(15) Riverine Herald, February 2, 2000, see here - The Way we Were - 25 years ago.

(16) Riverine Herald, December 2, 2002, see here. 

(17) This term is from St Kilda by the Sea, published by the Prahran Telegraph, 1913-1916, http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/185325

Baxter's Merry-Go-Round

Baxter's Merry-Go-Round was a fixture of carnivals for many years and this is a short history of it. I first heard about it at St Kilda, but it travelled throughout Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia.

 The Baxters who owned the merry-go-round were William Baxter and his cousin Fred Baxter. Fred died on May 26, 1937 at the age of 79, and we can find out something about his life from his obituary that was published in the Adelaide Mail. Fred Baxter was the son of a Thames River tugboat owner and was an apprentice on a windjammer, but after one voyage he decided that the sea was not for him, so he runaway when the vessel arrived in Melbourne. He found his way to  Heywood in the western district, worked on a farm and drove cattle with his brother Frank. He then visited England and on his return to Australia he decided to join his cousin William in the side-show business, this was  in 1885. They imported a steam merry-go-round from England which had galloping horses, the first in Australia. William and Fred were also early pioneers in the moving picture business, but in the end Fred concentrated on his steam merry-go-round. After Fred's death in 1937, his son Arthur took over the running of the merry-go-round (1) 

Fred Baxter

Adelaide Mail May 29, 1937  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55934241

The Baxter's Merry-Go-Round was considered to be superior to the others on the side-show circuit. Here are some descriptions of it. The Tasmanian newspaper had  a report on the Hobart Agricultural Show of 1887 -  Mention must also be made of what proved a source of much attention to the youngsters present - a most elaborate merry-go-round, constructed by Mr. W. C. Baxter, of Melbourne, which comprised in its intricate anatomy a steam piano, that discoursed loud if not the sweetest music. (2)

This report of the New Year's Day Port Adelaide Regatta of 1892 was in the Port Adelaide News - Every kind of amusement was provided along the wharves, the most popular with the juveniles being swing-boats and merry-go-round. The latter, however, was a very poor substitute for Baxter's merry-go-round of last year, which was driven (including the organ) by steam-power. The one provided on this occasion was worked manually, and had not even a barrel organ. (3) 

In 1894  the merry-go-round was in Mount Gambier - Baxter's Steam Circuit, a merry-go-round of a superior character, and four swing boats, opened in Commercial-street on Wednesday evening, and have been a great source of enjoyment to hundreds of young people nightly since. There are in the circus 30 capitally made - horses and two cars, all prettily painted and named after Australian turf celebrities, the whole being set in motion by a small portable engine. The movement of the horses is accompanied by appropriate music, supplied by an organ composed of a number of brass instruments, which is also worked by the steam machinery, and plays 27 tunes. The centre of the circus inside the circle of horses is brilliant with mirrors and spiral columns brightly painted, and when the horses are moving these mirrors and columns revolve with a dazzling effect. (4) 

In 1895 a children's fete was held at Government House in Melbourne and amongst the entertainment provided was Baxter's steam merry-go-round (the most perfect of the kind ever seen in Melbourne), with its adjuncts the see-saw merry-go-round and the swinging - boats. (5) 

From the Laura Standard  in 1904 - the merry-go-round is a most beautiful sight, the horses moving as nearly to life as possible, and the swing boats carry the passengers right around, at times just stopping in mid-air. They are of course fastened in, but the screams from the fair sex caused some amusement. (6) 

I did find one slightly critical report of the merry-go-round.  This was in 1907 from the Hamilton Spectator - The licensee of a hotel at Albury has been fined for allowing Baxter's merry-go-round to perform on a vacant piece of land adjoining and belonging to the premises. It appears that a merry-go-round falls within the definition of "music" though it requires some stretch of imagination to realise the fact. (7)

This is a steam operated merry-go-round, like Baxter's was - the portable engine is on the left. It's from a series of photos at the State Library of Victoria called Bannon family and friends and views of Victoria and South Australia, taken c. 1914 to 1937. Is this actually Baxter's Merry-Go-Round? Right time frame, right location (Victoria and South Australia) and not dissimilar to the merry-go-round in the photograph, below, which I know is Baxter's.

State Library of Victoria Image  H84.201/4

You can see from the above that Baxter's Merry-Go-Round toured widely and not only to capital cities. There are reports in the paper of it being at Port Pirie and Orroroo in South Australia; Adelong and Tenterfield in New South Wales; Bairnsdale and Rochester in Victorian and Longford in Tasmania. Given that in the early days it would have been transported by horse and dray they are extraordinary distances. Even later on if they used a truck it was still an achievement. There is also a report that the merry-go-round arrived in Renmark by barge.

Baxter's Merry-Go-Round was  a fixture on the St Kilda foreshore for over twenty years.  The first mention I can find of it connected St Kilda was in 1894 when the St Kilda Council had -  an application from Mr. William Baxter to erect swinging boats; steam merry-go-rounds, aerial slides and a cosmorama on the beach during the Christmas holidays. (8)  I can't find  a report on the outcome of this application, but they were definitely there in the summer of 1896/1897 and they continued to exhibit at St Kilda until 1918.

Baxter was obviously initially happy with St Kilda as the Prahran Chronicle noted in February 1902 that he had applied to the St Kilda Council to for  a lease of the reclaimed land, containing about 4 acres, on the Lower Esplanade, for a term of 20 or 21 years, at a pepper corn rental. I will expend during the first three years a sum not exceeding £5000, to be spent in three equal sums, one in each of the three years. Such money to be spent in the erection of brick and wooden buildings according to plans to be approved of by the Council - to comprise an amusement pavilion with refreshment and other conveniences ; also a stage and band stand, shrubbery, fencing etc. All improvements to become the property of the council at the end of the lease. (9)

A grand plan indeed, and it was referred to the Council's Public Works Committee for consideration, but the Council did not accept Mr Baxter's offer. He made the same offer to the Council in September 1904. The Council discussion was reported in the Prahran Telegraph and it covered a number of issues such as whether the Council actually 'owned' the land or whether it was a Reserve. Baxter has also applied for land at the pier. A rental for this was suggested but again there was a  discussion as to whether the Council controlled the land and whether it should be  a depot for shooting galleries and merry-go-rounds. Baxter's Merry-Go-Round was located on various sites in St Kilda (more on this below), so the Council did not agree to him having a 20 year lease on the four acres on the Lower Esplanade. (10)

This is Baxter's Merry-Go-Round at St Kilda (11). Photographer: Nicholas Caire. 

To the right of the merry-go-round is Baxter's 'Royal Shooting Salon'  

State Library of Victoria Image H2014.184/123. Click here to see a higher res version on the SLV website.

In 1918 Baxter's relationship with the St Kilda Council soured and he ended up in the St Kilda Court - Fredk. W. Baxter was charged on the information of Sergeant F. Dainty, summoning officer to the St.Kilda Council, with being the occupier of certain premises situate at the Upper Esplanade, did permit a public amusement to be conducted in and on such premises, namely, a merry-go-round, without such premises being registered, contrary to bye-law No. 79 and part 6 of the 13th schedule of the Local Government Act, 1915. The result of the court case was that Baxter was found guilty of twelve charges, fined ten shillings on each charge and over three pounds in costs. (12)  

It was after this that Baxter moved his operation to Glenelg in South Australia.  Another reason put forward for the move from St Kilda to Glenelg was mentioned in Fred Baxter's obituary - It was keen competition of St. Kilda that brought Mr. William Baxter and his large merry-go-round to this State [South Australia] in 1918. (13) 

There are other reports confirming the strong competition for the entertainment dollar (or more correctly the entertainment shilling) in St Kilda, even a decade before.  This is from the Sydney paper, The Referee of January 8, 1908 -  St. Kilda Beach is the outdoor show place of Melbourne. Up within three years ago Baxter's merry-go-round had the district "on its own." Then came "The Pierrots" two seasons ago, also "The pester King" in the the same year and the report goes on with various other amusements and how much income the St Kilda Council derived from these shows. (14)

Where were Baxter's located in St Kilda?  J.B. Cooper writes about the merry-go-round in volume two  of his History of St Kilda.  He writes about various amusements on the St Kilda foreshore such as the English Pierrots - Before those regular beach shows there was in full whirl, Baxter's Merry-Go-Round, which gave many happy minutes to thousands and thousands of holiday-making children, enjoying glorious days at St Kilda with their buckets, spades and sand castles. Baxter's Merry-Go-Round is notable because it was the first amusement on the first piece of reclaimed shore land. The St Kilda Council made the reclamation...starting at the foot of the pier and spreading out from there, towards Kenney's baths...the subsequent beautification of the foreshore of St Kilda, had its source, in this modest beginning, upon which Baxter was allowed to place his Merry-Go-Round, as so he became the first tenant on reclaimed shore land at St Kilda. (15)

Advertisement for Baxter's 'riding gallery' located on the Esplanade between Pier and Kenny's Baths.

 Prahran Telegraph December 19, 1896. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article144633411

The Merry-Go-Round had, as I said before, various locations in St Kilda in the time it was there - here are some of the locations as reported in the newspapers. Cooper's 'first piece of reclaimed shore land' was near Luna Park - the St Kilda 'triangle area' (16).  In 1896 - they were between the Pier and Kenny's Baths (see advertisement above). In November 1904  were located at the entrance to the pier. In January 1907 it was reported that Baxter's merry-go-round quite held its own in popular favour, and, although the location is different, this innocent amusement is just as popular as ever it was. This doesn't tell us any exact locations, but it does indicate it occupied various locations in St Kilda. (17)

In 1916 it was located on an allotment on the other - the Esplanade Hotel - side of the street.  In 1917, Baxter applied to use  the ground adjoining the Royal Hotel, Esplanade   The Royal Hotel was on the corner of Robe Street. (18) At one time the Merry-Go-Round was operating on the corner of the Upper Esplanade and Acland Street (where McDonalds is now located) and where the Empire Cafe was opened in December 1918. (19)

Baxter's Merry-Go-Round  brought a lot of joy to the public but there were also some accidents associated not with it but with Baxter's other side-show attractions - a steam swing boat and  a shooting gallery. Here are reports of some of these incidents.  In August 1891 a lad named Hammond, was in Market square [Castlemaine].  He was passing the swing boats attached to Baxter's steam merry-go-round when one of the boats struck him on the forehead and inflicted a severe wound. The lad was conveyed to the hospital and this evening was in a critical condition. (20) 

The steam boat was also the source of another accident in December 1900 when an employee, Charles Beresford, was swinging himself to and fro in the boat and he stood up, toppled over and fell back downwards through the air, a distance of 30-feet, his head crashing with great violence against one of the solid wooden stays of the suspended boat, after which he lay on the sand bleeding from a large scalp wound as The Age graphically reported.  Charles was rushed to the Alfred Hospital and operated on. I don't know what happened to him in the end. (21)

In Numurkah the next year George Williams met with an accident with the lighting plant attached to the merry-go-round -  the calcium carbide used for lighting had somehow become damp and on Williams lifting the lid of the drum in which it was kept the lighted watch he was carrying ignited the gas from the decomposing chemical with a consequent explosion of flame. Williams had his hair and moustache burnt off and was otherwise rather severely singed. (22) 

However, the most tragic incident occurred in 1907 in Rochester, when sixteen year old George Sullivan was shot at Baxter's shooting gallery -  A man was going to have a shot, but decided to change the rifle he was about to use for another. He laid the loaded weapon on the table, and an attendant, named Cooper, picked up the rifle to unload it. The rifle went off, and Sullivan, who was standing near by, was shot in the breast. The verdict of  inquest into his death was that it was an accident and thus Cooper was not charged. (24)

Sad though this is, given the number of people entertained by Baxter's side-shows over the years the number of incidents was very small, although I am not dismissing the pain and anguish these incidents caused. There was another side to Baxter's side-shows and that was their donations to various charitable causes - here's a few examples - the hospital at Narrandera, the Mining Disaster fund at Bendigo, the Blind Soldier's Fund at Mildura; the Alfred Hospital and the Womens' Hospital in Melbourne and the Chelsea Fire Brigade.

 Baxter's side-show exhibits at St Kilda. Photographer: Nicholas Caire.

The merry-go-round is on the left, then the shooting gallery, a ferris wheel and round-about attraction with boats - is that the Swing boat? There also appears to be another Swing boat on the very right of the photograph. 

   State Library of Victoria Image H2014.184/124. Click here to see a higher res version on the SLV website. 

Baxter's was around for so long that is worked it's way into the social fabric of the community - here are some anecdotes -
This was from an article on horse racing - reminds us of the old gag and the almost certain winning bet that used to be made on the way to down-the-line meetings. "There will be a lot of grey horses
seen out to-day" would say one chap. The shrewdie would consult his race book and see not more than one or two entered. He would offer to bet they would not see three grey horses. The alleged shrewdie alongside would see the book, too, and stand in half with him. But they never win. The
point of the joke is that every market gardener for miles this side of and beyond Mordialloc has a grey horse, and any day you may see not three but dozens of grey horses. The alleged shrewdie thinks only of the racehorse greys, and the market gardeners don't come into his calculation-but he has to pay. One day the joke nearly went astray. It was the market gardeners' picnic. The jokists seemed certain to lose their money, but darned if Baxter's merry-go-round wasn't planted right near the bridge on the main road. And they're all grey horses! (24)

While the merry-go-round is used as an excuse for taking little Mary and Willie out of an evening, in reality pa and ma desire the outing for the purpose of meeting old and lost-sight-of friends. And it is "marvellous how many old friendship have been renewed at Mr. Baxter's "show place"!  (25) 

This was in an article written by jockey, Laurie Meehan - As I returned to the jockeys' room a racegoer told me I would fall off Baxter's Merry Go-Round if I wasn't tied on. (26) 

The first steam Merry-Go-Round was imported in 1885 but in the interview with Frederick's son, Arthur, in the Adelaide News in December 1952 he says the Glenelg Merry-Go-Round is 50 years old, thus from 1902. It also notes that Mr. Baxter's father imported a merry-go-round from Norwich (England) 60 years ago. It's still running at Cronulla (NSW). This possibly dates the original steam Merry-Go-Round to 1892. (27)  In the long run, whether the Merry-Go-Round dates from 1885 or 1892 or 1902 is unimportant and what is important is the fact that Baxter's Merry-Go-Round gave joy and happiness to thousands of children and adults over the years all throughout Australia.

The Glenelg Merry-Go-Round was still operating relatively recently (and may still be). An Historic Walk of Glenelg produced by the City of Holdfast Bay, possibly in 2006, includes the Merry-Go Round -

Stop 19 - Glenelg’s long association with amusement parks and sideshows peaked with the construction of, ‘’Magic Mountain’’ at what is now the Beachouse (located south-west of the Rotunda). The design of the fun park, which was meant to resemble a sand dune, was largely criticised as being aesthetically displeasing. Taking pride of place in the theme park were giant waterslides, said to be the largest in the southern hemisphere, and a Merry-Go-Round imported from England in 1902 by the Baxter family. Look for the now modernised Merry-Go-Round in the eastern side of the current complex. (28)  

Trove list
I have created  a list of newspaper articles on Trove about Baxter's Merry-Go-Round, access it here. Every article referred to here is on the list.

Footnotes

(1) Adelaide Mail on May 29, 1937, see here, Adelaide Mail, January 7, 1950, see here. 

(2) The Tasmanian, October 22, 1887, see here

(3) Port Adelaide News, January 8, 1892, see here.

(4) Mount Gambier Border Watch, March 17 1894, see here

(5) Weekly Times, December 21, 1895, see here.

(6) Laura Standard, June 10, 1904, see here

(7) Hamilton Spectator, July 23, 1907, see here

(8) Prahran Telegraph, November 21, 1894, see here.

(9) Prahran Chronicle, February 22, 1902, see here

(11) Prahran Telegraph of September 17, 1904, see here

(12) To say I was excited finding these photos of Baxter's Merry-Go-Round and other side-show attractions is the understatement of the year. The State Library of Victoria have the five photos in this series labelled as "St Kilda Foreshore, Victoria, dated as '1890-1910?' They are stereographs - so I have cropped the 2nd photo.

(12) Malvern Standard, May 11, 1918, see here.

(13) Adelaide Mail, May 29, 1937, see here

(14) The Referee, January 8, 1908, see here.
(15)  John Butler Cooper wrote the two volume The History of St Kilda from its first settlement to a City and after, 1840 - 1930. It was published by the St Kilda City Council in 1931. The information on Baxter's Merry-Go-Round, which I quoted is from Volume 2, page 206 and 207.
(16) It was my friend and research colleague, Isaac Hermann, who told me about Baxter's Merry-Go-Round initially, and the fact that the Empire Cafe at St Kilda was built in 1916 on a previous location of the merry-go-round. I have more information on the Empire Cafe, here. Isaac also told me that the first piece of reclaimed shore land, which J.B. Cooper identified as the original location of Baxter's Merry-Go-Round in St Kilda was the land near Luna Park.

(17) Prahran Telegraph, December 19, 1896, see here; Prahran Chronicle, November 19, 1904, see here; Prahran Telegraph, January 5, 1907, see here.

(18) The Argus, January 17, 1916, see here; Malvern Standard, December 22, 1917, see here. 

(19) See footnote 17.

(20) The Argus, August 17, 1891, see here

(21) The Age, December 26, 1900, see here

(22) Numurkah Leader, June 14, 1901, see here

(23) The Age, April 12, 1907, see here

(24) Richmond Guardian, February 23, 1918, see here

(25) Glenelg Guardian, November 15, 1923, see here

(26) The Call,  July 17, 1947, see here

(27) Adelaide News, December 30, 1952, see here.

(28) https://www.holdfast.sa.gov.au/discover/walking-bike-trails