Andalusia Park: 35 years since popular Gold Coast theme park closed and was demolished

It was one of the Gold Coast’s most famous theme parks, yet Andalucia Park closed suddenly 35 years ago. This is the true story of what happened.

THE Gold Coast has been well-known as Australia’s theme park capital for nearly 60 years.

From Magic Mountain to Grundy’s and Movie World, memorable rides and attractions have long played a key role in the city’s tourism industry.

But beyond the big names, there are plenty of other parks which have burned short and bright before being extinguished.

Among these lesser-known attractions include everything from Santaland to the Land of Legends, all of which are just memories today.

Sundale: 30 years since iconic Gold Coast shopping centre closed its doors after 21 years

Marineland, the future site of Andalucia Park.

Gold Coast theme parks: Fates of popular rides and attractions revealed

Flashback Feature: Warner Bros Movie World celebrates 25 years since star-studded opening

Take a look back at the Gold Coast's first theme parks including Magic Mountain and Grundy's

But standing out above the rest of these long-gone wonders was Andalucia Park, one of the Gold Coast most popular drawcards in the 1980s.

It was built on The Spit at the former site of Marineland, the forerunner to Keith Williams’ famed Sea World.

Once Sea World was established, the developer instead converted the smaller beachside site into the Bird Life Park.

Andalucia Park, a Gold Coast theme Park which operated from 1981 to 1985.

Top 10 Gold Coast theme park rides we miss from Dreamworld, Magic Mountain and Sea World

In 1981 the site was sold to Hans Van der Drift, a veteran Gold Coast small goods manufacturer who wanted to try his hand at something radically different.

With a theme park in his possession, Mr Van der Drift shifted focus away from birds to Spanish horses and redeveloped site to become Andalucia Park.

Marketed as “the world of live animal entertainment”, it boasted a wide range of attractions:

* 21 Royal Spanish dancing stallions which would perform daily at noon.

* Koala cuddles

* Free-roaming kangaroos

* An attraction called “the animal farm mad capped monkey village”

* Hand-feeding of Australian birds and eagles, along with the “cockatoo capers” show.

* Crocodile hand feelings and reptile presentations.

It was a popular tourist attraction in the early 1980s.

There was also a range of rides and attractions.

Andalucia Park was heavily featured in marketing for the Gold Coast through the early 1980s in conjunction with its contemporaries – Magic Mountain and Grundy’s

But like the former, it was beset by financial problems and struggled with rapidly rising costs despite entertaining big crowds.

Andalucia Park had 21 stallions.

In December 1984 police captured a rogue wallaby which was found bouncing around the Gold Coast Hwy near Macintosh Island.

The wallaby was taken by Broadbeach police constables Terry Kempnich and Darren Grieve to Andalucia Park which it was believed to have escaped from.

After a headcount, it was determined that the wallaby must have been taken as a pet before being abandoned.

FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: JUST $5 A MONTH FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS

The park closed in 1985 and was replaced by the Sheraton Mirage.

The same year, the park’s future was in doubt as Mr Van der Drift, facing financial difficulties, filed a development application with the Gold Coast City Council to build The Lagoons, a three-storey resort on the 4.23ha site which would feature up to 400 rooms.

The project was approved and international chains were wooed for the project through 1984 with the Sheraton named as one of the interested parties.

The former Andalucia Park on March 31, 1987 as it was transformed into the Sheraton Mirage.

In 1985, publicly traded company Qintex, headed by business mogul Christopher Skase bought the site from Mr Van der Drift for up to $9 million.

Skase announced he would spend $50 million to build a resort, something he realised in 1987 with the opening of the luxurious Sheraton Mirage.

Qintex, crippled by high interest rates, collapsed in 1991 but the Mirage continues to operate, today owned by the Star Entertainment Group.

Businessman Christopher Skase.

Originally published as Andalusia Park: 35 years since popular Gold Coast theme park closed and was demolished