Magic Mountain Gold Coast: Full story of famous theme park’s devastating end

Magic Mountain was a Gold Coast icon which welcomed millions of visitors. But its end came swiftly and the theme park was overrun by vandals and satanic slogans.

EVERYONE who came to the Gold Coast or lived here in the 1980s has a memory of Magic Mountain.

One of the city’s most beloved icons, it towered over Nobby Beach and Miami and was a landmark for decades.

From thrill rides to its famous magic show performed by master illusionist Arthur Coghlan, there was something for everyone.

Remembering old Magic Mountain in Queensland. Picture: Supplied

But it closed for the first time in 1987 and by 1991 the rides were silent and rotting as the park sat in ruins.

The story of Magic Mountain began 59 years ago when Page Newman opened the Nobby Beach chairlift.

The site was bought by George Carrett in February 1976, who redeveloped it to include a small castle.

Sandra Hooey, of Moorooka and Bill Bacs of Cooper's Plains riding the chairlift in July 1962

He was soon joined by Mr Coghlan.

During its first year of operation, the park’s magic show was hosted in the castle before a boom in attendance figures prompted the construction of a 500-seat theatre.

In 2009, Mr Coghlan recalled his fond memories of his nine-year stint as resident magician.

“It was a wonderful opportunity which allowed us to grow from a small act into the largest illusion show in Australia at the time,’’ he told News Corp.

The redevelopment of the site in the early 1980s to create a full-sized theme park cost more than $16m.

Magic Mountain, circa 1977.

It had everything from slides to carousels, ball pits and a parachute drop, all of which drew big crowds to the Gold Coast.

But by July 1985 the park’s owner, ASC Property Trust, put it on the market and called for tenders “because it differed from the trust’s other major activities, most of which involved shopping centres”.

It was later revealed ASC was selling because “the complex failed to show the returns expected of a $16m investment”.

Magic Mountain at its mid-80s peak.

It was tipped to sell for at least $10m. However, property industry figures were shocked when the initial offers were far lower – ranging from $4m to $6m.

With costs rapidly mounting, ASC, later known as Laureate Australia, closed Magic Mountain in 1987.

Parts of the park continued to be operated occasionally on a limited basis for several more years, though the park as a whole never reopened.

In 1990 the Gold Coast City Council approved plans for a Mediterranean-style hotel and luxury villa development on the 2.15ha site called The Akropolis.

Magic Mountain was a popular attraction.

It was again put on the market, with Gavin Farmer of Jones Lang Wootton, who managed the sale, tipping the site to sell for $20m.

Again, it failed to sell, being passed in at auction for $13.1m.

By 1991 Magic Mountain had been deserted for two years and its facilities rotting away.

The chairlift, its original attraction, was long gone, having been moved to Dreamworld.

The bright-red turrets of the castle were collapsing and locals feared passers-by in the Chairlift Ave park could be injured by falling masonry.

By the early 90s, the park was abandoned and its facilities were crumbling.

That year, police declared the ruins of the theme park had been “taken over by vandals and youths who write obscene graffiti and anti-Satanic slogans on the walls where magic shows used to entertain children”.

Nobby Beach Progress Association chairman Paul Fites described the decline and fall of the park as a “tragedy”.

“Everyone knows Magic Mountain,’’ he said.

“If I say I live at Nobby Beach, out-of-towners don’t know where it is. But if I mention the mountain everyone knows.

“It has a tremendous view and could provide good bushwalks for people. Something should be done with it.”

The entrance to Magic Mountain in 1993 - Covered in graffiti and becoming overgrown.

Then-mayor Lex Bell said he supported the council buying the site.

“It is sad to see such a prominent site not used and becoming something of a hazard,’’ he said at the time.

“Ideally, if the city had enough money it would be a great site to purchase for the future.

“However, that may be a dream depending on the cost.

“I would love to acquire it, but it may be just a dream.’’

By 1993, six years after the original closure, the ruins of Magic Mountain were still standing, but were in increasingly poor shape.

Laureate put it back on the market, this time subdividing it into three parcels to ensure it would be easier to sell.

The lower parcel sold in November 1993 for $1.35m, with the remains of the theme park finally demolished in 1995. The same year, plans were unveiled for residential developments from Raptis and Walker Bros, including the Magic Mountain resort which was built on the former theme park site.

The only remaining signs of what once sat on the hill are some of the chairlift poles that can still be seen amid the bushland.

Magic Mountain is gone but it forever remains in the memories of locals and tourists.

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Originally published as Magic Mountain Gold Coast: Full story of famous theme park’s devastating end