zordmaker

Im going again tonight. See ya. ZordMaker

Hmm. How can you have "Maybe" facts? I would call them "educated guesses". ZordMaker

SWRFM is Blacktown's Community Radio Station. They used Space Probe as a transmitter site from early '97 to late '98. Photos: http://members.optusnet.com.au/nudism/Spac.../spaceprobe.htm zordmaker

Hey, I am a refugee from the original, sydney wide ultimate roller coaster system that was dismantled in 1992.. What is a true definition of freedom? "Standing at the open door of a Sydney red Rattler, 60 year old motors screaming beneath your feet and steel flying up through the hatchways, climbing up and overe the Sydney Harbour Bridge on a hot, sultry afternoon"... ZordMaker

I don't really get you guys. Am I on the wrong Board here? Is this ROLLER-COASTER.com? or INDUSTRIALLAND.com??? What do you want? Roller coasters or LG distribution depots? The choice is yours. All I am saying is the facts. Despite what has been reported in the media, the matter in this case rests with the pollies at Blacktown Council. They dont care who pays the rates, the rates are the same per hectare of land out there for Wonderland as they are for Linfox next door. So if you want Roller Coasters and Water Slides to stay in Sydney speak up and make yourself heard now. Otherwise move to Queensland or cancel your membership of Rollr-coatsers.com.... because you ain't gonna be doin' much ridin any more down 'ere. Personally I've hated Wonderland's management ever since they did what they did to SWRFM in 1998 (which was truly an act of bastardry, but thats another story). They could never manage the park right, and have repeatedly shown little respect for their own local customers, instead preferring to chase the supposed international tourist dollar, which we now all know just isnt enough without local support. They have never tried to change the formula or explore alternatives or for that matter (as others point out) invested in the park. We all know why - because of the land value. It pains me to know that they've made $200 out of me in 14 days. But that doesnt stop my respect for the employees of the park or my enjoyment of the rides together with my wife. All I ask (as I walk through a packed park and packed Beach area) is.. where are these people (who have paid good money to get in the gate) going to go when Wonderland closes? Lets hope they go back to work where they belong after all there'll be so many more jobs available now won't there. Lets all now celebrate the death of fun in Sydney. My only regret is that I didnt give Wonderland a chance years ago. My bet is that tens of thousands of sydneysiders are now feeling the same - people who would never have otherwise discovered the park if it had not announced it's own premature demise. ZordMaker

Surely you're not including that awful backyard zoo they call Featherdale, or that poor excuse for a swimming centre at Stanhope. I guess there's always the vegas of the west at Rooty Hill.. but even Panthers beats that.. ZordMaker

You may be right about the local govt but this just changed and there's already a storm over the issue amongst some new councillors. My understanding is also that a number of "uncommitted" councillors may have become more vocal now they know that Wonderland is under threat. Previous plans always included the park "as is", and BCC have every reason to be distressed if they are now losing one of the (few) tourist attractions that exist in the area. Once these councillors realise their constituents are watching after all they'll probably drop it like a radioactive fuel rod and would flatly oppose any developmnent that did not either include all or part of the park, or otherwise make allowance for relocating it to somewhere else in Blacktown. According to an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald, ING Industrial have purchased the park ouright which includes all the fixtures and fittings, and that ING are responsible for doing whatever they want to do with the site and remove / sell or retain the assets. I'm not sure about the connection with Hartford Lane. My understanding is that Sunway have already made their money and it's now ING's problem. The latter may even review the business (particularly in light of the response from the community visiting it for "the last time") and decide to attempt to find a suitable leasee for all or part of the park as a going concern. ING (unlike the inept and incompetent Sunway) are only interested in making the mo$t of the land - not the park. If in their opinion the land can make more money retained as a fun park (after restructuring and finding an operator), and they can keep the pollies happy and they have no immediate customer wanting the land for anything else.. then expect a Phoenix rebirth. But also expect non profitable acreage to vanish.. things like the Aust Wildlife Park, (ex)HBL, the surrounding bushland and the (enormous) carpark and entrance.. and become smaller factory units very quickly. Business parks need one important thing to survive - Business. And if there's nobody who wants to lease or buy the site then ING are not going to pay millions to redevelop it and have it stand empty. They are competing with a number of other recent industrial releases in the area, particularly the new Erskine Park employment zone and the ADI employment zone, both near St Marys. They may decide simply to develop some of it, retain the park (of sorts) if an interested operator can be found, and just sit and retain the holding in the longer term hoping for a large capital gain once the M7 motorway is operating. The latter scenario (IMO) is the most likely given ING's investment history. The demand for large industrial holdings in Sydney is not that great, nowhere near that of the residential sector. ZordMaker

Firstly: 1.) ING Industrial Fund have bought Wonderland. They have not indicated how they will use it yet other than that they seek to expand the business park currently surrounding it. 2.) The land is zoned Special Uses - Entertainment. There has been no application for rezoning. 3.) The matter is likely to become political, just as Luna Park did. 4.) In the end there will be a compromise between ING and Blacktown Council to redevelop the site. BCC are unlikely to want or accept the parks' complete demplition or closure, and therefore are unlikely to rezone the land unless ING can guarantee the park will remain in some (albeit very different, probably much smaller) form. 5.) I predict that in 5 years Wonderland will remain, redeveloped and reopened as a "fun park" (instead of a theme park) with land size approx 1/4 that of the current size and almost certainly including the rides and assets that are difficult to relocate, i.e. the Beach, the Snowy River, and The Beast. 6.) ALL OF YOU - the only way you can make this happen is to write letters (snail mail, not just emails - remember most of these people dont even have a computer) to the councillors at Blacktown City Council. The NSW State Govt are unlikely to get involved (unlike Luna Park) as there is simply nothing in it for them - they dont own the land (unlike LP) and they do not stand to benefit from the zoning change if it takes place. If BCC councillors can be convinced that there is an overwealming support to retain the theme park zoning and that this will benefit their local area then this is what they will do, or at least compromise to do. Write letters, write them now, and Write them to BCC Councillors. http://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/ It is common for theme parks to close, then reopen years later reinvented with a new identity. Everybody knows this is what Wonderland has needed for a long time, and now is the chance to make that happen. Sunway were bastards and now they've gone, good riddance to them I say. (I can tell you another story regarding Sunway Vs Blacktown's local community radio station which used to use the Space Probe as it's transmitter site.. but thats another story..) With Sunway gone, the Assets remaining and in new hands, now is the time to reinvent Sudney's theme park. ZordMaker Paul Matthews