Key events covering the closure of Wonderland Sydney, the removal of its rides and the demolition of the former theme park, from the February 2004 sale announcement through the demolition and clearance of the site in the years that followed. Compiled from original Wonderland History accounts and photographs, contemporary news reports, official records and eyewitness observations.
ING Industrial Fund teamed up with The PacLib Group to buy Wonderland.
On 12 February 2004, Hartford Lane Pty Ltd entered into a Put and Call Option Deed with Paclib Industrial No. 5 Pty Limited for the sale of Wonderland Sydney. The property comprised 58.87 hectares at Wallgrove Road, Eastern Creek (Lot 11, Plan 1025320), together with the buildings, structures and theme park rides on it. The agreed price was $52.5 million, excluding GST.
Under the deed, Paclib paid a security amount of $10 million and a call option fee of $1. The call option period ended on 9 December 2004. Paclib also granted Hartford Lane a put option, for a fee of $1, which could be exercised between 10 and 23 December 2004. The sale itself was not completed in February: the option was exercised on 1 December 2004 and settlement took place on 22 December 2004 (see those entries below).
Hartford Lane Pty Ltd was a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastern Glory Enterprises Ltd and, as trustee of Sunway Australia Unit Trust, was the registered owner of the property. The ordinary units of the trust were held by Estonia Enterprises Ltd.
International Theme Park Pty Ltd, the operator of Wonderland, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Estonia Enterprises Ltd, which in turn was a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastern Glory Enterprises Ltd. Eastern Glory Enterprises Ltd was a 60% owned subsidiary of Sunway Lagoon Sdn Bhd, which was a 51% owned subsidiary of Sunway City Berhad. Both Estonia Enterprises Ltd and Eastern Glory Enterprises Ltd were incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
Paclib Industrial No. 5 Pty Limited was a special purpose vehicle with a paid-up share capital of $2.00. Its nominee, Swing High Investments Pty Ltd, went on to complete the purchase.
Source: Sunway City Berhad Annual Report 2004 (PDF), Note 47, pages 128 and 129.
The Board of Directors wishes to inform the Exchange that International Theme Park Pty Ltd (a company incorporated in Australia), the operator of Wonderland Sydney in Australia will be closing its theme park operation latest by middle of this year. This decision was taken in view of persistent losses incurred and difficult market conditions.
Wonderland’s employees were told of the closure at a staff meeting addressed by chief executive Stephen Galbraith on the same day. The full announcement is on the Sunway closure announcement page.
He cited events including September 11, the Ansett and HIH collapses, bushfires and SARS.
When we took over eight years ago, the park’s future was uncertain, Since then, we have lifted the overall performance of the park, completely rebuilt its image and brand awareness but this had not been enough. Wonderland’s 400 employees will get their full entitlements and help to find new jobs.
Stephen Galbraith
ABC News reported that the site was to be redeveloped as an industrial business park, in a development associated with ING’s real estate operations. Reports at the time projected about 3,000 direct jobs and 9,000 jobs overall from the redevelopment. These were projections made at the time, not figures verified afterwards.
Dragon’s Flight was packed in a shipping container, ready to go to Malaysia.
Anzac Day was Wonderland’s second-last day of public operation. The park opened again the next day for its final day.
After more than 18 years of operation, Wonderland Sydney opened its gates to the public for the final time on Monday 26 April 2004. At the end of the day the gates shut for the last time. Wonderland is closed forever!
Both Bush Beast trains, the yellow and the red, ran on the final day. A contemporary account describes the red train carrying the final public riders after the yellow train’s last dispatch.
The closure marked the end of public operations and the start of the removal, sale and dismantling of the park’s rides and attractions. Video from the day is on The Final Day page.
Dragon’s Flight was reported to be on a ship bound for Malaysia. The ride was repaired and reopened at Sunway’s Lost World of Tambun in Malaysia, where it still operates under its original name.
An application for a heritage order to protect the Bush Beast was submitted to Blacktown Council. The ride was never formally heritage-listed. The engineering and heritage assessments that followed are recorded under September 2004, November 2004 and November 2005 below, and the council’s eventual approval for demolition under June 2005.
The yellow Bush Beast train was sitting at the top of the lift hill.
The Merry-Go-Round was put in a shipping container and sent to Sunway Lagoon in Malaysia.
The Space Probe, Demon and the Snowy River Rampage were reported to be seen operating from outside the park.
Exercise Ferris Wheel, 17 June 2004 (3 photos)
The yellow Bush Beast train reportedly made the last journey any train ever made around the Bush Beast circuit. This was a post-closure run, nearly two months after the park had closed to the public. The final public passenger rides were on 26 April 2004.
Baby Bumpers was being taken apart on its pad in Old Botany Bay. See the Baby Bumpers Removal page.
Who would’ve thought that they would ever see all 4 trains together?!
Bush Beast‘s yellow PTC train, minus two cars, under the cover of the stables in the back paddock behind Minchinbury Reservoir.
Beastie‘s two blue PTC trains under the cover of the stables in the back paddock behind Minchinbury Reservoir.
Bush Beast‘s red PTC train and two yellow PTC carriages in the back paddock behind Minchinbury Reservoir.
During September 2004, engineers Taylor Lauder Bersten Pty Ltd prepared a report titled “Condition Report on the Structural Adequacy of the Timber Framed Structure supporting the Roller Coaster ‘Bush Beast’”. The report is listed among the documents used in Blacktown Council’s Lot 11 Precinct Plan (PDF) of November 2005, as part of the documentation on the condition and future of the wooden roller coaster.
Baby Bumpers removal was still under way.
Negotiations to sell some of Wonderland’s remaining attractions were not progressing. Prospective buyers had shown interest in certain rides, but asking prices were holding up some sales. The difficulty of selling and relocating the remaining attractions, including the structures at The Beach, helps explain why several large rides stood for many months after the park closed.
By October 2004 the Tasmanian Devil had been dismantled. The ride had not run since its 2003 annual shutdown, when inspections found it needed costly repairs, and it had been taken apart and stored beside the maintenance workshop until it was sold during 2004 (see Tasmanian Devil ride removal).
Baby Bumpers removal was still under way.
During November 2004, heritage consultants Godden Mackay Logan prepared a report titled “Bush Beast Rollercoaster Heritage Assessment”. This was a separate document from the September 2004 structural report. Both were later cited in Blacktown Council’s Lot 11 Precinct Plan (PDF), which recognised the Bush Beast‘s local historical associations but confirmed that the ride was never formally listed and did not meet the threshold for identification as a heritage item (see 8 November 2005 below).
Most of the rides still on site were removed.
Bounty’s Revenge was dismantled and reportedly sent to Sunway Lagoon.
The Great Balloon Escape (originally Boo Boo’s Balloon Race) was dismantled and taken off site by its new owner.
Galleon’s Graveyard was dismantled and taken off site by its new owner.
The Broken Hill Mill Games Arcade in Gold Rush was dismantled and taken off site by its new owner.
Little Monsters Flying School was dismantled and taken off site by its new owner.
Baby Bumpers removal was still under way.
The Demon was already being dismantled. A large crane was removing the upper sections of the first inversion, and sections of track between the station and the boomerang element had already been taken out. The ride had been sold to Visionland in the United States, and the work was carried out by a Canadian contractor (see The Demon removal).
Demolition of the park starts.
Swing High Investments Pty Ltd, the nominated purchaser under the February option deed, exercised the call option and entered into the formal contract of sale with Hartford Lane Pty Ltd. Settlement followed on 22 December 2004.
Source: Sunway City Berhad Annual Report 2004 (PDF), Note 47, page 129.
1 photo from this day.
Dismantling had progressed to the Demon’s vertical loop, with the upper sections of the looping track being removed.
Further sections of the Demon’s looping track were removed. The lift structures were among the major sections of the ride still standing.
3 photos from this day.
Not all of the Snowy River Rampage went at this time. Parts of the concrete troughs and the covered queue structures stood for several more months; the queue structures were pulled down on 21 September 2005 (see below, and the Snowy River Rampage demolition page).
The Demon is completely down but still on site.
A truck carrying dismantled components of the Demon struck and damaged the main Wonderland entrance gate as it left the property.
4 photos from this day.
The sale of Wonderland Sydney was completed. Swing High Investments Pty Ltd paid the remaining $42.5 million to complete the purchase. Sunway City Berhad’s audited financial statements recorded a gain on the disposal of $18.2 million, net of costs associated with the transaction.
Source: Sunway City Berhad Annual Report 2004 (PDF), Note 47, page 129.
1 photo from this day.
The Canadian company that came over to pull the Demon down did not have the relevant demolition licence, so they subcontracted it out to some guy at the last minute. This guy thought he could charge what he wanted ($500 an hour to be precise) because there was such urgency to get the Demon down and out. After the Demon was down and out of the park the original Canadian company, who were contracted to pull it down, decided not to pay the guy his exorbitant fee, using the distance between the two countries as a safe haven. This also impacted on Visionland, who purchased the ride and were also chased for payment even though it was outside their contract with the Canadian “experts”. They may have made a verbal agreement to get things moving but verbal agreements can have a nasty habit of changing or disappearing.
All this mess with lawsuits to play out helped cause the lateness of the approvals to demolish the rest of the park, which then caused heat for a certain ex-Wonderland CEO. This in turn damaged the negotiations for Visionland to buy the Bush Beast and Beastie coaster cars.
After the first phase of ride removal, numerous attractions and structures were still standing. They included the Bush Beast, the Beastie, Space Probe, Zodiac, the SkyRider, The Beach waterslides and pools, the concrete troughs of Snowy River Rampage and the Jousting Ring dodgem car building.
By January 2005 the sale of the Wonderland property had been completed, on 22 December 2004. All the remaining rides should have been removed and demolition should have been well under way, but substantial structures remained on site and further ride removal and demolition work was delayed.
On 4 January, black roller coaster track was seen on a ship leaving Sydney Harbour and was thought by some to be the Demon. The cargo was never confirmed.
Space Probe, Zodiac and the remaining tower structures at The Beach had been allowed to stand while further attempts were made to sell them, ahead of a March 2005 deadline for their removal. They stayed far longer than that: Space Probe and Zodiac were not dismantled until September 2005, and demolition at The Beach continued into October.
The NSW Heritage Office had identified the Bush Beast as being of possible local heritage interest and advised that Blacktown Council would need to determine the matter. The question remained relevant to whether demolition of the ride could proceed.
On arrival ambulance officers found a male in his early 30s trapped on a platform inside the tower approximately 30 metres above the ground. SCAT paramedics and a doctor from CareFlight arrived on scene to assist in treating the patient.
He was released two and a half hours later and taken to Westmead Hospital with a back injury in a stable condition.
Blacktown Council granted approval for the demolition of the remaining Wonderland structures, including the Bush Beast.
33 photos from this day.
See all 33 photos from 3 July 2005 (After Closure: 3 July 2005)
The owners of HMS Endeavour (believed to be Sunway, although this is not confirmed) were given access to the site and started dismantling the ride.
HMS Endeavour was then moved out to the back paddock.
Sonfina Engineering was contracted in. They started in Gold Rush near where HMS Endeavour had stood and worked their way down towards the Bush Beast.
The back road was opened up at the end of the new Wonderland Drive and a path cleared to allow direct access from Space Probe and Zodiac to the back paddock.
They started the diesel motor on Zodiac and manually operated the lift cylinders, as per the evacuation procedure for when no mains power is available, lowering the western arm ready for the gondolas to be removed.
Sonfina Engineering was given the go-ahead to finish and complete a non-recoverable demolition of the entire park as quickly as possible. The only areas they were instructed not to touch were the fenced-off areas around Zodiac and Space Probe, until those rides could be removed.
One of the steel cables from the SkyRider was taken down and wrapped around the Bush Beast and then connected to two D9 bulldozers, which tried to pull the Bush Beast over. The bulldozers moved towards the Snowy River Rampage, pushing everything in their path into the Snowy River Rampage. With the cable around the Bush Beast and a dozer on each end of the cable they tried to pull the Bush Beast over. The Bush Beast did not go down without a fight: the SkyRider cable snapped several times, and in the end they just drove the dozers through the supports with the structure coming down behind them. More photos and a first-hand account are on the Bush Beast Demolition page.
3 photos from this day.
1 photo from this day.
3 photos from this day.
1 photo from this day.
1 photo from this day.
6 photos from this day.
See all 6 photos from 30 August 2005 (Demolition: 30 August 2005)
The Bush Beast and Beastie carriages remained in the back paddock. Visionland had expressed interest in buying them, but the proposed sale had fallen through. What became of the trains is recorded on the Bush Beast after closure page.
6 photos from this day.
See all 6 photos from 3 September 2005 (The Bone Yard)
3 photos from this day.
The distinctive upper section of Space Probe was removed. The remaining structure was visible from the M4 as a dark vertical tower. This was the start of the final removal of Space Probe‘s above-ground tower.
Dismantling of Zodiac continued. Several gondolas appeared to have been removed, and one of the ride’s main arms remained raised as the work progressed.
In the days after the Bush Beast came down, enthusiasts tried to obtain pieces of the wooden roller coaster before the remaining material was cleared, contacting site management about salvaging timber, bolts and other components. Some later reported holding bolts from the demolished ride.
About half of the Space Probe tower was still standing. Zodiac‘s western arm remained raised, but the smaller arms that carried its gondolas had been removed.
By Sunday 18 September 2005, Zodiac was no longer standing. People driving past the former park reported that the ride had gone from the skyline. The exact date its main structure was lowered is not confirmed.
About half of the Space Probe tower still stood above ground. The tower also extended below ground level into its foundations.
The remaining visible sections of the Space Probe tower were lowered by crane. The disappearance of the tower above ground does not mean that all of the underground foundations were removed that day.
About six 40-foot shipping containers stood in the back paddock near Minchinbury Reservoir, two of them red with what appeared to be Hamburg Süd markings. What appeared to be Zodiac gondolas were being loaded, and more ride components were stored in the nearby stables. The back paddock was being used as a temporary storage and loading area during the final removal of the rides (see The Zodiac removal).
Demolition workers were pulling down the remaining covered queue structures of Snowy River Rampage. The station, conveyor and plant room had gone on 15 December 2004; the ride was taken apart progressively over several months rather than in a single operation (see Snowy River Rampage demolition).
Extensive demolition work continued across the former park. The Beach waterslides were being bulldozed, the SkyRider support towers were no longer standing, large areas of vegetation had been removed and piles of demolition debris covered much of the site.
The dismantled Tasmanian Devil was reported to be in Melbourne, stored on blocks or pallets under a cover. There was talk of converting the ride to operate as a travelling showground attraction. Whether that conversion was completed, and whether the ride ran again, is not established (see Tasmanian Devil after Wonderland).
Clearance work continued across the site. The car park surface was being torn up, trees near the former wildlife park and Hanna-Barbera Land were being mulched, and much of the remaining park area had been reduced to piles of demolition debris.
Blacktown City Council’s State Environmental Planning Policy No. 59 Lot 11 Precinct Plan for the former Wonderland site came into force on 8 November 2005, having been adopted by the council on 12 October 2005. The plan set out how the site was to be redeveloped as employment land and included a heritage section on the Bush Beast. It drew on three reports: Taylor Lauder Bersten’s September 2004 structural condition report, Godden Mackay Logan’s November 2004 heritage assessment and an April 2005 report on the former Bush Beast roller coaster by Graham Brooks and Associates.
The council recognised that the Bush Beast had local heritage significance, through its association with the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and as a major attraction of the former park, and noted that its size made it a rare example of its type in Sydney. It found, however, that the ride was not listed and that, with its trains and track removed and regular maintenance stopped, it had lost the integrity needed to warrant identification as a heritage item or inclusion on the NSW State Heritage Register. The plan, finalised after the Bush Beast had already been demolished, required that the ride be archivally recorded before removal, with photographs lodged at the Blacktown Local History Library, and that the former theme park be commemorated on the redeveloped site through a plaque or interpretive panels. It also records the Bush Beast‘s track as 975.3 metres long with a maximum height of 27.5 metres.
Source: Blacktown City Council, SEPP 59 Lot 11 Precinct Plan, 8 November 2005 (PDF), section 8.1 and Appendix B.
6 photos from this day.
See all 6 photos from 11 January 2006 (Demolition: 11 January 2006)
Photos from this day.
Demolition: 24 June 2006 (13 photos)
13 photos from this day.
See all 13 photos from 16 January 2007 (Demolition: 16 January 2007)
4 photos from this day.
Photos from this day.
Demolition: 23 June 2007 (31 photos)
Photos from this day.
Demolition: 4 December 2007 (130 photos)
13 photos from this day.
See all 13 photos from 16 May 2012 (The Bone Yard)
6 photos from this day.
See all 6 photos from 8 June 2012 (The Bone Yard)
5 photos from this day.
See all 5 photos from 15 June 2012 (After Closure: 15 June 2012)
7 photos from this day.
See all 7 photos from 12 June 2013 (Demolition: 12 June 2013)
Photos on this site record demolition and clearance work continuing through 2006 and 2007; the last dated demolition photos are from 12 June 2013. The Jousting Ring page records the pad where its building stood as the last thing demolished, in late 2007. What became of the site afterwards is on the Redevelopment Timeline. Photos without a date are on Demolition: Undated Photos (38 photos); After Closure: Undated Photos (67 photos).
66 photos on this page
Photo pages
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