Intro

I moved the topic of today’s episode from my master list of parks to my short list based on the name. Just a silly, wacky name, and I expected grand things from it. What I learned once I began my research is that the story of Wobbies World is perhaps a story of misconceptions – where expectations do not meet up with the reality. 

As I welcome you to the new year and back from the holiday season, I invite you down under. It’s time to go back down to Australia and see what’s happening on that massive country continent. 

Well, what’s happening in 2020 is a massive series of wildfires, abnormally extreme due to the ongoing climate change crisis. For now, let’s dial the clock backwards to the sometimes comparatively blissful 1980s. Broadly speaking, the social revolution of the 70s gave way to the economic revolution of the 80s.

The 1970s and 1980s saw the development of a number of major and minor theme parks throughout Australia.

Today’s topic is not the biggest of these theme parks and not the best of these theme parks. It’s unclear if it was the smallest, but it’s certainly remembered online with quite a bit of notoriety. Everything about this park was a lot grander in advertisement and memory than reality. 

Today: Wobbies World.

Wobbies World

Wobbies World opened around 1978 in a Melbourne suburb called Vermont South. The land in this area had predominantly been orchards, specifically apple orchards, until the 50s or the 60s. At this point, demand for housing in the Melbourne area was growing, and the orchards began to be subdivided. The 1966 acquisition of a large block of orchards is considered the start of the acquisition by the local government, Nunawading Council. 

(This begins the start of the delightfully fun names, at least to American ears, which my statistics tell me most of you listening are. For all that Australia speaks English, the odd place names and baffling slang definitely provide a little bit of a language barrier. And even though I know that intellectually, it’s still surprising and amusing when I come across it out of the blue. It makes me happy!)

With the rise of the suburbs, there was a boom in the development of theme parks in Australia, ranging from small to large parks across the country. 

Wobbies World was on the smaller side, as I said earlier.  

From the beginning, the park advertised itself to local and not-so-local kids TV, with well-edited footage promoting the thrills of the park. A near-universal remembrance of the park is its TV commercials, which reportedly played “often” or “incessantly”, depending on your perspective. (Several of them can be found on YouTube, and linked through the shownotes, of course.) People who were children at the time remember the FOMO feeling of seeing the commercials and then hearing mom and dad say no. But ultimately, the park was very good at promotion, as we’ll see, and the actual experience was often more of a letdown.

What’s a Wobbie?

The first question you might wonder about is what’s a wobbie? Is it a person? Is it a thing? 

Google unfortunately did not answer this question for me. The majority of people discussing the question out there are confused. It turns out, no one knows. There’s no real definition for the word. There is a book series out there (“The Wobbies and the Caterpillar”). Meant for children, it shows Wobbies as miniature blue fox-like creatures. A 1946 short story in the Sydney Morning Herald tells the tale of Wobby the Whale. There’s a modern guy named Mike Wobschall, nickname Wobby, a major talking head for the Minnesota Vikings who recently quit or was fired from that role. The American Agriculturist Cyclopedia of Natural History from 1887 described “red-throated diver” birds as “wobbies”. One single reference used it colloquially to mean “shark”. But that’s about it, and that’s not a lot of results.

Google also suggests “woobie” in the search, which, while an unlikely option, does have an interesting history. Did you know that a woobie is colloquially a child’s lovey, and that this became the name of a popular item of military kit? Technically called the “liner, wet weather, poncho”, this item was originally produced in the 60s in the Vietnam War. Troops fighting in the jungle needed a lightweight poncho to serve the dual purpose of both rain protection and warmth. The poncho and liner were originally crafted from leftover camouflaged parachute material all the way from World War II, or so the story goes. This poncho was so beloved by the troops and so synonymous with comfort that it began to be called a “woobie”. Today, if you search for the term “woobie”, the dominant result is for this poncho. In a writeup on the US Armed Forces focused website, “Task and Purpose,” they described the woobie thusly: “Simply put, it is the greatest thing to ever be issued by the U.S. military.“

Ultimately, none of these possible meanings for the word appear to have anything to do with the theme park, leaving an open mystery for now. 

What Was Wobbies World?

Back to Wobbies World, then. Wobbies, spelled without any apostrophe as far as I’ve seen in my research. There was a “Mr. Wobbie” used as a mascot to promote the theme park in shopping malls, but the internet holds no details about what or whom he was. My suspicion is that he essentially looked like the Saggy Baggy Elephant based on some abandoned photos, but there’s no confirmation of this.

The park is said to have opened in or around 1980 on seven acres of land off Springvale Road in Nunawading. (The real opening year may have been 1978, based on a line item in the official “Survey of Post-War Built Heritage in Victoria” done by Heritage Victoria, the governmental heritage department. 1978 was also the year the park began acquiring vehicles. At least one internet commenter specifically notes a visit to the park in 1979, as well.) It was a place geared towards younger children and particularly those interested in vehicles and moving attractions. The owner was a man by the name of Robin Laurie, and he owned the theme park (or “children’s playground” in Australian) for most of the park’s operation. He’s remembered online as being a nice guy and good to work for, at least at first. 

Wobbies World was memorable for its handmade and unique, vintage rides, in particular. The aesthetic wasn’t much: “this place looks like it’s from the 1930s” is a quote from a visitor videotaping the park during its operating years. Overall, the theming was perhaps “transportation”, if anything at all. Here’s an album of photos in operation and a second album of photos. Kids remember the park for mailing free park vouchers on your birthday – quite the highlight to get a birthday card from a theme park as an under-10 year old, if I’m being honest. I like this policy!

Attractions at Wobbies World

Vickers Viscount

Perhaps the attraction with the longest history at Wobbies World was the big old Vickers Viscount airplane sitting with a staircase, waiting for guests to walk through it. It perhaps was not incredibly interesting for small children at a theme park, but had a deep history.

The Viscount, as a general model of plane, was one of the first turboprop planes. This plane was revolutionary for introducing a new type of engine, the turboprop engine: a jet engine with a propeller on the front, and incredibly fuel efficient. The engine it replaced was a piston-driven engine. 

Designed by a man called George Edwards, it was originally called “Viceroy” after the viceroy of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten. After India’s independence in 1947, the plane was renamed Viscount as it began production. The first aircraft entered service in 1950, a British plane. A comment from 1953 described the play as “an excellent shorthaul airplane and a definite crowd pleaser”. It was known for the smooth flight, lack of turbulence, and higher flying altitudes.  In Australia, the Viscounts were widely used by Australian airline companies, as replacements for the piston-powered planes favored a generation earlier. 

This specific Viscount was built in 1958. It was built for the Cuban state airline Cubana, registered as CU-T622 and CU-N622. Rumor says it served as the personal transport for Fidel Castro for some time. By 1961, after only a few years in service, it was seized for non-payment of debts and cannabalized for spare parts for other planes. The plane was intended to be sold until Cubana to South Africa Airways, but this deal never went through. Instead, the planes was eventually sold to Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) with the tailnumber VH-TVR in 1962. She was named as “John Murray”.

There is some discussion on Facebook posts that TVR was involved in an incident where a catering truck ran straight into the wing, damaging the plane. The March 2015 issues of the TAA Museum newsletter describes the incident as a forklift, and not a catering truck, running into the plane just after it had been completely rehauled to new condition. This was during the time when the Viscount was being retired, so spare parts were at a premium, having to come all the way from England. In a pinch, the wing from sister plan VH-TVP was removed and attached to TVR to allow the plane to continue to fly.

After a few years flying in Australia, VH-TVR was retired from service in April of 1970. 

In June of 1970, it’s said that the personal intervention of TAA’s chairman, Sir Frederick Scherger, saved TVR John Murray from being destroyed as a fire training aid. 

Instead, she was donated to the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group at Moorabbin,, but space considerations meant that she had to take a substantial detour first. Reportedly she languished in the Essendon graveyard for several years after the airplane wing incident.

In October 1978, she was delivered in a basic paint scheme with the name “Wobbies Airlines” to what the Vickers Viscount plane book describes as “a children’s playground”. Yes, our plane friend with that long history was now solely an exhibit for mildly interested children to tromp through. Well, tromp through isn’t quite fair. Apparently you got to pay an extra $0.50 in 1991 dollars to sit through a 25 minute video of a plane taking off and landing at Melbourne airport. (Walkthrough of the plane in its current incarnation at the Moorabbin Museum.) When they weren’t experiencing the other rides at Wobbies World, that is.

Rides at Wobbies World

A commenter online states “A place more schizophrenic between ‘awesome’ and ‘■■■■■■ awful’ than Wobbies World I have never seen.” 

Wob Cats

One of the attractions generally considered awesome were the real vehicles, like a real construction vehicle (a Fiat 4S1C Diesel Bull Dozer) and a real tractor (Kubota L246 Diesel Tractor) and a real Bren Gun Carrier from World War II that kids could drive. Collectively, they appear to have been called the Wob Cats.

Quote from an online commenter: “I was 12 and I was DRIVING A REAL TANK.  Talk about the best thing ever.”

http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20487 The tank (the gun carrier) had no actual guns on it, but the ride line was reportedly always long, indicative of its popularity. Children were able to drive an actual tank and get a token for their troubles. Imagine! Or a real tractor, or a real bulldozer – can you imagine the chance to do that as a child? The latter were rigged to a power grid like a supercharged bumper car in later years, and only those over the age limit could take their turn to drive the vehicles in jumpy mechanized circles across muddy ground. 

There were other rides too. Nothing was a “standard” theme park ride – everything had the aura of the custom and homemade. Take the entrance, for instance. By some bizarre reason, the entrance and offices were inside a boxy bulky castle facade. The park’s nominal theme could best be said to be transportation, so it’s unclear what “theme” this castle was intending to tie into. 

Carousel (Wobbies Whirls?)

A six-person swan shaped carousel (an extra $0.50 per ride in 1991) sat at the park, by all accounts appearing to be home brewed in most ways, as the swans were simply two plywood swan-shaped cutouts bracketing a basic seat. In one of the videos of the park in operation, we get a good view of this ride, with one single child glumly going round, mum chivvying them to smile and wave, trying to induce some excitement into the scene. The carousel appeared to operate at about the speed of your average airline luggage carousel. 

In the March 1992 issue of “The Fare Box” (which is a monthly newsletter for transportation token collectors) there is a description of “a beautiful ride token” which appears to have been for the swan merry-go-round (labeled carousel) –  “I’ve never heard of Nunawading before, so I guess it’s some sort of theme park with rides”. Very inspirational.

Wobbies Wheels

There was some sort of amphibious ATV type ride, bright red cars, called “Wobbies Wheels”. These were actually Sierra Trailboss vehicles, six-wheeled ATV type cars circa 1970. They went along a three rail track through the woods. There’s some debate online as to whether the cars were powered by motor or by the track it ran on; in my opinion, a motor seems most likely based on the other Sierra Trailboss vehicles out there, but this is only a guess. (Here’s a photo of the cars in action during the park’s operation.)

The ATV ride provided minor thrills like small puddles and a fake crocodile popping out at unsuspecting guests. These ATVs (and according to some commenters, all rides at Wobbies World) did not have any emergency stop zones – it was apparently solely up to the operator’s discretion to decide when each car should be released from the station. Clearly, this is not a situation that would fit with more modern standards of health and safety.

Splash Down

In the later years, in 1994, roughly $40,000 was spent to add a ride called “Splash Down”. This ride barely seems worthy of the classification of “ride”. It was literally just a small red boat with stick-on “Wobbies World” letters on the side. The boat was winched up maybe 7-10 feet on an incline and then splashed down in a small pool of water, coming to a stop almost as soon as the splash occurred. (It can be seen in this circa 1998 promo video: https://youtu.be/tQCkWIfaHAY?t=4) This appears to be the “log ride” that some refer to when describing the park. General opinion on the internet is that this ride was underwhelming, to say the least, with only a few former visitors exclaiming happily over this as their favorite ride. 

Fire Trucks, Mini Golf, and Other Rides

There was a vintage Dennis fire truck, and also a fire truck “ride” which ran on a small central rail track. It seems that there was a mannequin “firefighter” who sprayed the car as it went by at one point, and everyone who rode got firefighter hats to wear. The online commentary does seem to find this ride memorable, despite how basic it seems in the description. Perhaps it was the plastic hat.

Of course there were other rides. One was a vintage hand pump car on a small circuit (reportedly requiring much effort to operate) called the Push Pull Railway (an additional $0.25 in 1991). There a basic kids playground setup with several slides and sense-confusing spinning tunnels and a rope swing and a swinging rope bridge and a flying fox (that’s the name for the thing that’s essentially a heavy duty zipline). There was a ball pit of bright colorful plastic balls (reportedly 18,000 of them). There were large trampolines with injury-awaiting exposed springs. 

There was a mini golf course of no particular special theming – just basic blue surfaces surrounded by concrete gutters. But hey, mini-golf was an extra $1 per 18 holes. Apparently the final hole, #18, had a large rock wall or mountain facade of some sort, where a hole-in-one would earn you a free game.

Trams and Trains at Wobbies World

And there were several trams (which are sort of like trolleys to an American audience, and not my initial interpretation from the video of “train”) – actual commuter trams, formerly serving the Melbourne area. (In a minor tangent, I found it interesting in my research how trams are a huge form of public transportation in Melbourne, and that they have by at least once source the largest urban tram network in the world. Obviously given my accent, I’m an American living in this vast wasteland of terrible public transportation that is the majority of our nation, and I’m envious.) 

Briefly, trams in Melbourne have operated since 1885; electric trams operated irregularly beginning in 1889, and have been operating continuously for more than a century, since 1906. Where other cities shuttered their networks, Melbourne’s stayed in operation: factors included wide streets and gridded geometry of the city; union resistance; and successful argument from the MMTB chairman that it would’ve been prohibitively expensive to rip up the tracks in the streets. The tram network has expanded several times over the years, and today, trams form much of Melbourne’s character and occupy a large part of general tourism and travel advertising. 

The backbone of the Melbourne tram fleet between 1940 and 1969 was the W2 class, a model of electric tram introduced in 1927. More modern, wider trams began to replace the W2 series, with the final W2 being taken out of service in 1987. What’s fantastic is that the government maintains public records of each tram and where it went after it was sold from service.

As Wobbies World geared up to open, it was November of 1979 that they purchased their first W2 tram, number 302. The next spring, April 1980, they purchased another, number 283. Both of these were originally “W” models from 1924 which had been converted to W2s in the mid 1930s.

Five years later, in November of 1985, Wobbies World bought two more W2 trams: number 579 and 624, both manufactured between 1929 and 1930.

All of these W2 trams were stationary, serving as exhibits and places to have picnics, lunches, and parties. 

There was another set of trams said to have been installed in the late 80s, and these were a “ride” – a very slow-moving mechanized trip up and down a pathway. These were painted a very cheerful green and yellow, matching the paint scheme livery of their larger cousins. The miniature trams used a traverser – essentially an automated switch to move the tram from one set of tracks back to the other to allow a return trip. These trams had names after local suburbs: Vermont, Burwood, Nunawading, Forest Hill.

A Flickr album also notes a few other pieces of rolling stock set up together, originally having been displayed with the J550 locomotive at Mirboo North station. According to one commenter on railpage.com.au, they were called “The Crumpet Train” when they were at Wobbies World. One was a “BPL 59” painted pale blue (this was a “bouncing passenger lounge” or carriage); and a “ZL 539” (or perhaps 536?) painted bright red (wooden frame, built towards the end of the 1920s). The “Z van”, I learned, is what’s called a “guard’s van”, or a brake car, akin to a North American caboose, albeit with a different look. Originally, the only brakes on the train were in the loco and in the brake van, not continuously on every car, so you might see the importance of the guard’s van. As continuous brakes began to be implemented, the guard’s van fell out of use. 

Traverser miniature tram images: image one, image two, image three.

Helicopter Rides at Wobbies World

There were two other big rides at Wobbies World, though, and both involved helicopters. 

Bell 47J at Wobbies World

The first was the big Bell 47J helicopter, perched on a large piece of machinery in the middle of a field. Formerly registered as VH-INE, this Bell 47J with serial number 1772 once operated for Airfast and Ansett-ANA Airlines in the 1960s. The copter was said to be one of those used during the search when former Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt went missing in 1967. 

(Here are links to images of the helicopter in operation and sitting in the paddock post-Wobbies World; and a nice image from the National Library of Australia here and here and here. It was withdrawn from use in 1976, and from there made its way to Wobbies World.

It was positioned as a virtual reality simulator. For an additional $1 (in 1991 dollars) per ride, kids were able to “drive” the copter and experience what it would be like to fly one.

In reality, of course, the ride was nothing like the expectation. I suppose from a “guy builds amusement park from his workshop” sense, this ride was impressive. But compared to any actual theme park ride, it fell spectacularly short for all but the youngest riders. The copter rose up a few feet on its mechanical post and did spin in circles, but otherwise didn’t do much at all in the way of a proper simulator. Remembrances online are all about how disappointing the helicopter ride was in reality, and of guests trying to spin the copter in order to hit other guests still queuing up. Others recall simply riding the ride as an excuse to get frisky behind the blacked out front viewscreen.

Nonetheless, regardless of reality, in commercials and pictures, the big Bell helicopter cut an impressive figure. 

Whirlybird Copter Rail

The other helicopter ride featured miniature Whirlybird copters done up in primary colors, and was somewhere between a monorail and a roller coaster. From a layout and structural perspective, the ride was incredibly tame. However, given that this ride was essentially to the scale of, say, a beach ball perched on a string of yarn, the thrill came from the constant sensation that this ride was going to fall apart and kill you. Most visitors online recall this ride as quite scary.

A former visitor online sums it up, describing the ride as ancient and decrepit. The ride was said to shudder along, shedding flakes of rust. Some even described the I-beam rails as shuddering beneath the helicopter-shaped car’s weight or the entire apparatus, track and copter both, literally swaying in the wind. Quote: “the whole contraption just gave off a million-decibel ABOUT TO COLLAPSE AT ANY TIME warning.” 

The gentle turns and U-bends combined with the mild slopes to give a terrifying coaster-like ride, solely because of the wildly unsafe nature of it all. Every time a small copter took a gentle turn on the rail, the small two person capsule shuddered and wobbled, seeming to barely hang on to the rail. A 90-degree turn after a short downhill incline seems to have been the worst offender, terrifying many who rode it. Multiple reports and stories exist online of the cars stopping, tilting, dangling, or doors simply not opening, so it’s a fairly safe bet that this ride was not anywhere near modern standards of safe. One particularly vivid story described a day nearly to end of the park’s life, with a worker on a ladder, shoving at a dangling whirlybird car with a broomstick, attempting to right the car onto the track before the two screaming children inside puked or passed out. It sounded super safe.

In fact, none of the rides were close to today’s modern standards of health and safety.

Closure of Wobbies World

Wobbies World is long gone by the time I’m recording this in 2020, which I’m sure is unsurprising given what I’ve already told you about the park. One commenter online sums it up, describing their only memory of the park as the lingering sense of deep and utter disappointment.

A number of factors were involved in the closure, not the least of which were the typical: mismanagement, compliance with safety standards, and financial difficulties leading to audience decline. 

Costs

The park was said to be expensive for the time: $36 for a family of four admission in 1994 dollars, the oft-quoted number I saw. This is over $60 in today’s money. However, we could argue about the validity of that price quote. A 1991 price list I saw from a very reliable source (a legal proceeding) has adult admission at $3 and kids ages 4 and up $2, which is a very different pricing scheme. 

However, given the miniscule scope of attractions at the park, the increasingly unsafe maintenance, and the very short amount of time a person could find themselves entertained at the park, and you can see how the cost was high. Additionally, most attractions had an additional cost, as noted earlier. For instance, to walk through the Vickers Viscount, the 1982 price was an additional $0.50. (About $1.30 today.) Only the playground equipment, firetruck, vintage cars, and trampolines were “free” (included in admission price). 

Very late in the game, a “Red Baron” monorail type ride was added, featuring a single airplane on a very gentle slope. Most recollections of this ride are not particularly fond, and many describe it as “lame”.

Maintenance

Unsafe maintenance too seems to have played a large role. Urban Dictionary actually has a review or definition for the park:  “Located in the state of Victorian, Australia, Wobby’s World was a little kiddie’s theme-park hangover from the 80’s. Was run, until recently, with complete disregard for health and safety regulations: the rides were never oiled, many were structurally unsound such as the best ride there which resembled a Hills Hoist washing line, and the workers there seemed as if they either never slept, were hung-over or stoned. The last two options were definitely more likely.”

Many reviews and comments online from the latter years of the park’s history describe how poorly the park was looking – rides and attractions broken down, covered in rust, ungreased, and not working properly. The ride vehicles in general were said to all smell like sweat. Other comments talk about the overgrown landscaping, with stagnant water in the ponds and blackberry bushes overgrowing the paths. My general sense is that most people in the area found the park iconic, though often in a negative, run-down sort of way. 

One comment relates an anecdote about riding the Whirlybird monorail in the later years, with the Whirlybird tipping over on a curve and dangling from the rail; passengers reportedly had to be rescued with the help of a stepladder. Another commenter online talks about giant cracks in the minigolf course and a hedge maze that was more holes than maze. 

And of course, the park had to have broken so many health and safety laws. Or, perhaps if they didn’t actively break them, they didn’t upgrade to comply with new regulations. The rides certainly were relics from a different age, of common sense, burning hot slides, exposed machinery, and the like. 

Hand in hand with health and safety laws had to be the ever-rising cost of insurance for a park such as this, as we’ve talked about so many times. That certainly didn’t help the bottom line, especially as maintenance and advertising costs also rose, and as attendance began dropping.

Mismanagement

But the final nail in the coffin for Wobbies World was “mismanagement”. Such a small word to describe some rather large ramifications and shenanigans. 

Come the mid-to-late 90s, Wobbies World began having trouble staying in the black with the park – reduced attendance, larger spending on maintenance and advertising, and even new rides like the Red Baron airplane monorail (similar to the Whirlybird but not appearing to replace it).

In February of 1996, roughly $16,000 was spent to move the Vickers Viscount from Wobbies World back to Moorabin and the Australian National Aviation Museum (originally known as the Moorabin Air Museum). All pieces acquired by the museum are required to be directly related to Australian aviation history. And of course, as noted earlier, the Viscount was simply on loan to Wobbies World.

 Apparently there was some drama involved with the move, of which I wished I knew more details. From an account of the life of the plane, we have only this quote: “the aircraft was transported to the Moorabbin Air Museum ( a saga in itself)”. Perhaps it was simply a difficult job to get the plane out past the tight squeeze of the Whirlybird tracks and other attractions? I’ll include links to several photos of the plane on the move in the next paragraph. One comes with the caption “a sigh of relief”. 

To move the plane, the wings, engines, and nose were removed. A large crane hoisted the plane body up onto a very large flatbed truck, and from there, it presumably moved quite slowly to its new destination, some 20 km south. An album with four images of the plane being moved is located here; a different image of the plane being moved is here; another different image of the plane being moved with its faded Wobbies Airlines signage; an image of the plane being lifted off the stands at Wobbies World; the disassembled engine props. Here’s an image of the plane beginning to be reassembled at the museum.

In 1998, it still sat partially disassembled, as seen in this image linked here.

The plane still lives at the museum today, reportedly the only complete Viscount remaining in Australia. It is still on display, and is reportedly undergoing major restoration. 

But returning the Viscount to the museum in 1996 may have only hastened the public opinion issues with the park – one of the major attractions and pieces of background scenery, after all. By 1997, attendance was continuing to drop. Mr. Laurie, the owner, perhaps saw the writing on the wall, and put up the park for sale. 

By December of 1997, the sale was finalized. Laurie was no longer the owner: now, it was owned by a company called Crystal Auburn, changing hands for the tidy sum of $550,000. Remember that Australia is in the southern hemisphere – summer runs from approximately December through February – so the park was in operation at the time of the sale. 

And it seems that as they operated the park in the high season and went through the paperwork immediately following their purchase and acquisition of the park, Crystal Auburn began to smell a rat in the walls. Something wasn’t right. By March of 1998, three months after the purchase, they began seeking legal advice, and reportedly asked Laurie if he would take the park back. 

He declined.

Crystal Auburn put Wobbies World up for sale at the end of that month, March 1998, at a sum of $650,000. 

From a public perspective, the park was seeming increasingly run down, untidy, and simply not up to par. Things were dirty, rusty, moldy, mildewy, and broken. Descriptions of the park from former workers around this time paint a picture of an empty park and not much to do. Workers were primarily bored high school and university students, whiling away the days. There were said to be a bare handful of visitors on most days, with workers helping themselves to hot fries from the snack bar and passing the time with some hot book reading action (Stephen King! It was the 90s). Visitors weren’t being drawn in by the constantly running television commercials. The park had some irregular operating hours. It was circling the drain, in medical parlance. Ultimately, it was ingloriously shuttered the next year, in mid-1999, with fixtures being sold at public auction in June of 1999.

Of course, none of this tells the story of what really happened to Wobbies World.

It wouldn’t be until a series of three court cases, in 2000, 2001, and 2004, that the details came to public light. 

The problem was that the 1997 sale of Wobbies World had apparently been done under false pretenses.

(The remainder of this section is sourced from my interpretation of three court cases, linked in the shownotes. I’m not a lawyer, so I’ll apologize in advance if I’ve misinterpreted anything. Read the case for yourself here: http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCA/2004/821.html) 

So it seems when the park was put up for sale, attendance figures and a profile in a business magazine were used to promote the sale of the park, and were the basis by which Crystal Auburn chose to purchase the park. Only the problem was, it turns out that the business numbers – profits, attendance, etc, were determined to be falsified and misleading. The park’s income tax returns, even, were apparently incorrect for several years. 

Of course, this wasn’t known at the time that Crystal Auburn purchased the park in December of 1997, though they quickly seemed to be figuring it out. Wobbies World under Crystal Auburn operation reportedly had attendance numbers 60% lower than the previously provided attendance figures. It wasn’t until several months later in March of 1998 that they began to ask for legal advice, and subsequently put Wobbies World back up for sale.

In August of 1998 with no offers coming in on the sale of the park, Crystal Auburn took the advice of their lawyers, walking away from their contract, walking away from Wobbies World. Laurie and his associated companies subsequently re-occupied and re-opened the property throughout the summer of 1998-1999 (remember, southern hemisphere – what Americans would consider winter months). A major vandalism incident is reported to have occurred during this time, closing several of the rides; ultimately, this may have been the final death knell for the park and its visitors. 

By January of 1999, Laurie and his businesses had relisted Wobbies World for sale at a cost of $390,000. A buyer was found when the park land was finally auctioned in June 1999. The ad wrote: “Falling within an area zoned reserved living and in a predominantly residential district, agents believe the property is ideally suited to residential subdivision. But the site will be sold with conforming use rights, allowing an enterprising purchaser to continue to operate a theme park. McGees director Mr Richard O’Callaghan said the Wobbies World theme park commenced trading in 1980 and was a “source of joy for countless children. It would now appear that the site will be the source of much enjoyment for one successful residential developer.’ ”

A buyer was indeed found, splitting the theme park land up, so Wobbies World as it had been had to go. The park was shuttered. A public auction was set in July 199, one month later, to sell the park’s fixtures and rides. I’ll include a listing of the auction contents in the Appendix below. It’s said that Mr. Laurie himself personally bid on at least 24 different items.

By 2000, Crystal Auburn filed a legal proceeding against Laurie and his associated companies, seeking damages under the claim that Laurie’s companies had misrepresented Wobbies World when selling it. It took three cases and four more years before everything was settled. Ultimately, the courts came to a decision: apparently Laurie’s companies had knowingly misled, deceived, and mismanaged the sale of Wobbies World by falsifying data that led to Crystal Auburn’s purchase of the park. Crystal Auburn was awarded damages to the tune of almost $1 million dollars.  Again, I recommend reading the original case, linked here.

After Wobbies World

The land that was formerly Wobbies World, there on Springvale Road in Nunawading or Vermont South or Forest Hill, whichever Melbourne suburb you’d like to place it in, was split up after the theme park shuttered in 1999.

Half of the land was sold to property developers, and became just your average basic housing tract. The other half stayed nearly as it was, and this was the half with the “castle”. The castle, in fact, was one of the longest-lasting parts of Wobbies World, as this half of the theme park became….a garden center. A plant nursery! In fact, there’s an indication that for a period of time, the castle was considered a heritage site, though this is only an educated guess.

The name was “The Park Nursery and Pool Center” – after a few weeks of research with this name kicking around in my head, I’ve decided that perhaps it wasn’t as generic as it sounds – do you think “The Park” was a subtle Wobbies World reference, as in “theme park”? Maybe.

Anyhow, the garden center stayed there for several years after Wobbies World was broken up. A few internet commenters say the original owner and/or his companies remained the owner of this garden center, though this isn’t clear or well-sourced in the slightest. A surprising amount of the physical infrastructure from Wobbies World remained – posts, the snack building, the mini-golf setup, and of course, the castle. Google Earth extends back this far, and shows that pots and plants are simply organized in neat rows over much of where the parking lot used to be. For a time, it looked quite nice (thanks, Google street view).

Everything stayed for years, because I suppose if there’s one thing Australia has a ton of, it’s land. But finally, a sign went up indicating a new purpose for the site, and in September of 2012, it was announced that the Forest Hill police station was to be built there. The garden center closed, and the property began to be the target for graffiti artists, as seen in this album of gorgeous abandoned images of Wobbies World. An October 2013 Google street view shows the shuttered, graffiti’d former castle.

A few accounts exist online about explorations of the park at this stage, and even a short video round about the demolition timeframe. There are few images available of the abandoned property since most of the interesting items (the rides) were sold fairly quickly. One shows a dingy, decrepit section of the mini-golf course blue AstroTurf obscured by debris, while another shows folks looking at an original Wobbies World sign that had fallen in the grass. A sad, misshapen elephant (possibly Mr. Wobbie himself) perched on a ball remained as a peeling mural on the wall of a building (apparently the former “birthday hut”). What little infrastructure that had been left was in a sorry state: rotting wooden bridges and walkways, rusting metal, massive overgrowth of blackberries and other flora, muddy mucky pools of water.

Between January 30th and February 27th of 2014, the castle building was demolished. The ceremonial first shovelful of dirt was dug February 12, 2014. The $12 million Forest Hill Police Station went up in its place, opening in March of 2015 all shiny and gleaming and modern, but the outbuildings and the back quarter of the park remained in their decaying glory, until the entire site was finally demo’d in July or August of 2016.

Wobbies World in Culture Today

That was the end of Wobbies World as anything resembling a physical site, but the park remains to this day as a concept in Australian cultural parlance.

Back in the 90s, it was the height of the late-night sketch comedy show. One of these was the short-lived but well-remembered show, aptly named “The Late Show”. Based out of Melbourne, this was a show appearing to be similar to America’s MADtv or Canada’s The Red Green Show. One of the recurring segments on the show was “Pissweak World”, where fake commercials were shown promoting a theme park called Pissweak World. Video showed bored-looking children (known as The Pissweak Kids) experiencing disappointing rides at a terrible “theme park”. Voiceover provided exuberant commentary about the terrible-looking rides and attractions: “travel on a real golf buggy”, “roll down a slope”, etc. The exciting-sounding descriptions were obvious send-ups: for instance, the voice-over of “ride a bucking bronco” showed a child sitting calmly on the back of a golden retriever, Marine World was a swimming pool, and one of the Air World rides involved wearing ski goggles in front of a small fan. Ultimately, there were seven Pissweak World episode segments: Pissweak World, Pissweak Colonial World (also known as Ye Olde Pissweak Worlde), Pissweak World Fun Park, Pissweak Western World, Pissweak Marine World, Pissweak Movie World, and Pissweak Air World. (Here’s a playlist of the Pissweak World segments, linked here!)

(And in a brief sidebar, the voiceover narration was provided by one Tony Martin, who today has his own podcast, Sizzletown, among other things.)

It’s generally accepted that this segment for the worst theme park ever was directly inspired by and parodying Wobbies World in particular. Depending on your point of view, it’s a direct example of how influential, inspiring, uninspiring, or unexceptional Wobbies World actually was. Today, Pissweak World is perhaps even more well-known or commonly referenced than Wobbies World, evidenced by its regular use on Twitter and other social media sites.

The park also reportedly was immortalized in an episode of the Aussie TV show Prisoner. If anyone has any leads on which ep (there are 692!), I’d love to know! 

And of course, Wobbies World remains a talking point in discussions today, including political debate. From online notes, we find at least two references to Wobbies World: April 2016 comments by the Premier Andrews to the opposition leader during legislative assembly: “The Leader of the Opposition ought to get down to Wobbies World because he might have the numbers there. He should not waste his time on me; he might have the numbers down at Wobbies World. They might need a leader down there — he will be unopposed.” And Parliament of Victoria Legislative Council, Mr. Leane, April 2013: “I am glad I have parliamentary privilege because Wobbies World was probably the worst amusement park you could ever imagine in your lifetime. Sorry, Mr Wobbie, but it was pretty ordinary.”

And on YouTube, in addition to all the vintage commercials, don’t sleep on the “Jurassic Wobbies World compilation.

Wobbies World: the Physical Remnants

Of course, physical remnants of Wobbies World still remain, even with the park long-shuttered and the castle demolished.

The miniature trams remained onsite for some time – one commenter online posted a picture of them said to be circa 2005, still in their former storage shed, now much overgrown and dirty. At least one of these mini-trams was sold at auction, and the remainder are said to have been gifted by the former owners to the same person who now owns the iconic Bell 47J helicopter, on a farm near “Frankston-Dandy” road. 

The copter sits in the front paddock next to a busy road, delightfully visible to all traffic passing by. According to an online comment, the local council fought the owners about it for several years after they’d purchased it at the Wobbies World auction, but finally settled. Reportedly the copter is unlikely to fly again, missing the motor and gearbox – an expensive proposition to get it in flight-worthy condition. Today, the copter’s paint is peeling and there have unfortunately been some vandalism incidents. However, it remains safe from the scrap heap, and a reminder of good times gone by for the regular traffic on the busy Frankston-Dandy road. Link to Google map view of the helicopter here.

Another copter, one of the Whirlybird monorail cars, is also visible at a house on the road to Healesville Animal Sanctuary. Link to the Google map view of the helicopter in Healesville.

The W2-class trams are all now said to be in the hands of private collectors or restoration enthusiasts. And as recently as 2018, the 6-wheel Sierra Trailboss “Wobbies Wheels” ATV cars could be found for sale up on Facebook Marketplace. Little bits of this decades-gone theme park still remain, and there’s something infinitely charming and melancholic about that. What remains when we’re gone into obsolescence, and what meaning is left for those looking back?

Conclusions

 “It’s great at Wobbies World!” 

I can’t close out this episode without bringing the discussion back around to the wildfires raging in Australia right now. Half a billion animals are dead, millions of acres have been destroyed. It’s bonkers. 

Climate change is real and causing massive, problematic weather, amongst other things. You can combat this. You can make small changes like reducing your car and airplane usage, eating less or no meat, supporting policies that control and reduce large companies’ emissions, and by talking about climate change to others. Climate change is relevant to us all, even if you’d rather be talking about defunct theme parks. 

For many, Wobbies World remains a place of good memories, especially for those who visited at a very young age or with young kids. It was a place for birthday and holiday parties, and a place for the young at heart who wouldn’t necessarily see the flaws. For the older folks, it seems as though Wobbies World was more mixed – everyone seems to remember the constantly-running TV commercials and the iconic sights of the park as they drove by, but the general sentiment was of misconception, disappointment, and a fairly sad theme park experience. “I think the ad was more enjoyable than the real thing.” and “So bad, it was good” and “the worst theme park ever, which was what made it great.” No matter what, Wobbies World was memorable. And it inspired the parody “Pissweak World”, a concept which I might be incorporating into my own vocabulary. 

And you know, for all that I said at the beginning that this park was about misconceptions, Wobbies World was actually a whole lot of fun to research. I think given the right frame of mind, or the right age, it would’ve been a fun place to visit, too. Even if it was really a bit of Pissweak World underneath.

“At Wobbies World, there’s heaps to do / bring your friends, and Mum too / visit the castle, or fly in the sky / Wobbies World has lots of rides: helicopters, fire engines, trams, and slides.”

Appendix: Auction Listings for Wobbies World

These lists are taken from the 2004 legal case regarding Wobbies World, and are presented here to help the interested understand the types of rides and equipment which used to be at the park.

References

1. Trams Downunder. https://tdu.to/m/242547/wobbies-world-vic. Accessed December 17, 2019.
2. Trams Downunder. https://tdu.to/33738.msg. Accessed January 3, 2020.
3. Trams Downunder. https://tdu.to/m/242547/wobbies-world-vic?insearch=1. Accessed January 3, 2020.
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6. Laves YM Laves – Guess who went to Wobbies World today!!!! Woo Hoo! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1542542755963550&set=bc.AbrLFoGZqfxbigqBAu92kjcX6MR1tJX-rIvBEPbXmVArPSyH-gIYpdkxNlSrrfHUGQ5lTdd5ChVGEt5Dy6n9f7-yCM8EXgWI9IO_GWdiE57DYfMUpQVJvXe9xAv1Jxfh_JNsCsHpmQNIjcp9lzWAsctW&type=1&opaqueCursor=AbpYvcsl2f3VY85aNcpBGAvNhy_-eRh4U0HIg6eo8JeBgPCNoHf_zQU5S5OF500e6f7fo2IZk4D0stzxJGJQz94N0DwUe31qZEHa3haSkjVwUb8X0HANk3_o2u_O43-K1hc7jcaMmrlqLTkPUE6aVKbwjvPjGhr8vQUrwBmNnh-ZPJd0vlT4onVDq6KAkS6x7hyXg3TiUU17q1p0x-GIVdMHbvpW3V2byPVTSt_-tQpaxwopH1tisXCA7UdqZFIbCYvlo_RIQUjxb5ZxnuNwbNAl6-kSV9n9Dv_t0n1ZDdQVkiSWuWLA7HPzGoaWmYyq-wTCFOQaMo7XILuM0SJj49GuvBCeG5y7inHWjlb5f6gTKRHnmil60i9uYeD1O_sFC5IkQnAe0k5gxJ0cZmzHaYrwjU7L50JEHXIKt43SpI-9FPaknzhIu5S-E2dbbhqYv3WYawqCDeFzZwq5TrN2nQYzagKH0j3rUh68F7JrZY-QaA&theater. Accessed December 31, 2019.
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17. Check out this vintage ad for Wobbies World. https://www.timeout.com/melbourne/blog/check-out-this-vintage-ad-for-wobbies-world-041516. Accessed December 18, 2019.
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The post Wobbies World appeared first on The Abandoned Carousel.

This was first written for The Abandoned Carousel podcast, which you can listen to or watch. Or, read on below.

Origins of the Abandoned Planes

Gigi Stecca reportedly spent years managing nursing homes in Venice. His time brought him into conversation with many elderly Italians who wistfully gazed at the skies, and who expressed the desire to board such airplanes. The story goes that he decided to make a place where anyone could see the inside of a plane if they so chose. But given that this is a story to be covered on The Abandoned Carousel, we can be sure it wasn’t just any regular type of place. 

Stecca purchased two airplanes from a private collector, and at considerable expense, had them disassembled and moved to a place near Venice. In the quiet town of Villamarzana, at the site of a former convent, he had the airplanes reassembled. 

One was a Douglas DC-6 airplane; this model is notable for serving as Air Force One for Truman and JFK. The other was a Tupolev TU-134-A, a Soviet model. 

Reportedly, Stecca was quite proud of his purchases, as one of these planes had been Italian president Leone’s personal aircraft for a time. The DC-6 was apparently used as a disco for some time in the 1980s, prior to coming to Villamarzana. The Tupolev has the operating number OK-CFE. 

Michelangelo da Vinci

Stecca didn’t want a simple airplane museum or airplane graveyard, though, which are fascinated and can be found all over the world. No, he wanted more than that.

He had the planes “parked” almost nose to nose at a roughly 90 degree angle. 

And then he built a “control tower” between them. 

Then he built a swimming pool underneath the wings.

And this was all part of a complex containing a former convent and church.

Did I mention that there’s a helicopter, too?

It was named Michelangelo da Vinci.

Glory Days for Michelangelo da Vinci

Stecca had students from the school of art in Venice decorate the gardens and the interior of the buildings. The theme was “Renaissance”. There were statues and sculptures and frescoes in every corner of the outdoor gardens, incongruous next to these shiny airplanes. 

Oh, and the helicopter, the Agusta AB 47J-3 Super Ranger, shiny and red, parked on some fake aquaducts behind the planes. This helicopter was built in 1962 and served as part of Italy’s National Fire Corps until 1984. 

And inside, massively oversized versions and cheap imitations of classics: The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa, the head of David. They all sat amongst the stately remains of the convent, with its beautiful architecture and grand central area. The former organ served as part of the inside bar.

Dining at Michelangelo da Vinci

Michaelangelo da Vinci opened as a restaurant in fall of 2000, offering guests delicious pizza and excellent beer, as well as the opportunity for a unique dining venue. 

Initially, guests could dine inside the two planes (the kitchen was the fake control tower). However, this apparently changed within the first few years. Reportedly, the concept of dining inside the planes was better than reality. Fitting four-person tables in the narrow planes was difficult. In addition, carrying the food up and down the narrow stairs was not easy. Reports online from 2010 say that even then, the interiors had been closed for several years.

Guests could dine inside the main buildings, however, apparently even able to eat sitting inside a confessional cabinet. 

TripAdvisor reviews generally paint the food and drink as excellent, although there are mixed opinions on the service. And apparently the place held a few private events, with ambitions to become a nightclub at one point.

You might be asking yourself why, if this place had such a unique theme and pretty good food, why we’re talking about it on TAC. 

Legal Troubles for Michelangelo da Vinci

Locals, in various online discussions, sing a common refrain: that the restaurant was built in the wrong area, and that the location is not a place where one would profit. Too far from city centers, they say. Management costs for the large size of the property also didn’t help. And as online reviews make clear, the quality of the food started out excellent and then declined as the money problems began.  

In addition, there were troubles with the local government. Apparently only three months after the restaurant opened, the municipality of Villamarzana fined Stecca’s company, citing “mega-building abuse”. There’s a bit lost in translation here, as this sounds quite dramatic to my American ears, but essentially, it sounds like Villamarzana didn’t like Stecca’s planes parked as a commercial venture. There’s some speculation that he built the place without the proper permits, but that’s not quite clear.

Bureaucracy and the Abandoned Planes

What happened next was the slow-moving gears of bureaucracy. The municipality fined Stecca’s company to the tune of 1.3 billion lire. At that point, there began to be negotiations and appeals, with dissatisfaction between both parties. Reading between the lines, the municipality appears to have been quite displeased by the large planes parked on easy display from the road. 

Quote from a former local via Reddit: “Having lived for many years in Italy myself I know how slow the gears of bureaucracy can grind, and if the local Council have it in for you then you’re going to face years of legal wrangling and endless disputes, visits from officials, and expensive interventions from your Avvocato (Attorney). I’m not surprised the guy gave up after 14 years, he had probably had enough. Running a restaurant is hard enough on its own without the rest of that shit on top.”

Ultimately, Stecca closed the restaurant and business in 2014. The legal battles were an ultimately Pyrrhic victory: the municipality was able to collect its fines, but with the company and business shuttered, there was no one to collect the fines from. 

The Abandoned Planes

The Planes, as the site is known locally, now sit. The once-glimmering blue pool is now sludgy and green, much more menacing than originally intended.

The planes themselves are still in place and the interiors of the site appear in good repair, likely due to the security systems that multiple urban explorers have gotten themselves caught in. Minus a coat of dust, the interiors appear closed almost yesterday.

On the exterior, though, with no one to maintain them, the planes have become covered in grime and look incredibly weather-worn and sad. Streaks of green and gray obscure the formerly brilliant paint, which is starting to peel in places. 

The garden surroundings have become overgrown, and the exterior too looks weather-worn, grimy, and unhappy. 

Future of the Abandoned Planes

Several deals on the property appear to have come and gone. In 2016, it was reported that a Paduan entrepreneur had purchased the property, with the intent of reopening it as a restaurant as well as potentially using the space for film sets. However, by 2017, this deal had reportedly fallen through. 

In March of 2019, the local paper reported on the current status of the attraction, though of course, the article is light on details. The mayor of Villamarzana has apparently received an offer from an entity interested in reopening the airplanes. More information will apparently be available after the bankruptcy auction of the property, date unknown. 

Gigi Stecca’s Prospects

And what about Stecca?

He’s still alive, moved on to other business ventures. These days, he’s receiving awards for the “Ray of Life” glassware he created while operating the Michelangelo da Vinci. You see, Stecca was apparently trained in an abbey in Belgium, so he’s got some brewing creds. His glassware has special ridges on the inside that release the carbon dioxide, reportedly allowing the drinker to absorb less alcohol into their bloodstream.

We’ll have to wait and see what comes next for the abandoned planes of Villamarzana. For now, let’s raise our glasses and toast to a very interesting restaurant concept, indeed. 

Remember that what you’ve read is a podcast! A link is included at the top of the page. Listen to more episodes of The Abandoned Carousel on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RadioPublic | TuneIn | Overcast | Pocket Casts | Castro. Support the podcast on Patreon for extra content! Comment below to share your thoughts – as Lucy Maud Montgomery once said, nothing is ever really lost to us, as long as we remember it.

References

I’ve included a complete list of references used while researching this topic. It’s hidden under the link for brevity.

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