Lost Sydney:
White City Amusement Park
Location: Alma Street, Paddington, NSW White City is the common name of dozens of amusement parks in the United States, the United Kingdom. These parks were inspired by the White City and Midway Plaisance sections of Chicago's World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893. While the Midway Plaisance became the Exposition's main drawing card, it was not the primary purpose of the World's Fair in the eyes of its founders, who pictured it to be the beginning of a classical renaissance featuring electricually-lit white stucco buildings (collectively known as White City) occupying the main court. White City gave the park its visual identity, and the name was then adopted for similar parks which followed.
The 1901 Pan-American Exposition inspired the first Luna Park in Coney Island, and set in motion a frenzy in building amusement parks. Like their Luna Park cousins, a typical White City park featured a shoot-the-chutes and lagoon, a roller coaster (usually a figure eight or a mountain railway), a midway, a Ferris wheel, games, and a pavilion. Some White City parks featured miniature railroads. Chicago's World's Columbian Exhibition had featured exhibition fights by boxer John L. Sullivan, and the exotic dancer ,Little Egypt. Boxing exhibitions and exotic dancers named Little Egypt became regular features at White City parks. Many of the world's fast foods had their origins in the White City and Coney Island amusement parks. It was here that most Americans, Britons and Australians were first introduced to the hamburger, shredded wheat, Juicy Fruit chewing gum. White City amusement parks exposed millions of people to a new form of music called Ragtime, composed and performed by Scott Joplin; it instantly became a staple for fairs and carnivals. Only one park that was given the White City name continues to operate today: Denver's White City, opened in 1908, is currently Lakeside Amusement Park.
Australia had two White City Amusement Parks - one in Perth (circa 1914 - 1929) and another in the Sydney suburb of Rushcutters Bay (1913 - 1917). If the name sounds familiar to Sydneysiders, that is because the White City tennis complex was built on the site of the Amusement Park, and continued to use its name to identify its location, as everyone in Sydney knew where the short-lived White City was. The open-air amusement park was built on land resumed from Chinese market gardens in 1913 by Cozens Spencer, a film entrepreneur who established the Great American Theatrescope at the Lyceum Theatre in Sydney.
White City was designed and built by T.H. Eslick who also designed and built Luna Park at St Kilda. Unique in its time, it was almost a miniature city with lakes, canals, fountains, pleasure palaces, river caves, fun factory, palais des folies, Japanese village, Crystal Tangle and a giant carousel. The Park also featured a stunning scenic railway which had the roller coaster travel around small version of Mt Kosciusko. It was the first roller coaster in Australia. White City offered seasonal entertainment (December April): a music hall, ballroom, a fairground and live performances such as military band, high walkers and roller skating.
A major attraction at White City amusement park was its giant carousel specially ordered from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) in Pennsylvania, USA by Cozens Spencer. In 1913 it cost him US$14,657.00 plus shipping. Like a giant puzzle, the huge carousel, serial number PTC 30, complete with cast iron machinery and hundreds of timber parts, set sail from America in October, 1913 and arrived in Sydney in November. The carousel was one of PTC's "high class" rides, a grand machine designed for a permanent location. With a platform 52 feet in diameter, the War and Peace-themed carousel features 68 individually carved horses, two Roman chariots, elaborate decoration and 36 cherubs frozen in flight on the rounding boards. Carved from basswood and adorned with gold and silver leaf, the horses and chariots were the work of master craftsmen, many of whom had immigrated to America from Europe and Russia in the late 19th century. 26 original scenery paintings adorn the centre panels and rounding boards, painted by PTC's Max Soltmann. The "War and Peace" theme is reflected in the romantic flowers and butterflies painted on some horses contrasted by swords and shields carved on others. PTC No.30 was the only PTC carousel to be exported.
White City brought three summers of fantasy rides, highwire artists and brass bands to Sydney's eastern suburbs before burning to the ground after being hit by lightning in 1917. In 1918 White City Limited went into liquidation and its assets sold. The carousel miraculously escaped the fire, and was sold to business interests in Melbourne. It was a major attraction at the grand re-opening of Melbourne's Luna Park in 1923 after its closure through World War I. It has been there ever since and is fondly remembered by generations of Melburnians. The Ministry for Housing announced the resumption of the property and surrounding land for a housing scheme. The suitability of the site was raised, which prompted the filling of the land with material from Woolloomooloo. By April 1920 the housing scheme was finally rejected. The Lawn Tennis Association acquired the White City Park site in 1921 and developed what became one of the best tennis grounds in the world.
