Victoria’s defunct theme parks: What happened to them?
Whether it’s Luna Park’s wooden roller coaster opening in 1912, 1970s safari adventures or the thrill of a formaldehyde-preserved great white shark, theme parks have always been bizarre, exhilarating arenas. Here’s some of our favourites.
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Victoria has loved, lost and even revamped many theme parks over the years.
Who could forget twirling on a merry-go-round or even the thrill of riding a rollercoaster for the first time?
Some theme and wildlife parks have managed to stay open for decades – even surviving world wars, but most have sadly shut their doors.
Leader takes a look back at the most loved and forgotten.
ASHTON’S BACCHUS MARSH LION SAFARI
Decades before Tiger King became a Netflix hit, Australia had its own offerings of open safari parks where lions would literally latch their paws onto cars.
Bacchus Marsh Lion Safari opened in 1970 and several incidents including the death of a 12-year-old boy led to the park’s demise.
It was run by the Ashton family, of Ashton’s Circus fame.
Stringent animal regulations and costly upgrades caught up with the park in 1985 and it closed for good.
BULLEN’S AFRICAN LION SAFARI
Bullen’s African Lion Safari was located on the Western Highway in Rockbank and operated during the 1970s.
This park was owned by a well-known circus family, the Bullens, who had other lion parks in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.
Much like Bacchus Marsh Lion Safari, it was a drive-through safari with lions, tigers, bears, elephants and giraffes.
It’s believed that a man was severely bitten on the shoulder after a bear attacked him through an open car window on January 3, 1977.
The park closed ten years later and the now houses a nursery and a restaurant.
The kiosk and toilet blocks still stand today.
CASPER’S WORLD IN MINIATURE
Casper’s World In Miniature in Stawell was a large tourist fun park which opened in 1976.
The park has been abandoned since 2015.
Its main attraction was a pyramid, where inside sculptures of human teeth were bizarrely displayed.
It’s believed the park’s owner was a former dentist, who had used the by-products from his old practice to make little dinosaurs and creatures out of molars and canines.
GUMBUYA PARK (NOW GUMBUYA WORLD)
Originally a pheasant farm, Gumbuya Park in Tynong North was converted into a visitor attraction park in 1978.
It featured a toboggan slide, water slides, paddle boats and mini cars, as well as native wildlife including, kangaroos, wallabies and birds.
The old park was known for its giant golden pheasant statue.
In 2011, vandals used an explosive device to blow up the statue, which left locals devastated.
A group of entrepreneurs including Gerry Ryan, Wal Pisciotta, Adam Campbell, Brett Murray, and Ray and Ron Weinzierl acquired the park for $4.65 million in September 2016.
The theme park, which opened in December 2017, has been expanded to include a new water park with a 180m slide, roller-coasters and wildlife encounters.
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LEISURELAND FAIR
Leisureland Fair was located in Langwarrin and operated from 1984 to 1992.
The park had a steel roller coaster, waterslides, log flume, mini golf and a function centre.
It is now a housing estate with the only reference to the park being a street named after it called Leisureland Drive.
LUNA PARK
It’s the oldest theme park in Australia and the only one in the world to have the oldest continually operating roller coaster — the Great Scenic Railway.
Luna Park opened on December 13, 1912, and thousands of people flocked to its opening to test rides that had never been seen before in Australia.
Luna Park chief executive Mary Stuart said at the time of its opening, the park was absolutely cutting edge with the latest and greatest in amusements.
“Millions of people have been on the Scenic Railway since it opened in 1912,” Ms Stuart said.
“It’s one of the park’s most popular rides and the only one of its kind being a wooden rollercoaster with a standing brakeman in control,” she said.
Ms Stuart said many of the park’s visitors held fond memories of rides that were now demolished.
“The River Caves was a treasured icon of the park where many couples would share their first kiss,” she said.
“The Big Dipper was also a favourite, but sadly demolished in 1989.”
She said Luna Park held a special place in the heart and lives of Melburnians.
“The park is part of Melbourne’s cultural DNA and it will continue to be for many years to come.”
WHISTLE STOP AMUSEMENT PARK
Whistle Stop Amusement Park was a fun park located in Frankston.
It opened in 1966 and operated for about 10 years.
The park featured a steam railway, go-karts, a merry-go-round and a large lake with an island.
The park was established by Jack Griffiths and all rides were created or renovated in-house.
His granddaughter Jane Griffiths still holds fond memories of the park.
“I could go in whenever I wanted to with my friends and go on all the rides,” Ms Griffiths said.
When Whistle Stop closed in 1974, the steam train’s engine went to Puffing Billy Railway and the chairlift went to Caribbean Gardens in Scorseby.
There is now a small park called Whistle Stop Reserve in Skye Rd which covers some of the area. The rest is now a housing estate.
WILDLIFE WONDERLAND
Wildlife Wonderland in Bass, opened in 1987 and shutdown in 2012 after facing financial woes.
The well-known tourist park, which had a Giant Earthworm Museum, wildlife encounters and it’s most prized feature – a giant great white shark floating in a green-tinted tank filled with formaldehyde – was a family favourite.
In November 2018, a man named Luke McPherson, who’d grown up visiting Wildlife Wonderland, went inside the decaying wildlife park with a camera and stumbled upon the shark tank. A few months later, his YouTube video gained millions of views, prompting a rise in trespassing into the property to view the shark, with vandals also damaging the tank and its surrounds.
After numerous campaigns to “Save Rosie the Shark ”, Crystal World Exhibition Centre in Devon Meadows rescued the shark last year and started a gofundme page to help with costs to preserve her.
WOBBIES WORLD
Wobbies World in Vermont South opened in 1970 and promised fun for all the family.
Who could forget taking a ride in the bell helicopter?
The park also featured a mini log ride, monorail, golf course, trampolines and several food and drink kiosks.
The bell helicopter currently sits in a paddock on Dandenong-Frankston Rd.
The park closed down in 1999 and is now the site of the new Forest Hill police station.