LUNA PARK

While the weather is still good, why not the Luna Park?

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

FUNNY BUSINESS

Well, it looks like on June 22nd things may begin to have an appearance of normality in Victoria, Australia, with many more restrictions being lifted and many more venues and activities becoming available. Everyone is sick of all the COVID-19 restrictions and endless talk of it in the news, however, we are lucky in Australia as we have had a relatively low number of cases and relatively few deaths. Part of this was due to the draconian measures our government took in dealing with the pandemic, and partly because of the largely compliant and conscientious attitude of our population.

Now as next Monday looms ahead and newly regained freedoms can be enjoyed, it is important for some clowns amongst us to remember :

Let's enjoy our freedom, but let's not push our luck...

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

SUMMER IN ST KILDA

St Kilda is a Melbourne bayside suburb situated on one of the most picturesque points of Port Phillip Bay, only 6 km South of the City. It has safe sandy beaches, a lively nightlife, many attractions and some very pleasant streetscapes. Add to that the Luna Park, several large entertainment venues and some wonderful restaurants and cafés. However, for decades St Kilda was shunned by Melburnians because it was the haunt of prostitutes and druggies. It wasn't always like that...

Back in the first half of the 20th century, St Kilda was one of the most fashionable suburbs of Melbourne with grand homes and grand people. Today, it is enjoying a resurgence. The prostitutes and druggies have largely been pushed out by rapidly rising real estate prices and St Kilda is fast returning to its heyday glory. It is now one of the main tourist destinations and is renowned for its picturesque bayside setting, close proximity to the city, beaches, music venues, restaurants and café lifestyle. St Kilda is also the home of the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

LUNA PARK, MELBOURNE

Melbourne's Luna Park is a historic amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda, Victoria, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It opened on 13 December 1912 and has been operating almost continuously ever since. This was the first of the four Luna Parks that were built in Australia, of which only Melbourne and Luna Park Sydney are still operating. The other two, now defunct, Luna Parks were at Glenelg in South Australia (1930–1934) and at Redcliffe in Queensland (1944–1966).

The St Kilda park was developed by American showman J D Williams, in company with the three Phillips brothers (reputedly from Seattle), who had all had experience in the amusement and cinema industry in the US. Their Chief Engineer and main designer was Englishman T H Eslick, who, according to the opening day brochure, had worked on numerous parks around the world. Williams returned to the US in 1913 to help found First National Films which subsequently became Warner Brothers. The Phillips brothers stayed on and ran the park until their deaths in the 1950s.

A fire in 1981 destroyed the Giggle Palace, and in the same year the River Caves were declared unsafe, and demolished. In 1989 the Big Dipper was demolished in anticipation of a new large roller coaster which never eventuated. The main historic features of the park to remain include the iconic "Mr Moon" face entry and flanking towers (1912, restored 1999), the Scenic Railway (1912) which is the oldest continuously-operating roller coaster in the world, and the carousel (1913 restored 2000). Other historic attractions include the Ghost Train (1934), and the fairytale castle-style Dodgem's Building constructed to house the newly patented ride in 1927 (the ride itself was relocated from the first floor of this building to the ground level in the late 1990s). The park also includes many modern attractions such as the Metropolis roller-coaster, the Spider, a Ferris wheel, and other mechanical thrill-rides. The park remains popular with children and their parents who have fond memories of the park from their youth. Extensive parks and beachfront attractions surround the Luna Park and contribute to its status as a tourist magnet.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.