Location | Geelong, Victoria, Australia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°08′46″S144°22′01″E / 38.146°S 144.367°E Coordinates: 38°08′46″S144°22′01″E / 38.146°S 144.367°E |
Opened | 1956 |
Closed | 1985 |
Operating season | All year round |
Hi-Lite Park was an amusement park in Geelong, Australia, located near Eastern Beach, on the corner of Bellarine Street and Ritchie Boulevard, where the Eastern Beach tram terminus was once situated. The park opened in 1956 and closed c. 1985. [1]
It was a very popular foreshore attraction in Geelong, comparable to Luna Park, Melbourne, but was closed to make way for the new redevelopment of the Eastern Beach precinct in the 1990s. [2]
In December 2006, a Ferris wheel, reported to be the largest non-permanent wheel in the southern hemisphere, was erected in the same area in which Hi-Lite Park once stood. The wheel had been renovated by Phoenix Fabrication & Welding of Geelong, which enlarged the gondolas. There were 36 gondolas, each with capacity to seat six people. It had a 50-metre peak clearance and each ride was 10–12 minutes in duration.
It was imported by the Verfurth family, who ran Hi-Lite Amusements, having also operated Hi-Lite Park under the ownership of first-generation showman Emile Francis Verfurth, who resided in Braybrook, Victoria, and evidently moved his carnival to various sites around Victoria. [3]
Geelong is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay and the left bank of Barwon River, about 65 km (40 mi) southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria.
The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed 240-kilometre (150 mi) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 and dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I, the road is the world's largest war memorial. Winding through varying terrain along the coast and providing access to several prominent landmarks, including the Twelve Apostles limestone stack formations, the road is an important tourist attraction in the region. In December 2020, legislation went into effect to legally protect the Great Ocean Road – called the “Great Ocean Road Environs Protection Act 2020”.
Port Phillip or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is completely surrounded by localities of Victoria's two largest cities — metropolitan Greater Melbourne in the bay's main eastern portion north of the Mornington Peninsula, and the city of Greater Geelong in the much smaller western portion north of the Bellarine Peninsula. Geographically, the bay covers 1,930 km2 (750 sq mi) and the shore stretches roughly 264 km (164 mi), with the volume of water around 25 km3 (6.0 cu mi). Most of the bay is navigable, although it is extremely shallow for its size — the deepest portion is only 24 m (79 ft) and half the bay is shallower than 8 m (26 ft). Its waters and coast are home to seals, whales, dolphins, corals and many kinds of seabirds and migratory waders.
St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. St Kilda recorded a population of 19,490 at the 2021 census.
Torquay is a seaside resort in Victoria, Australia, which faces Bass Strait, 21 km south of Geelong and is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road. It is bordered on the west by Spring Creek and its coastal features include Point Danger and Zeally Bay. At the 2021 census, Torquay had a population of 18,534.
Waurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
Lara is a town in Victoria, 18 km north-east of the Geelong CBD, inland from the Princes Freeway to Melbourne. Its population at the 2016 census was 16,355.
Portarlington is a historic coastal township located on the Bellarine Peninsula, 28 km from the city of Geelong, in the state of Victoria, Australia. It has a diverse population which includes a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, a high proportion of retirees, and a large seasonal holiday influx. The gently rising hills behind the town feature vineyards and olive groves, and offer spectacular panoramic views across Port Phillip Bay. Portarlington is a popular family holiday destination and a centre of fishing and aquaculture (mussels). At one time the town claimed the largest Caravan Park in the Southern Hemisphere, although the size has reduced considerably in recent decades. With direct ferry links to the city of Melbourne Portarlington also serves as a gateway to the historic towns and surf beaches of the Bellarine Peninsula.
Luna Park Melbourne is a historic amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. It opened on 13 December 1912, with a formal opening a week later, and has been operating almost continuously ever since.
Tourism in Melbourne is a significant industry in the state of Victoria, Australia. The country's second most-populous city, Melbourne was visited by 2.7 million international overnight visitors and 9.3 million domestic overnight visitors during the year ending December 2017.
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state, with a land area of 227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state, with a population of over 6.6 million; and the most densely populated state in Australia. Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west, and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south, the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid north-west.
The Enterprise is an amusement ride, manufactured primarily by HUSS Park Attractions and Anton Schwarzkopf beginning in 1972. The HUSS ride was an adaptation and improvement of a design produced earlier that year by Schwarzkopf, with an increased passenger capacity. Despite not owning the original incarnation of the ride, HUSS was issued the patent.
Caribbean Gardens was a 100-acre (40 ha) market, gardens and amusement park located in the outer eastern suburb of Scoresby in Melbourne, Australia, on the north/west side of Caribbean Lake, a large 1.2 km (0.75 mi)-long artificial lake along the northern (right) bank of Corhanwarrabul Creek, a major tributary of Dandenong Creek.
Breamlea, Victoria, Australia, is a secluded seaside hamlet located on the south coast of the Bellarine Peninsula, 18 kilometres south of Geelong, and halfway between Barwon Heads and Torquay. It is divided between the City of Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast Shire. In the 2016 census, Breamlea had a permanent population of 162.
The earliest trams in Australia operated in the latter decades of the 19th century, hauled by horses or "steam tram motors". At the turn of the 20th century, propulsion almost universally turned to electrification, although cable trams lingered in Melbourne. In cities and towns that had trams, they were a major part of public transport assets.
The city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia, operated an extensive tramway system from 1912 until 1956, when the service was replaced by buses. Unlike Victoria's other major regional cities, Ballarat and Bendigo, which have kept some track and trams as tourist attractions, no trams or tracks remain in Geelong.
Wongarra is a coastal locality in the Shire of Colac Otway, Victoria, Australia. In the 2016 census, Wongarra had a population of 37.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Victoria 2026, is a multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth scheduled to take place across four regional sites in the Australian state of Victoria: Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland. The opening ceremonies will be held in the state capital Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the closing ceremonies will be held at the Kardinia Park in Geelong. In a departure from previous Commonwealth Games, the event will not be held in one major city but will be hosted by the state and held across a number of regional cities outside the capital. The Games will take place over twelve days between 17 and 29 March 2026.