THE BIZARRE FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF NZ'S FIRST AMUSEMENT PARK - THE SPINOFF

Long before there was Disneyland and SixFlags, there was Luna Park in Auckland. Luna Park operated from 1926 to 1931 making it the country's first amusement park. The park's main attraction was the ‘big dipper’ wooden rollercoaster. Some of Luna Park's other attractions included a log flume, train ride, funhouse and live shows. The park occupied three acres along Auckland's waterfront. Despite holding a prominent space in the country's largest city, little is known about the park. It was forgotten mostly as quickly as it appeared.

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During the early 1900s, the first modern amusement parks started to emerge across the globe. Thousands flocked to the parks as they had never seen anything like it, for many, it was their first time experiencing thrill rides. Perhaps the most famous and influential of these parks was Luna Park in Coney Island, New York which operated from 1903-1944. Luna Park was extremely successful seeing people from all over North America make the journey to experience its rides and attractions. The park only closed when it received irreparable damage after a fire engulfed it. After the success of Luna Park in Coney Island replicas and imitations started to appear around the world. There were locations in Berlin, Cario, Osaka and Melbourne just to name a few. The Luna Park name and ideals had gone global.

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The Melbourne adaptation of Luna Park which opened in 1912 and still stands today was a triumph bringing great wealth for the city and its owners. The park garnered international attention and caught the eye of businesspeople in Auckland. A group of professionals consisting of Alexander Burt, John Holloway, J F Fairbairn, H Halliday and Samuel Dunn setup Amusement Park Limited and thus the idea of bringing Luna Park to Auckland was born. 

The group went about leasing land on Auckland's waterfront to house the park. There was some initial backlash from the local council and harbour board members who believed Auckland was not a proper place for a theme park. The Auckland star reported that Board member Mr T Bloodworth stated, "the children of Auckland will grow up in the environment of an amusement park, open on six days of the week. This sort of thing, going on day in and day out, can only be harmful,". Others believed that Auckland was not a big enough city to have the demand for a theme park. The population of Auckland in 1926 was 192,000. Those in support of the park maintained that it would bring tourists to the city and help Auckland grow. After a few months of deliberation, the bid was accepted for an initial five-year lease. 

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Construction of the Luna Park began in June 1926. The bulk of the equipment and attractions for the park came from the New Zealand And South Seas Exhibition World Fair which was held in Dunedin from 1925-1926. Approximately 250 people were hired to work on the construction of the park that planned to open before Christmas of 1926. 

Luna Park Auckland first opened its doors to the public on 4th December 1926. Opening day attractions included the ‘big dipper’ rollercoaster, funhouse with novelty mirrors and slides, dodgems, ‘the whip’ spinning ride, log flume, arcade games and tea rooms. An estimated 10,000 people visited the park on its opening day from across New Zealand. The park received glowing reviews, and some even reported riding the rollercoaster five or six times on the opening day. The NZ Herald reviewed opening day writing that “One may have all the thrills of a railway collision, an aeroplane accident, or a parachute descent with no risk what-so-ever… it is all most exhilarating”. The park held live music performances, and entertainment shows every night. With high guest numbers, the park seemed to be following the success of its predecessors. However, this would not prove the case for very long.

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In February of 1927, only three months after the park’s opening a fire broke out in the park. The fire submerged the park causing considerable damage. The tea rooms, funhouse and rear part of the railway were utterly destroyed. The NZ Herald reported that the park “Flames flew skywards” as the park burned “like matchwood”. The cost of rebuilding the damaged attractions cost an estimated £10,000 (roughly $1million NZD in today's currency). There are conflicting reports as to when the park reopened after the fire ranging from the next day to a month later. However, once the park did reopen, it was still burnt and in disarray. The tea rooms and railway were destroyed and areas of the park were roped off due to the prolonged damage. Unfortunately for the park, this was only the start of their problems.

Despite the problems caused by the fire, the park continued to remain popular through 1927. The park was seen as a fun and safe day out for the whole family. The park's perception by the public started to shift, however, after an accident in the park left a patron seriously injured. In December 1927 a 22-year-old man fell out of the railway ride on its incline. He suffered a fractured jaw and shoulder, a dislocated elbow and a severe scalp wound. The man was rushed to Auckland hospital and had life-saving surgery. The man recovered, but rumours started to circulate as to how safe the park was putting people off visiting, opting for a safer day out instead.

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The problems continued to grow for the park as a year after the first fire, another fire broke out in the park. In February 1928 a small fire started to burn that was quickly accelerated by the amount of wood in the park. Luckily after the first fire, the park's executives decided it was wise to build a fire fighting plant on site. While the fire was put out a lot faster than the first one, it still caused a lot of damage. The railway station was again burned down and needed to be rebuilt. 

The attendance and reputation of the park slowly started to decline through 1928. A month after the second fire on the 31st March 1928 the park decided to stop charging its patrons to enter the park. They hoped this would attract more guests. Luna Park now solely made its money on the coin-operated arcade machines and the food and beverage offerings in the park. Attendance numbers were up and the park seemed to recoup some of its losses. It appeared as though the park had regained a new life.

Nevertheless, appearances can be deceiving, and this was not enough for the park that was still running at a loss. The land lease was reduced from £2,000 per annum to £1,000 per annum, but this was still not enough for the park to stay afloat. The depression started to set in in New Zealand, and visiting an amusement park was not on the top of the list for things to do for the majority of Aucklanders. Any hope of saving New Zealand's first amusement park was looking unlikely.

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Luna Park in Auckland closed its doors for the final time on the 7th February 1931 less than five years from when it first opened. An estimated 500,000 people visited the park during its short-lived history. Not long after its closure the main attractions were sold and shipped off to Sydney. Demolition workers were sent in to destroy what was left of the park. Luna Park Auckland was gone without a trace almost as quickly as it appeared marking the end of New Zealand's first amusement park.

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Today the space is occupied by the Ports Of Auckland directly across the road from Spark Arena. Without prior knowledge, you would have no idea that there was once a rollercoaster where the cranes and shipping containers of the Port lies.

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Here is the only known footage of Luna Park recorded in 1928. The incredible silent footage shows riders' view of the rollercoaster and log flume as well as a tour of the park.  Luna Park, Auckland, 1928 - Silent Film