Exploring the true story of the St Kilda merry go round (which now resides here in Canberra) during World War One, by Australia's most celebrated verse novelist.

In Melbourne’s St Kilda, as World War One begins, German immigrant Anton fulfils his dream of creating the most beautiful steam-driven “riding gallery” (a merry-go-round) in the world. Evelyn, who has just moved to the city befriends local boy Rory, but the war, and anti-German sentiment, soon takes its toll on the children, Anton, their families, and the riding gallery itself.

Based on true events, The Riding Gallery is a multiple point-of-view story, including poems created from contemporaneous newspaper articles with illustrations from Martina Heiduczek.

And the extra special thing for us is that the St Kilda merry go round now lives here in Canberra in Civic.

Join us at the Book Cow to help launch the book and chat with Sally. Then, if you want, come along to the merry go round in Civic to help celebrate our local connection to the story!

Sally Murphy OAM grew up loving books, babies and beaches, and nothing much has changed. Now she is grown up (though she tries hard not to be), she thinks a perfect day is one which involves reading, writing, walking or swimming at the beach, time with her six (also grown up) children, her grandchildren, and her animal babies. When she isn’t doing these things, Sally is a university academic, teaching teachers how to teach.

Contact the host of Book Launch - The Riding Gallery by Sally Murphy