Maybe it's today's public liability insurance requirements, or rising real estate prices, but all of Sydney's old fun parks and amusement centres seem to have closed. The one at Jamberoo seems to be the only one left.

Does anyone have any memories (and, even better, photos) of these now-defunct Sydney fun parks?

* Australia's Wonderland, Minchinbury
* Bullen's Animal World, Wallacia
* African Lion Safari, Warragamba
* Adventureland, Leppington
* Magic Kingdom, Lansvale
* Manly Fun Pier, Manly
* Mt Druitt Waterworks
* Paradise Gardens, Cattai

Anyone been to these places ? I went to all of them, and can remember them all. Most have been redeveloped. Some of them are still there, rotting away.

The ' Fun Police ' have done a great job, haven't they?

I remember going to Paradise Gardens (then Bungool Picnic Ground), for motorkhanas in the early '60s.

Perhaps I may start a new thread!

Cheers, Greg

Luna Park is still open, but its not much of a fun park, especially after the "Fun police" took the old roller-coaster down for "Noise" related reasons,
At least i live close to Jambaroo, but they are still needing alot more upgrades to come close to competing with QLD

What about el cabelo blanco

only seen it cause driven past it a few times

what about wonderland in syd,

There was also Santa Land on Delhi Road North Ryde
It was there in the late 60's - right hand side as you are driving towards Chatswood, just before Nth Sub Crematorium.
Went there when I was a wee tacker

In the late 70's we use to canoe / kayak up Lane Cove River from Boronia Park to Lane Cove weir and stop there to muck about.
One day and old codger came out and let go with both barrels of a shot gun towards us.
Found out later it was a HUGE 2 up school and we were upsetting them

Never paddles so fast in my life!!!

Been to these ones as a kid,

* Australia's Wonderland, Minchinbury

* Bullen's Animal World, Wallacia

* African Lion Safari, Warragamba

* Manly Fun Pier, Manly

I was only recently thinking about Bullens Animal World, thought I might look it up to take my kids there. I guess you have just saved me the trouble.

My oldies would probably have some "slides"of us at Bullens Animal World & the African Lion Safari.

What about Featherdale Farm? & Old Sydney Town?

Cheers
Brendan

what about Old Sydney Town,The Butterfly Farm,and there was another old colonial style park out at wilberforce??? then you have Model Park which is still going ,i remember going there with my dads work for the kids Christmas party in the early 70`s
http://www.modelpark.org.au/ 

No doubt the liability insurance is huge, but I maintain that all of these places are too expensive. Jamberoo is 10 minutes away from me. But its $137 for family of 4 to get in the gate. Add inflated food prices and you are looking at about $200. Thats a lot of money for a lot of people. If it was $60 / family you might go 2 or 3 times per year. i've only taken my daughter there once in 12 years. Same with the cinemas. My local is greater union. If you book online so that you get good seats, you pay $1 on top of the $15.50. It wasnt that long ago when me and the wife you could both go for $6.00 with a shopadocket. We used to go every weekend. Now we go 4-5 times / year... and usually to a kids movie.

Yeah i flew back to Sydney for trainign after living in adelaide for about 9 years.. and im liek yay one day off im going to Wonderland... and there was an industrial estate where it used to be.... What ever happened to allow the biggest wooden rollercoaster of this hemisphere be torn down. I remember as a kid sitting on that for 10 rides in a row... the deamon where you went backwards.. and then space probe 7 funded by channel 7..

I thought old sydney town was still going

No, Old Sydney Town at Somersby closed in 2003, apparently. It seems most of it is still there, rotting; you drive right past it to get to the Australian Reptile Park (which was moved from North Gosford in the 1990s). I remember watching the 'floggings' at Old Sydney Town back in the 1970s when I was a kid.

Australia's Wonderland (later called Wonderland Sydney) opened in 1985 to replace the troubled Luna Park. It was popular for a while but started losing money in the 1990s. It was sold to the Malaysians in 1997 and it closed on Anzac Day 2004. It was completely demolished by 2005 and today it is industrial land. The two wooden roller coasters - the Bush Beast and the Beastie - were demolished. The steel roller coster (called the Demon) was sold to an amusement park in Alabama where it still runs today. Like the way the newer Luna Park 'Big Dipper' was dismantled and rebuilt at Dreamworld in QLD.

I agree Chris, I only take my daughter to Jamberoo once a year. Don't start me on the cost of the Royal Easter Show...

Paul I remember the park at Wilberforce, it was called Australiana Village. I vaguely remember it - I think it had one of the 60-class NSW Garrett locos on display, which would have been moved to Thirlmere after it closed.

We drove right past the old African Lion Safari, and Bullens Animal World, on the recent Flat Four Supercruise. The former gates of Bullens Animal World still exist on Park Road.

Ramsgate Baths was a great place to go when I was a kid. As well as salt water - from Botany Bay - pools,they had a HUGE slippery-dip, and a mini zoo with monkeys etc. and a Galah with about 3 feathers, reputed to be over 100 years old! I think it was called Cocky Bennett.

Cheers, Greg

yeah now yr talking yes Ramsgate Baths used to go there for the school swimming carnival was tops and the slipper dips great fun for all they had a mini archade as well remember Greg

I grew up in blakehurst so new the area well i think there was 7 pools in total a few different sizes n depths hey

i remember the best fish n chips there too

it now is covered by a Coles supermarket

magic kingdom used to be named Hollywood in the 50's -60's
and wonderland in Tamarama in the 10's 20's