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The ghost train at Luna Park was supposed to be terrifying. That was the entire point of the ride. A cramped haunted house where guests rolled through narrow passages on carts at the mercy of animatronic ghosts and rubber skeletons. It was the most popular attraction at Luna, especially with children. On the night of June 9th, 1979, the ghost train was more terrifying than ever for horrific reasons.
That was the night the train burned. It was full of riders at the time. Luna Park staff were able to evacuate most guests from the ghost train. But a combination of careless safety standards and possible arson resulted in seven riders dying in the blaze, six of whom were children.
A shadow was hung over Luna Park ever since, with accusations of criminal activity, underworld connections, and police cover-ups making closure impossible. No official cause for the fire was ever established, though government officials have blamed everything from faulty wiring to a discarded cigarette. Riders who were on the ghost train on that night, however, have presented a different theory.
Several of them smelled kerosene coming from the attraction's fake fireplace. Intense media coverage four decades after the fire has recently led the New South Wales government in Sydney, Australia to offer a $1 million reward for new information surrounding the tragedy. Part 1: Luna Park's infamous ghost train. Built on the northern shore of Australia's Sydney harbour,
Luna Park first opened its gates in October of 1935. The park features a variety of rides, attractions, and games. It's not a horror theme park, exactly, though the massive grinning face that greets the guests at the gate has been called disturbing, particularly since visitors have to walk through its open mouth to enter. The park's ghost train was part of Luna from the beginning, but in a more mundane capacity.
Originally known as a pretzel ride, due to all of the tight loops and claustrophobic tracks, the train received alterations early in its life cycle to become a haunted house style attraction. The Ghost Train quickly became the most popular ride at Luna Park, one that families might interact with several times per visit.
After its initial evolution into a horror ride, the Ghost Train remained largely unaltered for about 40 years. Though there were occasional upgrades added now and then, the ride contained animatronic monsters that would pop out of concealed spaces and corners to frighten riders. It was dark inside the attraction, lots of narrow hallways and confusing loops threaded with tracks that whipped guests around frantic passages.
There were large-scale models of crashed trains sitting on top of the squat building that contained the majority of the ride. The words "Hell's Railways" were printed in crooked lettering over the entrance to the ghost train. Kids went wild for the experience, a ride that threaded the line between safe family fun and genuinely scary. Part 2: Smoke and Neon The Godson family was ready to call it a night.
It was dark, just after 10:00 PM, and they'd been at Luna Park for hours already on a sunny June day. It was chilly, but pleasant. June is the start of winter in Australia. The Gonson children, sons Damien and Craig, ages four and six, wanted to make sure the family used all of their remaining tickets before leaving the park. With four tickets remaining,
the entire group could hop on one last ride. The boys wanted another go at the ghost train, even though they'd already ridden it earlier in the day. Their parents, Jenny and John, were tired, but glad that their sons were having a good time during their first visit to Luna. They'd had an unusual start to their day. While waiting for the ferry that would take them to the park, a strange character had approached the family for a picture.
The man was dressed in an animal print loincloth with a matching hood and cape. He also wore a featureless mask with ratty hair, ripped eye holes, and protruding horns. Pictures exist online of the likely unofficial mascot standing next to the Godson children with his hand on Damien's shoulder. The man behind the mask remains unidentified. Though Damien and Craig were desperate to ride the ghost train one more time before leaving,
Jenny suggested the family grab ice cream before heading to the train. John agreed, but Damien and Craig had the hyper focus only available to young children and fighter pilots. They wanted to ride the ghost train and every second they weren't in line felt like an eternity.
Jenny was willing to compromise. She'd buy ice cream for the family, then meet them near the attraction so they could eat, then ride together. John stayed with the boys, the trio standing in the lane between rides like the River Caves and the Big Dipper. It didn't take long for Jenny to find a snack stand. But by the time she returned with ice cream, John and the boys were gone. Maybe the line moved faster than they expected or the kids couldn't bottle their excitement any longer.
Whatever the reason, John, Damien and Craig got onto the ghost train alone. Jenny would never see them alive again. The ghost train usually held 30 to 40 riders at a time. Just minutes after the Godson family boarded their carriage to enter the ride, five boys, ages 12 to 13, reached the front of the line for the attraction.
They were all from Waverly College, a local high school. And June 9th, 1979 was the first time the boys were able to go out to a big event on their own without any parents. For the five, it felt like growing up, a big step on the bridge that connects childhood with adolescence. Each cart on the ghost train sat two riders. Jonathan and Richard went first as a pair. Then Michael and Seamus next.
Jason, the youngest, approached last, waiting for the ride attendant to buckle him into a carriage by himself. But before his cart could lurch forward on the track to join his friends through a gate marked "El's Doorway," the attendant lunged for Jason, desperately pulling him back towards the line. At first, the boy was confused, but as the empty carriage glided by on its tracks into the ghost train, smoke began to drift out into the night.
At first, those still in line weren't concerned. It was a haunted house. Smoke or fog seemed perfectly normal. In fact, there was a small fake fireplace deep in the heart of the ghost dream, surrounded by skeletons and ghouls. This all seemed like part of the show, but the smoke was unusual. Thick black coils that puffed out from doors and windows to float among the neon lights of nearby rides.
It was a burning smell and the air was hot and harsh as it fled from the building. Not long after the smoke appeared, the screaming started from inside the train. Along with the screaming came terrified riders. Guests burst out of the ride from every available door and opening.
Carts began rolling out of the exit, some occupied, some empty. Several of the empty carriages were engulfed in fire. Flames licked out from the roof of the building as well, then the doors, then the walls. At the time of the blaze, there were 35 riders inside of the ghost train. Park workers made the split-second decision to keep the ride operating instead of shutting it down.
That kept the carts moving, exiting from the inferno one at a time, carrying panicked riders, many of them children. Staff worked frantically to pull guests out of danger, either from their carriages or leading those who jumped from their carts away from the smoke as they came sprinting out. Everything was noise and heat and confusion. The fire department was contacted and workers began to fight the flames themselves. Three issues became apparent immediately.
The park was understaffed that night. The park's water hoses didn't provide enough coverage. What areas the hoses could cover were still at the mercy of a weak water flow. There was also no sprinkler system inside of the ghost train, even though inspectors advised such a feature back in 1977. Park management chose not to follow the recommendation. Even with all of the factors working against the staff, they'd managed to keep the hungry flames contained to the train.
keeping the fire from spreading to other attractions. As the crew continued to try to suppress the blaze and continue evacuation of the ride, many in the crowd began to wonder how such a fire could grow out of control so quickly. Part 3: Wooligans and Goblins For decades after the fire, the official cause of the incident was unknown. Faulty wiring was a popular theory despite a lack of evidence.
Doubts about causation arose all the way back in '79. A coroner's investigation suggested that a discarded cigarette from a careless rider might be the spark that began the blaze. No witnesses report seeing guests smoking on the train, though. And even if a cigarette was thrown into the cramped building, that wouldn't explain the violent speed of the fire. Many riders agreed that the initial point of trouble started with the ride's fake fireplace.
The electronics of the display and surrounding animatronics could back up the theory that bad wiring was to blame. But what about the smell of kerosene? Numerous witnesses reported the odor emanating from inside the building as they rode on the ghost train earlier in the night. Kerosene has a distinct smell, sweet and oily, and harsh enough to make you dizzy if you breathe too deep. It's difficult to mistake that for something else.
The odor was centered around the fake fireplace in one of the ride's tunnels. Some people may have assumed the kerosene was fuel for the device, but that wasn't the case. Accusations of arson hovered over the Luna Park ghost train fire from early on. Claims occasionally sounded outlandish,
Many involved biker gangs and local mafia. Abe Saffron, an alleged member of Sydney's criminal world, was accused by his own niece of orchestrating the tragedy in a bid for ownership of the property. Saffron had ties to Luna through family associates, who supplied pinball and arcade games to the park. However,
he was never connected directly to ownership or proven to have made an attempt to seize control, though former park staff have asserted that Saffron made bids to buy Luna in the early 70s. Even though a police investigation after the fire ruled out arson, rumors persisted and continue to persist about the involvement of Australia's criminal element in setting the blaze. For one thing,
The official investigation ended abruptly and much, much sooner than typical for a tragedy of Luna's magnitude. Additionally, seven separate witness accounts place a group of young men dressed in denim and leather on the ghost train minutes before the fire took over.
Those five men, dressed in the style of bikers or bikies in Australian slang, were allegedly riding at the exact time that at least three guests noticed the smell of burning kerosene. Some witnesses also claim that they overheard the bikies discussing kerosene and matches while loitering outside of the attraction.
The prevailing arson theory is that Saffron or other members of the criminal underground hired a gang of bikers to commit just enough damage to Luna that the owners would be more open to selling the property. No popular accounts allege that the fire was ever supposed to be fatal, but fire isn't something easily managed. Part Four: The Luckiest Boy Alive
The writing above the ghost train ride said, "Hell's Railways." That was never more than true the night of June 9th in 1979. Once the flames spread from the false fireplace, they spread fast. Walls caught fire, animatronics ignited, decorations burned and fell and smoldered all while choking black smoke poured through the passages inside the haunted house.
The train was a confusing maze at the best of times, but in the middle of a night fire, it was mad chaos. Walls of flames 12 feet high were reported by survivors. Carts clanked on their rails as riders screamed and cried and panicked. Parents comforted children while searching for exits. Wailing echoed through the tight tunnels of the ghost train until it was impossible to tell what was part of the ride and what was too horrifically real.
Some groups stayed in their carriages, especially those closest to the end of the rail, since they were still moving. Others left the carts and scrambled through the darkness on their own, trying to stay ahead of the fire. It would be hard to breathe in the passages, but the smoke would rise towards the ceiling, so it was possible to crawl along with your hands on the rails as a guide. The rails got hot in the fire, though.
and it was all too easy to get lost with all of the noise and heat. It would be an awful experience when the ride was operating normally. During a fast-moving fire, it was deadly. Staff and first responders were able to get the flames under control within roughly an hour. Initially, they believed that all of the guests riding the ghost train during the incident were safely evacuated. Then, around 11.30 p.m.,
They found the first three bodies, John Goodson and his two boys were so badly burned that staff misidentified them as part of the haunted house at first. When responders looked closer, they realized the forms were too human to be scorched animatronics. John had died with his arms wrapped around Damien and Craig in an attempt to shield them from the fire.
Four more bodies were discovered soon after in similar condition. Jonathan, Richard, Michael, and Seamus. Each 13 years old, classmates and friends from Waverly College. Their companion Jason was called the luckiest boy alive by local newspapers after it was found out that he was pulled from his cart before it could enter the ghost train.
Jason never felt lucky. That night at Luna Park was supposed to be a big one for the boys, a memorable experience that they could look back on years later as one of those pivotal moments where childhood fun blends with teenage freedom instead. The night was a spike that shattered families and left scars. For reporters to call Jason lucky after his best friends were burned alive, trapped in the dark,
it must have felt like a small, unbearable cruelty. He has told reporters, when he's granting interviews, that he still feels survivor's guilt every day, even 40 years later. Part 5: Aftermath At the hottest point during the fire at Luna Park, firefighters were forced to pump water directly from the nearby harbor, since the park's water pressure and supply was inadequate for the task.
Eventually, they got the flames under control and the property evacuated. A government investigation began immediately. There was a coroner inquest, witnesses were interviewed, the smoking ruins of the train inspected, and reports were compiled. And it was all done quickly.
The official coroner's report indicated that park ownership and management had failed in their duty of care towards patrons, but that the failure didn't rise to a level where it would be considered criminal under Australian law. Leadership was chastised for not installing sprinklers when that was recommended in 1977. New South Wales government officials called for new tenders to operate the park a little more than a month after the fire.
Instead of quarantining the site for a forensic investigation, the ruins of the ghost train ride were bulldozed over only a few hours after the fire was put out. A police representative told reporters the next day, quite confidently, that the incident was the result of faulty wiring despite having zero evidence. This claim was later contradicted in the coroner's report.
And that was that. Survivors and the families of the deceased were left with little in the way of closure. The seven victims of the fire didn't even receive an official memorial until nearly 20 years later in 1995. The National Crime Authority did reopen the investigation into the Luna Park tragedy in 1987.
They found that the police investigation and coroner inquiry were both lacking, but nothing substantial came from that discovery. The case lay dormant and discarded for years until a shocking expose by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in March of 2021 brought the ghost train fire roaring back into the public eye.
Reporters spoke to witnesses, guests, families of survivors, police, park staff, and dozens of others in a comprehensive three-part series that explored the fire. More than 80 in-person and 250 phone interviews, along with a mountain of research, went into the final report. According to the media outlet, the most likely cause of the blaze was arson orchestrated by Saffron and other mobsters.
then covered up by new South Wales government officials, court leadership and police. The exposé ended with a call for a new investigation into the tragedy and justice for those who died. Weeks after the report aired, that investigation opened. It is currently ongoing, with police and emergency services officials asking anyone with information about the Luna Park ghost fire to come forward.
In July of 2021, the New South Wales government began offering a $1 million reward for new information that helps solve the case and the mystery of the fire.
