Aussie World is a family amusement park located behind the Ettamogah Pub in the Australian state of Queensland on the Bruce Highway, Sunshine Coast. It is set in native Australian gardens and trees and themed like an Australian fairground of old.

History and Development

Park History

The original creator of the Ettamogah Pub was Ken Maynard, who started drawing the Pub in 1959. It was made famous through his regular cartoons in The Australasian Post.

The Aussie World “Ettamogah Pub” was built in 1989 and the word “Ettamogah” is Aboriginal for ‘place of good drink!’ Now one of Queensland’s leading tourist attractions, it stands an impressive 18 m in height. It was opened on 24 November 1989, with most of the furniture inside the pub built from trees cleared from the actual site.

Why is there a truck on top of the pub? In the cartoon the theory is the truck was washed up there in the floods of 1946 and none of the regulars could be bothered to get it down. The car is a 1927 Chevy which originally was a four-door sedan and was converted into a utility in 1947.

In 2005 the rides were updated to their current state including the Wild Mouse Roller Coaster, the Giant Octopus and the Rock n Roll Rebel Dark Ride.

2007 saw renovations to the park begin; these included a complete front entrance upgrade and the erection of two 15½-metre brightly coloured barber poles and a twin-peaked blue and yellow shade entrance.

Wet'n'Wild Aussie World

In May 2008, the owners of the popular Australian Wet n Wild theme park chain, Village Roadshow, entered a conditional agreement. This agreement gave Village Roadshow the "option to acquire the land and business of Aussie World". The company planed to build a new Wet 'n' Wild Water Park on the Aussie World site named Wet'n'Wild Aussie World. This was followed three months later with a development application being submitted to the Caloundra City Council.

On September 23 2009, Village Roadshow Limited (VRL) announced "after extensive research, review and planning, VRL considers that when compared with other opportunities available, the potential returns do not justify the level of investment for the world class water park which would be required to deliver a significant destination site."

Attractions

High Thrill Rides

• The Wild Mouse Roller Coaster
• The Octopus
• The Rock n Roll Rebel
• The Space Shaker Swinging Ship
• Stockshed Speedway Dodgems
• The Mozzi Musta
• The Booma Zooma - A Chair-O-Planes ride
• The Voyager Simulator

Kid’s Rides

• Tin Lids Teacups
• The Giggle-go-round
• The Carousel - traditional fairground carousel
• Bizzy Buggies - self-drive buggies
• Tykes Trolleys

• The Ferris Wheel - the second largest Ferris wheel in the southern hemisphere

Other Attractions

• Side Show Ally
• Platypus Ponds Mini Golf
• Water Wars
• Funnybone Flicks
• Crazy Mirrors

Gallery

Image:Ferris Wheel A.jpg.jpg|Second largest Ferris wheel in the southern hemisphereImage:Wild mouse low res.jpg.jpg|Wild Mouse RollercoasterImage:Aussie World.jpg| Aussie World & the Ettamogah PubImage:Ettamogah Pub Low Resolution.jpg|The Ettamogah PubImage:Sunshine Coast Ettamogah Pub.jpg|Ettamogah Pub at Aussie WorldImage:Aussie World 2005.jpg|Aussie World

References

1. http://www.aussieworld.com.au/web/how-to-get-here.html Aussie World - How to Get Here
2. http://www.ettamogah.com/KenMaynard1.html - Ettamogah Mob:Ken Maynard
3. http://www.ettamogah.com/KenMaynard2.html Ettamogah Mob:Ken Maynard
4. http://www.aussieworld.com.au/media/aussie-world-gets-new-eye-catching-new-front-entrance.html Aussie World - Aussie World Gets a New Eye-catching Entrance
5. Sunshine Coast Water Park Press Release. Retrieved on 23.09.09 from [1].
6. Village Roadshow buys Aussie World - Parkz: Theme Parks in Australia and across the globe!
7. Village Roadshow moves forward with Sunshine Coast water park plans. Retrieved on 23.09.09 from [2].

External links

• Official Aussie World website