Lost Sydney: Wonderland City
Location: Tamarama BeachIn 1906, William Anderson, a theatrical entrepreneur of growing prominence, leased the land formerly occupied by The Royal Aquarium and Pleasure Grounds (generally referred to as the 'Bondi Aquarium') in Tamarama Park, minus a 12-foot strip of coastline to allow the public access to the beach. He also leased further land in Tamarama Gully, then known as Tamarama Glen or simply 'the Glen', and constructed his 20-acre outdoor entertainment masterpiece, Wonderland City.
The main entrance was a large white weatherboard building in Wonderland Avenue near the point at which it joins Fletcher Street. The entry price was 6 pence for adults and 3 pence for children with all rides costing an additional fee. Opening on Saturday, 1st December 1906 Wonderland claimed to equal "those amusement grounds... of the far famed Coney Island, New York, or White City, Chicago". William Anderson also claimed "there weren t sufficient trams in Sydney to transport the crowd ... for the opening."
Employing over 160 people, Wonderland set a new standard for Australian outdoor pleasure grounds. Large crowds, estimated at 2,000 people came every summer weekend, with seventy turnstiles at the entrance doing a brisk trade. Wonderland was known for its novelty and shocking acts, with William Anderson the consummate showman. He organised for a couple to be married at Wonderland, and then paraded through the grounds on the back of Alice the elephant. One daredevil performer Jack Lewis roller skated down a ramp, through a hoop of fire and landed in a tank with sharks much to the horror of the crowd. Miraculously Jack always survived unharmed.
During its operation the park was dogged by controversy for its attempts to block swimmers from Tamarama Beach. Some of these swimmers were influential businessmen and having their local beach cut off incensed them. The swimmers started an on-going battle with Anderson; they would cut his wire fence, he would repair it and contact the police. The police would arrive and warn the swimmers and the following weekend the same scenario would be re-enacted. The stalemate between the swimmers and William Anderson continued, with the swimmers eventually taking a deputation to NSW Parliament. On 6 March 1907, the Minister for Lands, James Ashton, issued an order to resume the 12-foot strip of land fronting the beach to "give free access for all time to the beach at Tamarama Bay."
The conflict with local swimmers and the wire fence incident soured the public image of Wonderland, as did complaints that the animals were being poorly housed and mistreated. The occasional breakdown of the Airem Scarem airship above the dangerous surf caused accusations of safety breaches and resident opposition to the weekend revellers at Wonderland grew. The crowd numbers dropped but Williams Anderson fought back bringing in famous entertainers and more daring acts from his national touring circuit to perform at the King s Theatre. Anderson responded with more elaborate public exhibitions, but the public was tiring of Wonderland and the crowds dropped. It struggled on from March 1908 to December 1910 with poor crowds and low revenue, finally closing in 1911. William Anderson is said to have lost £15,000 on Wonderland City.
Wonderland was the precursor of Luna Park, setting unprecedented standards for popular outdoor entertainment in Sydney. In its day it was the largest open-air amusement park in the Southern Hemisphere, and its decline does not diminish the grandeur of William Anderson s vision. Although little visible evidence of Wonderland survives today, with the possible exception of the two paths on the northern boundary of Tamarama Gully, the NSW Heritage Office still considers the site to be of archaeological significance. Today a mural commissioned by the Tamarama Surf Life Saving Club on the side of their clubhouse celebrates the history of Wonderland and the part it played in the formation of their club
