Although it sat gathering dust for nearly a decade, Darling Harbour’s iconic vintage carousel—only the second-oldest in Australia—has reopened with the harbourside area’s Olympics live site.

The highly ornate fairground carousel is a small piece of heritage-listed beauty in that part of Sydney, adding a tremendous amount of character to the site, which is set to start hosting public screenings or major sporting events and will become a hub of activity for Darling Harbour as Sydney moves into its next era.

Second in age only to the vintage carousel down at Melbourne Zoo, this Darling Harbour treasure was shipped to Sydney in 1987 by a family of showmen and subsequently used as a touring attraction for regional fares around New South Wales. Our state government purchased the carousel in 1988 and the whimsical beast has lived in Darling Harbour since 2015, where it operated until the long-gestating development began on fresh-faced openings W Sydney and the all-new IMAX.

A ride on the classic Edwardian carousel, which is still fitted with an (inactive) steam engine but is now powered by an electric motor, is priced at $7 for small and big kids alike.

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