Luna Park, Sydney

Luna Park is a historic amusement park in Sydney that opened in 1935. he amusement park is known for it's huge smiling face at the entrance of the park. The park has a variety of rides and games for the young and old. We passed Luna Park while riding the ferries and it was visible from points in Sydney Harbour.

Luna Park is a historical amusement park and was opened in 1935. The amusement park is located at Milson's Point. Luna Park has a roller coaster and many other amusemnet rides for people of every age. The entrance of the park has a large grining face based on the face of "Old King Cole" of the nursery rhyme.

We weren't in the mood for an amusement park since we had so much we wanted to see and do in Sydney so we passed on Luna Park.

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To beak the monotony for a little while for parents with kids that are bored..maybe this will help...take a ferry to Luna Park..The ferry stops at Milsons Point wharf ..right at the entrance to Luna Park..the train stops at Milsons Point railway station just two minutes walk away..This is a fun place for all ages..but especially the kids...The entrance fee is free and you only pay for rides that you want to take...There are photo opportunities from the top of the large "ferris wheel"..especially at night..many different rides to be had and is Sydneys Coney Island with a feeling of the earlier years when this place was packed everyday..
OPENING HOURS:MON & THURS. 11.OO AM TILL 6.00 PM
TUES AND WED.CLOSED
FRI AND SAT 11.00AM TILL 11.00PM
SUNDAY 10.00AM TILL 6.00 PM..

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Also if you take the Ferry to Luna Park.(MILSONS POINT WHARF) take a walk around the the suburb of Milsons point...nice "leafy "area and a chance of a panoramic photo of the city...local "pubs" for a lunch or a quiet drink..also located here is the North Sydney Olympic Pool if you feel like a morning swim...like a lot of locals...(see tip)
There is a local train station here.(first stop over the bridge from the city) and also The Red Explorer ("hop on hop off") bus stops in Milsons Point by the station..stop #3 on explorer bus map..Ferries leave here for Darling Harbour also..

Luna park is an amusement park which opened in the 1930's. Entrance to the grounds are free and there are all sorts of entertainment and rides to please all "types" of kids, young and old.

There are live venues and resturants with views of Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

I read that its a great place to have some fun, but we didn't pay a visit to this park.

Luna Park is one of Sydney's icons and well worth a visit. Its located on the foreshore at Milsons Point next door to North Sydney Olympic Swimming Pool.

This is a great place to take the family if visiting Sydney. Entry is free and you just pay for the rides which you want.

Ferries operate from Circular Quay to Milsons Point or you have the choice of walking over Sydney Harbour Bridge or catching a train from Circular Quay, Wynyard or Town Hall.

The government called for tenders for use of the site in July 1979 with a second and third round called. Public agitation was growing. At this time Friends of Luna Park, headed by Martin Sharp and Peter Kingston, was established. They organised exhibitions, public meetings and a protest concert to draw attention to the park’s condition. A Luna Park operating contract was eventually won in 1980 by a company which became known as Harbourside Amusements Pty Ltd. This consortium was led by Sir Arthur George with Harold and Colman Goldstein.
In April 1981, after unsuccessful negotiations between the old and the new lessees over the name and key equipment, the Government forced the old lease owners to vacate the site. On 31 May and 1 June 1981, an auction was held within the park and many of the original amusements and artworks were sold. When the new operators entered the site, the Big Dipper, David Jones Locker and the River Caves were bulldozed and burnt.
New rides were installed and the park took on a distinctive American theme park flavour reopening in May 1982. In 1987 the lease was transferred to Prome Amusements and Luna Park “closed for renovations” in April 1988. The entry face was removed and the towers dismantled. There were two further changes to the name of the leaseholder and an application was made to redevelop the park as “an adult entertainment centre with high rise towers”.
While Luna Park remained dilapidated and empty, public pressure increased. In November 1989, the Government announced there would be no high rise development on the Luna Park site and the lease was withdrawn in June 1990 following the leaseholder’s failure to re-open the park as an amusement centre.
Today, it's all free again (actually, just the entry) and you can take your children to enjoy what your grandparents did when they were kids.

During the war years the lights of Luna Park were” browned out” and the Park became a magnet for servicemen. The Park was closed every winter and this gave an opportunity to move, overhaul and paint the rides and add new attractions. This continued until 1972. The amusement Park ran smoothly under the control of showmen from 1935 to 1970 when Ted Hopkins retired.
In 1969 the lease on the park was sold to World Trade Centre Pty Ltd headed by Leon Fink. An application was made to develop the site as a trade centre consisting of multi-storey buildings designed by eminent architect, Harry Seidler. The state government refused the application and the park continued. During the 1970’s the park was altered from its original state, some older rides were demolished, and new portable rides introduced but they lacked the artistic facades that had been characteristic of the Park. The lease ran out in 1976 and operation continued on a weekly basis. The Park stopped closing for its regular winter maintenance schedules and in 1979 a tragic fire in the ghost train ride finally caused Luna Park to close down completely.
Artists were involved in Luna Park from the earliest days. Rupert Browne was brought up from Luna Park Melbourne, designed the first entry face and did all the original artwork during the parks 1935 construction phase. After the park opened Arthur Barton became the resident artist until 1970. He designed murals, panels and cut outs as well as the fifth entry face. In the seventies Martin Sharp and Peter Kingston along with Richard Liney, and many others were commissioned to revitalise the Park.
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It's a face (pic 2) that has enchanted children for years, but the one you see today isn't the original. If my memory serves me correctly, it's about the third. However, it bears marked similarity to the previous two.
American showmen, brothers Herman, Leon and Harold Phillips with J.D. Williams, opened Australia’s first Luna Park at St. Kilda in 1912. Showman David Atkins noticed its enormous success and convinced the Phillips to open a Luna Park in Glenelg, Adelaide in 1930. Ted Hopkins an electrical engineer joined the Park just prior to its opening to complete the electrical and mechanical installation. Despite several successful seasons, the Glenelg park was forced to close because of friction with the local residents and a local council that resisted any changes or expansion of the Park.
Herman Phillips and David Atkins commenced a search for a suitable place to relocate the South Australian Luna Park and found the vacant Harbour Bridge factory site at Milsons Point. Under the guidance of Ted Hopkins, Luna Park Glenelg was dismantled, packed up, transported by ship and unloaded onto the Dorman Long wharf and reassembled in Sydney.
Herman Phillips planned the layout of the park, Rupert Browne a scenic artist from Luna Park St Kilda gave the layout artistic imagination and Ted Hopkins made everything work – physically, mechanically and electrically. The whole Sydney site was constructed in just over 3 months and involved the employment of 800 structural workers, 70 electricians and 35 artists as well and many others.
When the doors opened at 8.00pm on 4 October, 1935 it cost 6d to enter (3d for children) and 6d for most rides. The Big Dipper and Coney Island cost 9d. The Park was an instant success. After the first year, the admission charge was removed and Luna Park proudly advertised “Admission Free”.

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Take walk through Sydney's most famous funny face and enter into a magical kids world of 1930's style amusements.

Take on crazy rides such as the Tango Train and Tumble Bug, and nostalgic favourites like the superbly restored Carousel.

The littlies just love the Space Shuttle and everyone will have the time of their life on the Giant Slides in Coney Island.

The views of the SydneyOpera House, Harbour Bridge, the city skylineand North Sydney from the Ferris Wheel are truly spectacular.