Luna Park, Sydney

Luna Park is a historical amusement park in Sydney, Australia, first opened in 1935. The park is located at Milsons Point, immediately west of the point where the Sydney Harbour Bridge meets the North Shore of Sydney Harbour. Like similarly-named parks elsewhere, the park's entrance features a giant face of the moon; in the case of Sydney, the face has been replaced several times, each differing in the details of facial expressions.

The park has a troublesome history: in 1979 fire broke out on the ghost train, killing several people. Since then the park has closed and re-opened several times, partly because of complaints by the mostly wealthy local residents to the noise generated by the park. Luna Park reopened in 2004 after several years' closure following an abortive attempt at reviving the park after a much longer period of closure.

There is also a Luna Park in St. Kilda in Melbourne, Australia, first opened in 1912 and there was a Luna Park in New York City in the United States.

Luna Park has had a major impact on millions of Sydneysiders. It is one of the most notable landmarks on the Sydney harbour foreshore located next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Built originally in the 1930s, the park is a rare example of an amusement park in Sydney. Its various murals, designs, and the architecture showcase the “art-deco idiom” that the 1930s was best known for. Nowadays Luna Park having being restored on several occasions, remains to be an amusement park to most, but is now also a heritage listed site. It is now seen by many as a symbol of community concern over harbour foreshore conservation, recreation, high-rise development and the ownership of a public estate.

The Park

From 1924-1932, the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge occupied much of the foreshore surrounding the bridge. The area around the North-Western Pylon, (now the site of Luna Park) was occupied by two large workshops and a set of heavy duty cranes. During the creation of the bridge large portions of the cliff behind the area were excavated and the area was flattened. Following the completion of the bridge all buildings bar the wharf were dismantled. The North Sydney council then requested tenders for how the area should be developed. This was won by Hermann Phillips from Melbourne. His previous park located in Glenelg, SA closed due to issues regarding expansion with local residents so all the rides were dismantled, transported by ship to Sydney and then reassembled in the new area. “The city of a million lights” was built by 800 structural workers, 35 artists and 70 electricians in a little over 3 months.

The major showpieces of the park were Coney Island and the Big Dipper, but the face 50 times the size of a normal face was the immediate identity of the park. Opened at 8:00 pm on October 4, 1935 the park was an immediate success.

Luna Park has a successful first season and then closes for the winter months, a practice it would keep till 1972. At each opening the following year they would make the park different by changing a ride, the colours of a ride or even bringing in a new ride. During the war years, the lights of Luna Park were “browned out”. The park also became a centre where many servicemen would look for a new girlfriend. One of the new rides bought for the park after the world was the rotor. This became the second most popular ride but even it and the big dipper could not save the park from a decline of the “old” Luna Park in the 1970s and 80s.

In 1969 the lease on the park was sold to World Trade Centre Pty Ltd. They tried to put forward a proposal to turn the park into trade centre, but the state government rejected this and the park carried on as normal.

External links

• Luna Park

Insert non-formatted text here