Australia's Wonderland

Wonderland Sydney, was an amusement park in Eastern Creek, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The park was the largest one in the southern hemisphere. It remained open for almost 19 years and was the premier theme park in New South Wales for much of its life until its closure in 2004.HistoryWonderland Sydney, then known as Australia's Wonderland opened amid much media attention and publicity on 7 December 1985 with financial backing from the New South Wales State Superannuation Board, James Hardies Industries, Leighton Holdings and Taft Broadcasting (through Kings Entertainment Company) at Eastern Creek NSW, on the junction of Wallgrove Road and the M4 Motorway. The developers sought to provide an alternative to the troubled Luna Park, which had opened and closed multiple times in its recent history. The area would also see the opening of Eastern Creek Raceway in 1990 as the Sydney metropolitan area expanded to the west.Wonderland opened with three separate themed areas within the park: Goldrush, Medieval Faire (later renamed Old Botany Bay), and Hanna-Barbera Land (later renamed 'Little Wonders Land' in 2001-2002) which featured rides and attractions based on characters from Hanna-Barbera shows such as Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones. The park was modeled heavily around Canada's Wonderland located north of Toronto, not surprising since both parks were constructed by Taft Broadcasting, a company which also owned Hanna-Barbera.