General News
15 December, 2024
Historic ride hits insurance hurdle
THE historic Boort merry-go-round will sit idle this summer. Questions around ownership and lack of success securing insurance has forced Boort Tourism Development to keep the switch turned off. The merry-go-round has not run in 11 months after...
THE historic Boort merry-go-round will sit idle this summer.
Questions around ownership and lack of success securing insurance has forced Boort Tourism Development to keep the switch turned off.
The merry-go-round has not run in 11 months after Boort Men’s Shed members stepped back from offering regular rides.
BTD now wants assistance from Loddon Shire Council to resolve ownership and insurance issues and have the ride running again.
Committee members have dubbed the dormant attraction in Nolen’s Park the “merry-not-go-round”.
The merry-go-round was purchased around 1965 by the Boort Progress Association and was run for many years by Morrie Claxton, Len Whitmore, Laurie Meadows and Bruce Weaver.
The ride was restored by the Rotary Club in 1999 with a cover built over the top to preserve it from the weather with finances from Citibank and the Loddon Shire Council.
The refurbished Merry-Go-Round was re-opened by then Mayor Frank Maher.
BTD says: “Insurance is a problem, as someone has to own it as the Boort Progress Association no longer exists.
“The meeting decided that the Shire should step up and take ownership as it is in Nolen’s Park and is already part of the playing equipment.
“Over summer the Merry-Go-Round is usually run for a couple of hours every weekend as it is next to the caravan park. It is also used whenever there is a function on at Nolen’s Park such as Christmas Carols and family reunions.”