Luna Park Melbourne
Luna Park, Melbourne, Australia
It’s about time I start posting some actual original content, after the exhaustion of post-Halloween and the busy-ness of international travels and the slumber of Christmas time and the holidays. Today, we’re going back to our theme park hopping roots by stopping by one of the attractions I visited during my trip to Australia and New Zealand at the end of last year. Luna Park is a name that has been used at a variety of classic theme parks around the world, some still running and others defunct. And our visit today to the Luna Park in Melbourne is to the oldest Luna Park still in operation—and one of the older amusement parks in existence!
Welcome to Luna Park. You’ve looked into Mr. Moon’s eyes. Your destiny now lies beyond the Gates of Doom!
The original Luna Park originated from Coney Island, New York, and opened in 1903. There is a Luna Park is Brooklyn today, but it’s not the same as the one that started it all. Less than a decade later, American showman J.D. Williams and promotion brothers Harold, Leon and Herman Phillips banded together down under and opened a Luna Park in Melbourne in 1912. Constructed on a relatively small plot of land (tiny by today’s amusement or theme park standards) in the St. Kilda neighborhood just a few miles south of the Melbourne Central Business District (i.e. their downtown or city center), Luna Park Melbourne even predated it’s more contemporarily famous Luna Park cousin in Sydney, which opened in 1935.
With the exception of being closed during World War II, this humble amusement park has been open the past century and a decade, and it’s a classic and historical park that packs a lot of attractions into a cozy footprint. Fronted by its famous (and arguably notorious) “Mr. Moon” facade, which some claim can stair into and consume your soul, Luna Park has been a wonderful seaside attraction for generations of children and families. Although it’s far from a first class amusement park today, it still retains that nostalgic and eclectic charm. And even though it was open only one out of the three days that I was in Melbourne—from only 6:00-10:00pm on a Friday evening (the last of my three days), I still felt compelled to stop by and visit this relic from a bygone era that has been updated over the decades but still retains that early 20th century feel.
Earlier evening plans meant that I didn’t arrive until close to an hour before closing. Given the goal to only ride the two roller coasters and then take a stroll around the park to see the sights, this still should have been enough time, but the slow operations and long ways ended up meaning that the park was closed by the time it was photo taking time. On top of that, Luna Park Melbourne proved to be an exceptionally stingily operating park—right down to the electricity bill! Once the rides shut down, so did the lights. The result was that I didn’t even have a chance to take photos on my DSLR and instead could only snap pictures off my smart phone. So enjoy this very rare non-DSLR photo update!
The Palais Theatre is a historic picture theater next door but no associated with Luna Park, and it’s 3000 seat capacity makes it the largest seated theater in all of Australia! It was founded by the Phillips Brothers, who also founded Luna Park!
The Great Scenic Railway
No discussion about Luna Park Melbourne is complete without starting with its landmark and flagship roller coaster attraction, The Great Scenic Railway. This venerable wooden roller coaster shares a plethora of historical records that make it a delightful treasure for any roller coaster nerd:
It’s the oldest roller coaster in the southern hemisphere.
It’s the second still-running oldest roller coaster in the entire world, behind Leap-the-Dips at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Incidentally, the third oldest is Tivoli Garden’s Rutschebanen, or Roller Coaster, which we’ve also covered!
It’s the oldest continuously-operating roller coaster in the entire world. Leap-the-Dips was closed in 1985 after falling into disrepair and only reopened in 1999 after an extensive refurbishment effort. Although Luna Park Melbourne was closed during World War II, The Great Scenic Railway continued to run!
It is one of only seven roller coasters remaining in the world that requires a brakeman to stand in the train to control the speed, because it does not have any underfriction wheels that would prevent it from flying off track if it went too fast. Tivoli Garden’s Rutschebanen is another.
Designed by LaMarcus Thompson, the “Father of the American Roller Coaster,” The Great Scenic Railway features a 3173 foot long, 52 foot high wooden layout that literally encircles the entire park’s triangular lot, leisurely racing around the perimeter twice at speeds topping off at just over 35 mph across a series of hills. Unlike its cousin in Tivoli Gardens, The Great Scenic Railway rolls over its hills rather tamely, with the brakeman or woman keeping the train well under control throughout its course. This is probably for the best. When I went to Tivoli, I was shocked at the amount of speed at which the trains went through the course. It was wild and breakneck, but knowing that there were no upstop wheels to technically prevent an airborne derailment made the ride just a little bit harrowing. There is no such peril on The Great Scenic Railway, though. This roller coaster is much more to the easy-going pace of its prototype namesake, although given the stats mentioned above, it does hit a nice pace on the dips.
The ride is low capacity, though. Although it can operate at least two trains, only one was in operation when I visited, resulting in a 45 minute wait. This did allow us to enjoy the classic murals in the loading station, which portrayed exotic scenes of faraway lands. Given the significantly lower prevalence of international travel back when this ride opened, it made sense to transplant stirring representations of domains abroad to the enjoyment of locals.
The Rest of the Park
Luna Park Melbourne is also home to a children’s spinning roller coaster called Speedy Beetle manufactured by SPF Visa Group. It’s essentially a compact, carnival layout roller coaster that’s permanently on site. It’s so short that a single cycle traverses the course some half dozen times! In addition, the park is full of visuals and facades that harken back to its classic, early 20th century amusement park aesthetics, from towering fiberglass-cast human figures forming parts of two story facades to the Ghost Train attraction, which sits on the footprint of the original, classic 1934 Pretzal Amusement Ride Company dark ride.
Most of the original rides at Luna Park have been replaced over the years, though, due to age and wear and tear. Today, the oldest rides beside the originals are merely four or five decades old and include the Sky Rider ferris wheel, the disturbing looking Spider spinning flat ride, the now-class Huss Enterprise, and the pendulum style Pharaoh’s Curse. Newer attractions include a variety of flat rides that would be common sights at summer fairs.
Objectively, Luna Park is not the most premiere park around, nor is it necessarily bright and shiny and and in top condition. But it is a great destination for roller coaster and amusement history buffs who want to experience a bit of what these classic pleasure garden establishments were like a hundred years ago, during a much simpler and different time than now. In that sense, Luna Park offers an escapism that only few other parks of its age and standing can provide—even if they aren’t up to Disneyland or even Knott’s Berry Farm quality.
Closing time at the Luna Park front gate.
And just as the crowd finally cleared from their final photo ops just a few minutes after locking the gates and no more than 15 minutes after the park closed, ALL the lights were turned off! And somehow, Mr. Moon looked even freakier with the lights off.
The surrounding St. Kilda neighborhood is also worth checking out if you’re ever visiting Melbourne Australia. With a nice beach area, lengthy pier (currently closed due to a years-long refurbishment project scheduled to be complete in 2024) that offers penguin sightings, and relaxed atmosphere, St. Kilda has echoes of its historic seaside playground past. It’s also got a vibrant music scene and hosts Australia’s largest free music festival. It’s a nice day trip or even afternoon and evening trip from central Melbourne.
The Luna Park entrance with its neighbor, the Palis Theatre.
LUNA PARK MELBOURNE AT A GLANCE
Name: Luna Park
Address: 18 Lower Esplanade, St Kilda VIC 3182, Australia
Web Site: https://lunapark.com.au/
For admission, park hours, and other information, please visit the web site.
Metro Stop(s): Luna Park / The Esplanade 138 (serves 3/3a, 16, and 96 trams)
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
