The carousel and its original steam engine were purchased and restored between 1996 and 2000, as part of the redevelopment of the Geelong Waterfront.

A steel-framed glass pavilion building was designed and constructed to provide permanent housing for the carousel.

The original horses, of which 24 remain on the carousel, are believed to have been hand-carved by the American master carver, Charles Dare.

The twelve horses needed to make up the complete set were built using techniques as close as possible to the original manufacturing methods.

[7] As part of the redevelopment project, the Steampacket Place Development Board purchased the carousel in 1996, to become a feature of the waterfront.

[2] The building that houses the carousel was designed by the Australian architectural practice McGlashan Everist, and built on a waterfront site adjacent to Steampacket Gardens.

[7] The design of the pavilion is a transparent steel-framed glass box with a roof structure of six umbrella forms in an arrangement of three by two.

[12][13][14] The carousel was originally designed to be portable and had its own mechanical power source — a steam engine mounted on a four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage.

As part of the restoration of the carousel, the original steam engine was located in Sydney, purchased, and brought to Geelong.