Flasher

The Employee of the Month parties were always a treat for getting absolutely hammered and either chucking a sicky the next day (or the same day as it would often turn out), or making it into work still of your nut with no sleep under your belt. I for one remember many a long night (usually Thursdays) and the maintenance department looking somewhat like an ER ward on Friday mornings.

The reason why the yellow train was sitting at the top of the lift was because of an electrical fire in the PLC Room located underneath the station. Maintenance were carrying out their daily checks (yes, maintenance were required to run the rides as though the park was still in operation for functionality purposes), and it would seem that the 'old girl' wasn't going to go down without a fight. A fire broke out and the motors dropped power with the train staying where it was seen for around 2 - 3 days. In the days succeeding, the electricians tried to re-wire all of the burnt cabling in the PLC Boards and the DB's but due to the extensive damage, they were unable to bring the system back into full operation to continue on with the maintenance checks. A jump connection was made to get the lift motor working (which did work) and the yellow train was sent over the hill and around the grand old structure for the very last time. So for all the trainspotters out there (no pun intended), the last time the train ever ran was Friday 18th June 2004 and although the ride was in 2 train operation, it was the yellow train to ever make that final journey. Hope this clears the picture.

And lots of talcum powder too!!!

Looks more like a shark!!!

Well, I'd have to say that I do remember seeing dj there from time to time, but I can't say that I'd seen him do any work!

I am not too sure if I know who you are Pattie or whether you worked at Wonderland during the same period as I did, but I would like to raise the question of your reaction to Mnemo's idea of arranging an AWL Staff Get-Together, albeit as strange as it may have come across. You probably have your reasons for feeling the way that you do. I think that I speak for the majority of people when I make the statement that most, if not all AWL ex-employees have moved on to bigger and better things with their careers and lives, and actually like working with/for their Team Leaders, Supervisors and Managers, but all would agree that working at Wonderland was the best time of their employment and social lives. Some people may have left on bad terms and for whatever reasons, but I'm sure that even they too would like to catch up with the greater community that was Australia's Wonderland/Wonderland Sydney, even Daniel. People who worked with each other, people who worked at AWL at around the same time, or those who may have worked in the same division but at different times during the park's 18 year history, I am sure would like to catch up and reminisce about the times that they spent at AWL. I do have to say that Mnemo's idea of standing on the side of the road is a bit out-there. Alex B has a great point of with a reunion of sorts, but this should probably be held at a venue rather at the side of the road (Clint would probably call the cops on us). If someone is prepared to organise something along these lines, let us all know and I'm sure that you'll get a fair turnout. Great idea though Mnemo, count me in!

Any possibility that you might have worked in Technical Services (Maintenance) in the later years by any chance, hey?

Not to mention the Final Warning Letter which was left in that maintenance guy's Employee Record!

Sorry to extinguish the birthday candles there guys, but Australia's Wonderland (as it was then known) was opened on the Saturday 7th December 1985, not the 5th as you are referring.

So what happened to your pictures Anon................coldfeet?

Sorry to bust your chops there Koolkid, but I believe that most of them were able to escape the charges because you spelt their names wrong.

My request to Ronald is for a photograph of himself and 'Bubba', in a very intimate embrace while being held in lockup at Mt Druitt Police Station. On second thoughts, no.....not really. :eek:

I have decided to start a new thread (not sure if this subject has been discussed before), because I think most people would agree that the threads of late have gone off topic and are mostly a waste of time to read. :mad: Whether you loved working at Wonderland or loathed it, the best part of the job were the social gatherings and the fact that every 3 months (4 to 5 in later years), you forgot about all of your issues with Management for one night and went to the "Employee of the Month" Awards during the year and the finale "Employee of the Year Awards/Christmas Party in December. For the uninitiated, all employees were able to be nominated by their co-workers/Supervisors for the Employee of the Month Award. During these award nights, a winner for each month was announced and would be presented with a plaque and some cheap Wonderland merchandise. At the Employee of the Year/Christmas Party, all of the 12 Monthly winners throughout the year would go into the draw to win a trip to.......you guessed it, Sunway - Wonderland's sister park. Trick was to take the trip before Management forgot about it! All of the awards stuff aside, it was basically a piss up where Management called you 'mate' and told you how great you were, and would then proceed to write you up a week later. I believe that these nights were the death knell for many marriages. For mine, the best party was Christmas 2001 which was held up at Evan Theatre in Panthers, the first time that it was held off-site. The night was a Red Faces theme and all departments had to perform a routine which was judged by Mr MC himself, Micheal Croaker. A group of guys from Maintenance won the night with their Striptease performance. Does anyone remember this night?

Sleuth, did you work in Maintenance, or did you just know people who did?

Australias Wonderland's Grand Opening was definately Saturday 7th December 1985, however, Leightons, James Hardies and the other JV Partner's workers had open days in the weeks prior to December 7, and these days were used as full operation day tests.

So where are the photos, Sleuth?

Actually (there's that word again Daniel), the plaque was a memorial to Pascal Eduelle, a Maintenance Carpenter who put thousands of hours into the maintenance of the Bush Beast in the early years, but who died suddenly at 26 years of age. Rumour has it that this guy was super fit and would literally run the maintenance trackwalk inspection each day until his death (not on the job I must add). This plaque remained in that location without incident for many years, until it was noticed not long before the park closed that some #@?hole (presumably upset with the parks closure) had thrown a stone at it, causing damage. I believe that the guy's family requested the return of the plaque following the closure of the park.

Maintenance started at 6am all year round and would generally commence ride inspections by 6:15am, even later during the Winter season. Hanna Barberra/Little Wonders Land and Medieval Faire/International Village-Transylvania-Botany Bay rides would be inspected first and completed by 9:30am, before the Park's opening at 10am. Goldrush rides were inspected from around 8am onwards and completed by 10:30am, except for the Bush Beast which was inspected from around 6:15am and usually all the way up to Goldrush's 11am opening. The Beach, not so much a ride in itself, would be inspected from 6:15am and up to half an hour before either its 11am or 12pm opening. Any ride which had problems reported from the previous day or which had problems found during the morning inspections would have additional personnel deployed to make sure that the ride would go up on time, or at least open for the day. Some smaller rides only required one technician to carry out a ride check, while others required a minimum of 2 with the Bush Beast requiring at least 3 Maintenance personnel. Once all rides were open, Maintenance would work on one (or more) of the rides which were down for Annual Maintenance, either on site or in the workshop, or continue with the general maintenance of the Park.

The reason why I have asked the question is because this person has signed their name in 2 locations on the Bush Beast ride. The first location was on the side of the floor joist underneath the original top landing for the exit ramp, which was later converted into the Control Booth when the Bush Beast went to 1 person operation. This was dated 4/11/85 and was accompanied with the name Mark Dearing. You could notice it as you walked down under this landing and looked back. The second location was on the side of a horizontal brace which supported the maintenance platform that serviced brakes 1 to 4 under the station. This was dated 5/11/85. My understanding is that these two individuals were part of the construction team and Tuesday 5th November 1985 was the last day of construction. This gave a little over 4 weeks to commission the ride and to add the final touches to the theming of the Bush Beast. I would assume that the original footage in Wonderbuzz's Bush Beast video was filmed within approximately a week of this date, as there is still construction plant visible to the right side of the dip, and evidence of the materials store and assembly "shop" at the back of Cobbs Kitchen/Goldrush Toilets and the hill between Snowy's and the Bush Beast flyover. Does anyone remember this?

Anyone who has worked at the Bush Beast will know about Nino Tropea, especially Maintenance.

Does anyone know anything about Nino Tropea?

Oh, OK. Nice one. Almost had us fooled. Sneaking in behind the park and taking pictures? Well, where are they DC?

Could you please elaborate?

Actually, I believe that one of Wonderland's Maintenance personnel went to the States to oversee the re-construction of the Demon.

Great video bud, keep them coming. One item of interest, which I have received from a reliable source and that was not shown within any of the footage on the video, is the short-lived use of the hatches which would close down over the top of the cabins and around the Main Shaft of the Space Probe. You may have noticed these hatches as you lifted off from Loading Station, below the cameras used to take On-ride photos. They were pneaumatically driven and contoured around the bay of each cabin, notched at the point to go around the rails at the shaft and would close in together to block out any vision upwards. Also noticable was the "theming" to the corrugated iron sheet cladding on the outside walls. The sheets were left long and cut back with jagged edges to simulate that the cabins had burst out through the roof. The idea was that the guests would run through the Pre-show and then be rushed onto the cabins to escape the "Alien Invasion". At this stage. the hatches were closed and the loading area was thick with smoke from a smoke machine with bursts of light beams, audio and strobing lights. Once loaded, the hatches would open and the cabins would rise up and into the Mushroom. Everyone knows the rest of the story. Apparently, this part of the show only lasted a short while due to the time that it took to go through these steps for each cycle. As time went on, the novelty of the ride wore off for Wonderland Management until there was no Pre-show at all. Can anyone remember this? Your comments will be most welcome.