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Sydney's Luna Park


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Luna Park was a special place to me as a teenager. Found this vid on YouTube .

[video=youtube_share;co2-kg80f3Y]

The first pinball machine I ever owned (and still have it) came from Luna Park.

Anyone have any special memories to share?

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Although I've never been to Sydney's Luna Park, as a young child I did get to go to the one in St Kilda, Victoria. Man, I never forgot that look of the entrance of the man in the moon face.

I'm going to have to make a point of going back there one day.

cheers for the vid.

 

Shan

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I worked there for 7 years on the maintenance team as the park's Game tech. It was after the fire and the new park was made. I worked with the brother of the guy given a bravery award for pulling the next car load of people about to go through the one way doors into the fire. There were 4 people in that car and if it went through those steel doors, they would have died as well. Working there, what can I say. I had most of my mates jobs there as well and it was a 7 year party. Yes you worked long and hard but you played harder.

Earned a lot of money because of the stupidly long hours you worked as a full time worker. Normal 5 day week was 52 hours but the most I ever worked was more like 102. During the Christmas school holidays you worked 7 days a week for the 6 weeks so 42 days straight. During that time working 7 days like all the school holidays, the short day was Sundays....8AM- 5.30PM. All the other days were 8AM - 11PM.

Fun times but it had to end or I'd be dead now.

 

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My Eye of the Tiger allegedly came from Luna Park according to its last owner.

 

One of my colleagues was a detective at the time of the fire and was involved in the investigation.

 

I went there a couple of years ago for a Christmas party. Fun place to spend a few hours, but I guess I can see why many people say it is shadow of what it was in its heyday.

 

Interesting place with an interesting history.

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  • 1 year later...

 

I had actually forgotten about this incident, as it seems not many people talk about it. Maybe because I am in Melbourne or it was so long ago, being 42 years ago, I don't know? But I do remember my parents mentioning it at the time it occurred, when I was only 9. Very sad indeed that 7 lives were lost including kids at such an iconic, historic and fun family place.

 

Will be watching this investigation for sure. Thanks for posting.

 

 

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Interesting although I was never lead to believe it was anything other than a tragic fire. The time I worked on the Luna Park maintenance team was after the fire and the park had been rebuilt from the ashes but one of the guys also on the maintanence with me was the brother of the guy that saved more people from going into the fire at the old park and was awarded a bravery medal for his actions.

 

His brother was the one that spoted the fire and stopped the now full cars on the ride from entering in the one way doors and into the fire. On receiving his bravery award for him saving some from curtain death on TV, he was recognised by the WA minister of police and was extradited to WA and charged for the importation of Budda stticks. Turns out he was one of 4 and the other 3 got caught but he made it to NSW and started working at Luna park.

 

I never met the bravery award winner, he was still doing time in WA, but his brother always said his brother believed it was most likely fireworks that started the fire and probably by someone that was on the ride earlier as the fire started well inside the ride.

 

Wasn't unusual to have fireworks going off at the park.

 

Probably what most upsets me about this upcoming ABC report is it can only go back to the survivors and witnesses, (that are still alive), and find something the corronor's report held at the time with all the evidence still avaliable then being investigated by highly trained fire detectives couldn't. Highly unlikely I believe.

 

 

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Yes it's quite interesting 'what is said at the time'. Time of course can be subjective. 5mins after the fire, 2 days, a week, months or even years?

 

There was a recent fire in the middle of the night at the rear of some local businesses that caused extensive damage to property in the small laneway behind. A cleaner was currently on site at one of the businesses, so luckily the fire was put out quickly by the attending fire brigade unit. When police attended a short time later, one of the firemen stated, "it probably started in the wheelie bin from a lit cigarette butt," and offered no indication or suggestion it may have been deliberately lit. The police obviously compiled their report to reflect same.

 

This business is owned by close friends of ours and CCTV later checked when power to the premises was restored. Footage clearly shows it was deliberately lit and straight out act of arson. The business owner quickly attended the local police station and Detectives informed and the report updated. This then changed things obviously from a police perspective.

 

One of my best mates is a firemen and after repeating this story to him, he stated no firemen at the scene should be offering advice or stating how a fire started until evidence is clear or the scene thoroughly investigated by fire investigators that can often take weeks.

 

I've got no reason to doubt fire investigators at Luna Park in 1979 would not have investigated properly, so this is why I find this incident and upcoming TV show investigation fascinating.

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if you didn't see part 1 of this tonight, then worth watching on ivew. so sad for the surviving families and the ghost train attendant deserves to be called a hero and honoured

 

Spot on Mark, spot on. One of the most interesting things I've watched for a very long time. Thank you for giving us the 'heads up' on this show. My Mrs was in tears during the watching of it, and I had a lump in my throat at various times too. Just really sad in all aspects. Cannot wait to watch next week as it sounds like there are a few people coming out and publicly telling their side and possibly the truth of what really happened...................after all these years.

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From what I saw in Part 1, I'm leaning towards @Autosteve 's theory - a tragic accident. Those who were in the cars in front saw a small fire that eventually grew larger. Had an accelerant been used, it might have got bigger quicker. Will be looking forward to next part
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From what I saw in Part 1, I'm leaning towards @Autosteve 's theory - a tragic accident. Those who were in the cars in front saw a small fire that eventually grew larger. Had an accelerant been used, it might have got bigger quicker. Will be looking forward to next part

 

Yes I did think the same thing but why did police publicly announce it was an electrical fault at 3pm the next day, only 17hrs after the fire started. Experienced fireman state there is no way anyone can determine that so quickly. Interesting indeed.

 

This person's name is yet to be mentioned............ 1968437238_ScreenShot2021-03-17at1_23_16pm.thumb.png.782e1536dfdf23065fde6b1aa2dcd827.png

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Abe was the only guy I ever knew that owned a Bally Future Spa and it made a solid $1000 every week at Luna Park's penny arcade even when it spent weeks out of order.:blink: The pinball and video machines owned by Abe at luna park were the only coin machines in the place that only took cash. Every other machine was tokens only. His coin collector only emptied Abe's machines and him and I had many a laugh about such outstanding money makers Abe just so happened to own.:lol

 

As for him owning anything other than the machines, some of them in the park, I never heard of any other ownership park related. Bit of money laundering, yep, most definately but anything other than that, you'll never find out and back in the day if you did find out chances are you would probably be taken to the shoe shop for a nice set of concrete boots so it was said by many.

 

I personally never had a problem with the guy but declined to work for him maintaining his Kings Cross pinball arcades. I was warned and took hed to the advice but I also declined working for any of the King Cross arcade owners.

 

Making one owners machines better than the others could be a health hazzard at Kings Cross at that time.

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Just about anything up the cross could be considered a health hazard back then i remember if we were ever in town the old boy would take us for a drive quite often up darlinghurst road to see how many hookers we could count it seems a lot cleaner these days i dont think there are any arcades up that way anymore not since the mid 80s there may have been one in the early 90s but i cant remember crazy days indeed good fun but not as much fun as spending the day at luna park i used to love swimming in the pool next to luna park every morning before work
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I bought my 1970 Gottlieb Aquarius at the Luna Park auction. I was always puzzled why the place kept an "old" machine like Aquarius when SS were taking over by 1979. I remember someone telling me that the machines owned by Luna Park were stored out the back and the machines in Penny Arcade were an operators - maybe Abe Saffron's. Can anyone shed any light on this?
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I bought my 1970 Gottlieb Aquarius at the Luna Park auction. I was always puzzled why the place kept an "old" machine like Aquarius when SS were taking over by 1979. I remember someone telling me that the machines owned by Luna Park were stored out the back and the machines in Penny Arcade were an operators - maybe Abe Saffron's. Can anyone shed any light on this?

 

Abe owned the SS machines. I bought 3 Stellar Wars off him @ $200 each. Most of the pinballs in the park were Abe's but there was another operator as well doing some of Coney Island's machines and Coney was where the older machines were. Penny Arcade had more the latest as in Williams World cup to about Williams Lazer Ball where as Coney Island was more a mix from early 60s EMs to Stern's High Hand would of been about the latest and that would have been Abe's. The EMs, most definately not.

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I iviewed it last night and it was an excellent program it gave me pins and needles and sent a shiver down my spine my uncle took me to luna park for my 5th birthday a few months before the fire in 79 i havent felt this way for quite some time it scared me
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