Rusted, abandoned, forgotten, demolished; the Sunshine State has spent the better part of a century providing childhood fun and holiday diversion to families local and distant alike. But what happened to so many of those places that we recall so fondly in sepia memories and warm-toned photo slides?
Recently at State Library we have taken a deep-dive, not into a dolphin pool or a waterslide's winding tubes, but into our archives to remember and celebrate some of the most iconic sources of family amusement and entertainment over the years.
How many of these places do you remember?
10. Marineland, Southport
Before there was Sea World, there was Marineland.
Although The Spit at Southport is now well-established as an epicentre of Gold Coast theme parks and family fun, Marineland was the first to pioneer this industry at this iconic location.
Built on crown lands and one of the first tourist attractions on The Spit, Marineland originally opened with the name "Seaquarium" in the 1960s. It featured a large pool where dolphin shows were performed for visiting guests, with tiered stadium seating for optimum viewing. It later included two killer whales in its exhibits.
This tourist attraction did not close, but was instead bought out by marine-themed entertainment competitor Seaworld in 1976. The infrastructure of Marineland was expanded upon to become the Gold Coast icon we recognise today.
9. Magic Mountain, Gold Coast
Magic Mountain was an amusement park in Nobby Beach, Queensland, which operated from 1962 to 1991.
Starting as a simple chair lift and cafeteria, the site was expanded over the decades to eventually boast a range of attractions, including a miniature railway, dodgem cars, giant drop tower, and the once-iconic Magic Castle. The business was sold in 1976 and again in 1982, eventually closing in 1987. Although abandoned and falling into disrepair, Magic Mountain's life in the public eye did not end with its closure to the public. It was later used as a film set for the television series Mission: Impossible, one of the first American big-budget television series to be shot in Australia.
8. Grundy's, Gold Coast
Grundy's was an entertainment centre designed to cater to the whole family. Featuring food venues, an arcade, and one of the first waterslides to grace the Gold Coast, Grundy's first opened in March 1981 to broad tourist appeal.
At the time, Sea World had yet to introduce rollercoasters or waterslides to its offering, and the increasing popularity of videogames and arcade entertainment allowed Grundy's to be successful for over a decade.
Grundy's closed its doors forever in 1993, though parts of the establishment were repurposed by Timezone. The waterslides were closed down several years before the end of Grundy's, and removed from the premises entirely prior to closure.
7. Charles Higgins' Great Menagerie of Wild Performing Animals
Charles Higgins' Great Menagerie of Wild Performing Animals was originally located on the corner of George and Turbot Street in Brisbane City and boasted a collection of exotic and wild animals from tigers and panthers to monkeys and snakes.
Popular in the 1880s, the Menagerie faced scandal in November 1888 when a tiger named Jimmy escaped. Jimmy made his grand attempt at freedom while in pursuit of Higgins' assistant, known as "German Peter" or Peter Bertram, who sustained serious injuries from the tiger outside of the menagerie gates. Newspaper reports from the time describe Peter's scalp being "torn clean off" and he received piercing skull injuries that reached the brain. Higgins was mauled by Jimmy in an effort to protect his assistant and pull the tiger from its fury during the escape attempt.
Higgins, from the safety of a local hospital, offered to allow the government to buy him out "for a fair price" in the wake of this particular incident. Following court orders in June 1889, Higgins was forced to remove the tigers and other exotic animals from his city property and relocate them to a more regional locale, signifying an end to the menagerie as it had once been.
6. Gondwana Rainforest Sanctuary
This short-lived nature attraction was located right in the centre of Brisbane. Constructed on the site of Expo 88 in the South Bank Parklands, Gondwana Rainforest Sanctuary was created and run by Natureworks.
It opened in mid 1992, boasting a host of over 700 animals within its aviary and mammalian exhibits. Sadly the sanctuary went into receivership in 1993, and was shut down in 1998, with the animals being rehoused.
5. Natureland Zoological Gardens
The Natureland Zoological Gardens was another iconic tourist attraction located in the South-East Queensland tourism hub that was the Gold Coast. Boasting a diverse range of large cats, mammals, birds, and reptiles, the Natureland Zoological Gardens were at one time the third largest zoo in Australia.
4. Nostalgia Town
This oddball attraction had a light, satirical take upon the past. Featuring a putt-putt course that traversed a graveyard, a time machine-themed experience, and various historically inspired crafts and confections, this attraction saw its time in the sun throughout the 1990s.
3. Vic Hislop's Shark Show
Perhaps one of the smaller scale attractions to feature on this list, Vic Hislop's Shark Show is no less an iconic feature of Hervey Bay.
Opened in the mid 1980s, Vic Hislop's Shark Show operated for 30 years before closing its doors in 2016. A bright blue building decorated in various murals of sharks and fiberglass statues of the oceanic predators, Vic's display featured a particularly unusual piece-de-resistance in the form of a 3 tonne Great White shark, caught by Vic himself and kept frozen to display to intrepid visitors for over 20 years. Upon the closure of Vic Hislop's Shark Show, it was reported that the iconic Great White was stored in a specialised freezer trailer in a backyard while potential buyers were sought out.
Though the legendary shark hunter's attraction is no more, the fiberglass sharks that once graced the building's exterior are now on display at the local heritage museum.
2. Bullens African Lion Safari, Yatala
Bullens African Lion Safari was located in Yatala and offered visitors the opportunity to enter the park in their own vehicle and meander, windows firmly closed, through fields of elephants, lions, hyenas, and more. The park was founded by Stafford Bullen, son of Alfred and Lillian Bullen of Bullen's Circus fame.
The park was not without its own history of incidents, with reports of staff being bitten and injured by animals, and in one exceptional case, being dragged off and killed in front of a family’s visiting vehicle. Animals were also known to escape on occasion from the premises. The park closed down in 1988, and the land was sold to developers.
1. Paronella Park, Germantown
One of the most iconic tourist attractions in the Cairns region, Paronella Park's history is long and varied.
Built in the 1930s by Jose Paronella and his family, the park boasted North Queensland's first hydro-electric power system, a castle, a dance hall also used as a cinema on Saturday evenings, and tennis courts constructed from collapsed termite mounds. The park was shut for years in the wake of a fire that gutted the famous castle and Cyclone Winifred.
However, Paronella Park is technically far from forgotten! The park was purchased in 1993 by its current owners and reopened. This iconic tourist attraction is open to the public for guided tours and displays day and night.
Think we missed something? Have some photos of these iconic locations you'd like to share with us? Let us know in the comments!
Related Collections:
- 29652, Eric Marshall Motion Pictures, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
- 30695, Cairns, Brisbane and Gold Coast colour slides, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
- 31370, Ian Poole photographic archive, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
- 99286343402061, [Glenn R. Cooke Souvenir Textiles Collection], John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
- 997862494702061, [Tourism - Gold Coast : ephemera material collected by the State Library of Queensland].
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