The Riding Gallery

Exploring the true story of the St Kilda merry go round during World War 1, by Australia's most revered verse novelist

In Melbourne's St Kilda, as World War 1 begins, Anton, a German immigrant 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, this is a cleverly structured, multiple point-of-view story, including poems created from contemporaneous newspaper headlines, and Sally Murphy at her finest form.

About the Author

Sally Murphy 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.

About the Illustrator

Martina Heiduczek grew up in a small village on the Baltic Sea in Germany. Here you could find her mostly galloping through the forests with flying piggy tails on her Shetland pony, drawing or reading. She studied illustration and graphic design in Hamburg. These days she is living with her family on the Gold Coast, Australia, creating illustrations that are quirky, poetic at times, textured and mostly colourful.