In researching silhouette artist S. John Ross, many other wonderful memories of childhood experiences at Luna Park were resurrected.
This page has nothing really to do with Bestoys or its history but here are some interesting events of Sydney’s Luna Park during the middle of last century. These details have been gleaned not only from childhood memories but from articles documented at the time and discovered on the internet.
This page has nothing really to do with Bestoys or its history but here are some interesting events of Sydney’s Luna Park during the middle of last century. These details have been gleaned not only from childhood memories but from articles documented at the time and discovered on the internet.
The changing face of Sydney's Luna Park. With thanks to Grand Pacific Tours: https://www.grandpacifictours.com/news/About-Face-The-laughing-face-will-leave-you-with-a-smile/
In the late 1950s, Luna Park, situated on the watery fringe of Milsons Point on the North Shore of Sydney, was an inexpensive and comprehensive entertainment hub for families with young children. Entry to the fun-seekers’ ground was free as was the parking—fewer people then meant fewer cars clogging up the narrow winding streets of old “New Albion”.
For the Bonaretti family, the drive across the Bridge and down the winding road would find free parking along the foreshore of beautiful Sydney Harbour. A leisurely stroll past the North Sydney Olympic Pool—with quickening pace if you were a child—took you into the gaping mouth that welcomed you to Luna Park, “Just for fun!”.
The first amazing encounter was the ornate carousel. Riding it was not a heart-stopping adventure, but it was awe-inspiring. The horses and other diverse animals were intricately decorated and the horses life-size (at least, that’s how they seemed to a child) and rose and fell majestically as they sedately revolved around and around to the jaunty music of the old pipe organ. The big dipper and bump 'em cars cost threepence or sixpence a go and the games in side-show alley tested one’s skills as well as patience. Hooping a stake, popping ping pong balls into a swiveling clown’s mouth or shooting down the parading ducks with an air gun won a kewpie doll, a plastic space gun that showered sparks, or a ceramic statue of a cute puppy or rampant horse—all made in Japan, of course—China’s industrialization was in its infancy and would be another generation away from dominating the world’s markets in cheap everything.
For the Bonaretti family, the drive across the Bridge and down the winding road would find free parking along the foreshore of beautiful Sydney Harbour. A leisurely stroll past the North Sydney Olympic Pool—with quickening pace if you were a child—took you into the gaping mouth that welcomed you to Luna Park, “Just for fun!”.
The first amazing encounter was the ornate carousel. Riding it was not a heart-stopping adventure, but it was awe-inspiring. The horses and other diverse animals were intricately decorated and the horses life-size (at least, that’s how they seemed to a child) and rose and fell majestically as they sedately revolved around and around to the jaunty music of the old pipe organ. The big dipper and bump 'em cars cost threepence or sixpence a go and the games in side-show alley tested one’s skills as well as patience. Hooping a stake, popping ping pong balls into a swiveling clown’s mouth or shooting down the parading ducks with an air gun won a kewpie doll, a plastic space gun that showered sparks, or a ceramic statue of a cute puppy or rampant horse—all made in Japan, of course—China’s industrialization was in its infancy and would be another generation away from dominating the world’s markets in cheap everything.
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Watch this fabulous comprehensive compilation video of the history of Luna Park in pictures by bradloxley3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co2-kg80f3Y
With sincere thanks and no intention to infringe copyright. |
Even though this video is from more recent times, it shows what it was like way back then to ride the famous carousel at Sydney's Luna Park. Find this video by David Coles here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9hQkMI0Qs
Also with sincere thanks and no intention to infringe copyright. |
The Rotor Ride was dangerous but fun, invented by German scientist, Ernst Hoffmeister in the 1940s.
Read more here: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/rotor-ride-pictures-1950-1970/ (With thanks)
Read more here: https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/rotor-ride-pictures-1950-1970/ (With thanks)
The Rotor house and Wild Cat ride at Luna Park
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Inside the Rotor house and the heart-stopping, zero-gravity effects of centrifugal force
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The spinning started and the floor dropped away and, there you were, suspended and pinned against the wall.
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The Rotor house exterior with due credit to Professor Hoffmeister
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The fabulous array of prizes at the Laughing Clowns stall at Luna Park: kewpie dolls, ceramic statuettes of every description, plastic toys, more kewpie dolls, more statuettes, and something for Mother: teapots, plates and more statuettes. With thanks to Luna Park Sydney Pty Ltd for the photo
It was a fee-free entry into the now-heritage-listed Coney Island with its crazy mirror maze, the centrifugal force of the Joy Wheel, the unstable sliding walkways of the Turkey Trot, the undulating hessian-sack slides, and the walkways with blustery updrafts that revealed frilly knickers and suspender straps—those were the days that “ladies” of all ages wore skirts – thrilled everyone and provoked uninhibited laughter.
There were ancient—even in the 50s these were ancient—viewing machines called Mutoscopes where a penny, dropped into the slot, activated the light. Cranking the handle magically turned the flip cards to tell a story in moving pictures. These were silent era, two-minute shorts of boxing matches, Charlie Chaplin, or monochrome cartoons.
There were ancient—even in the 50s these were ancient—viewing machines called Mutoscopes where a penny, dropped into the slot, activated the light. Cranking the handle magically turned the flip cards to tell a story in moving pictures. These were silent era, two-minute shorts of boxing matches, Charlie Chaplin, or monochrome cartoons.
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The Mutoscope
This is an excellent educational video on how the Mutoscope works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBWTjCo659Q with sincere thanks to Eduardo Angel Video.
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This Mutoscope was made in c1895 by American Mutoscope Company. Details here: https://drouot.com/en/l/16436788--30viewer-by-mutoscope-%E7%94%B1%E7%BE%8E%EF%BF%BD
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This American "Clam Shell" Mutoscope sold for $US 4,500 - details here: https://auctions.ejsauction.com/auction-lot/antique-american-coin-op-clamshell-mutoscope_417437BBB1
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Then, on 9th June, 1979, disaster!
The Ghost Train caught fire and killed seven people. (More of this horrible event is amply documented on the internet by searching “Ghost Train fire”.)
This tragedy closed the fun park, ostensibly for good, and the various entertainments were eventually sold off. These accounts of the 1981 auction sale were reported in newspapers at the time:
The Ghost Train caught fire and killed seven people. (More of this horrible event is amply documented on the internet by searching “Ghost Train fire”.)
This tragedy closed the fun park, ostensibly for good, and the various entertainments were eventually sold off. These accounts of the 1981 auction sale were reported in newspapers at the time:
First auction day of Luna Park items 31st May, 1981
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On Sunday, 31st May, 1981, the auctioneers Geoff K Gray began a two-day sale of Luna Park objects.
The Canberra Times (ACT: 1926 - 1995), Monday 1 June 1981, page 7 reported: Luna Park carousel sold for $160,000 SYDNEY: An American collector successfully bid $ 160,000 for the centrepiece at the Luna Park auction yesterday [Sunday, 31st May, 1981]. A San Francisco businessman, Mr Larry Freels, who arrived in Sydney only yesterday morning, bought the merry-go-round and its organ. The ride will be probably be sent back to the USA where it will join his collection of 200 merry-go rounds. Despite constant drizzle, bidding at the auction of artifacts from the famous amusement park at times went wild, with the crowd caught up in the wave of nostalgia. Even auction catalogues, at $2 each, had sold out by noon. A framed original lithograph, one of only three in Australia, entitled 'Luna Park, Gala Opening Day, Feb. 1935' went for $3,500. Another lithograph, 'Bullens Circus Presenting Buffalo Bill', sold for $2,200, even though the auctioneer mentioned that Buffalo Bill had never been in Australia. The Big Dipper, the River Cave House and other structures go under the hammer today [Monday, 1st June 1981]. Luna Park opened in 1935 and ran until June, 1979, when a fire in the ghost train killed seven people. It has been closed since and now Harborside Amusements, in which entrepreneur Mr Michael Edgley has a minority interest, is taking over the site from Luna Park Pty Ltd. The new group hopes to modernise the park and reopen it by Christmas at a cost of $8.5 million. See this link for the actual newspaper article: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/125638069?searchTerm=%22luna%20park%20auction%22 |
Second auction day of Luna Park items 1st June 1981
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The following day, Monday, 1st June, 1981, auctioneers Geoff K Gray finalised their two-day sale of Luna Park objects.
The Canberra Times (ACT: 1926 - 1995), Tuesday 2 June 1981, page 3 reported: IN BRIEF Luna Park auction SYDNEY: Auctioneers Geoff K. Gray have collected almost $500,000 from the sale of the contents of Luna Park in the past two days. The Big Dipper went for $45,000 to Hollywood Amusement Park of Sydney's western suburbs, the Rotor for $3,500 to the new owners of Luna Park, the Laughing Clowns for a total of $4,000, the merry-go-round for $140,000 and its organ for $20,000 to an American buyer, and the distortion mirrors for an average of $800 each. A car dealer bought 20 Cocos palm trees for $1,000 each, a marble Buddha went for $4,000, the River Caves went to the Friends of Luna Park for $20, as did the Turkey Trot for $2,100, the Joy Wheel for $3,100 and the Barrels of Fun for $4,000. Link here: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/125638188?searchTerm=%22luna%20park%20auction%22 |
This is a shortened list of some of games and their lot numbers that were auctioned at Luna Park in 1981, pertaining specifically to Mutoscopes. There were over 800 lots in that auction:
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With sincere thanks to: https://www.aussiearcade.com/topic/55252-luna-park-arcade-game-auction-1981/#comment-55452
It would take a series of entrepreneurs, one failing after another, to finally bring the fun park back to life and to what it is today.
There are many websites and blogs about Sydnye's Luna Park and its almost-100-year-old history, too many to list here but here is another that is very interesting: https://rosieinaustralia.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/luna-park/ With thanks.
So, in researching Luna Park's silhouette artist S. John Ross, many wonderful memories of childhood experiences at Luna Park were stirred. This is a tribute to the man who cut the portrait of Nazzareno and Ebe's eldest daughter way back in the late 1950s:
There are many websites and blogs about Sydnye's Luna Park and its almost-100-year-old history, too many to list here but here is another that is very interesting: https://rosieinaustralia.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/luna-park/ With thanks.
So, in researching Luna Park's silhouette artist S. John Ross, many wonderful memories of childhood experiences at Luna Park were stirred. This is a tribute to the man who cut the portrait of Nazzareno and Ebe's eldest daughter way back in the late 1950s:
From S. John Ross Collection -
S. John Ross at Luna Park in 1958
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From S. John Ross Collection - S. John Ross at Luna Park, Sydney in 1963
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These two portraits are from an excellent website - with thanks:
ttps://www.ozatwar.com/people/silhouetteman.htm 
Some examples of the art of S. John Ross sold at auction: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/s-john-ross-20th-century-five-silhouettes-zippora-%20%20%20%206538-c-d7d419b8db
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