Wonderland Sydney (originally known as Australia's Wonderland), was an amusement park in Eastern Creek, Sydney, Australia. Officially opened in December 1985 by the Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, the park was the largest in the southern hemisphere. It remained open for over 18 years and was the premier theme park in New South Wales for much of its life until its closure in 2004. History Wonderland Sydney, then known as Australia's Wonderland opened amid much media attention and publicity on 7 December 1985 with financial backing from the New South Wales State Superannuation Board, James Hardie, Leighton Holdings and Taft Broadcasting (through Kings Entertainment Company) at Eastern Creek on the junction of Wallgrove Road and the M4 Motorway. The developers sought to provide an alternative to the troubled Luna Park Sydney, which had opened and closed multiple times in its recent history. The area would also see the opening of Eastern Creek Raceway in 1990 as the Sydney metropolitan area expanded to the west. Wonderland opened with three separate themed areas within the park: 'Goldrush', 'Medieval Faire' (later renamed Old Botany Bay), and 'Hanna-Barbera Land' (later renamed 'Little Wonders Land' in 2001–2002) which featured rides and attractions based on characters from Hanna-Barbera animation shows such as Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones. The park was modeled heavily around Canada's Wonderland, a theme park located north of Toronto, with both parks being constructed by Taft Broadcasting, a company which also owned Hanna-Barbera. For many years, Wonderland's flagship ride was 'The Bush Beast' which was the largest wooden roller coaster in Australia. Australia's Wonderland also claimed that it was the largest wooden rollercoaster in the Southern Hemisphere. 'The Beastie', a smaller version of The Bush Beast which catered to younger riders, was also one of the original rides. The park would later add rides such as the 'Demon' (1992) and 'Space Probe 7' (1995; sponsored by the Seven Network, who bought naming rights to the ride. After this contract expired, the ride dropped the '7' from its name). Australia's Wonderland expanded, and rebranded as Wonderland Sydney it featured an all-new water park known as 'The Beach', which first opened in 1988. Unlike the rest of the park, which remained open year-round, The Beach was a seasonal attraction which closed during the winter months (June–September). In 1990 Wonderland opened the 'Australian Wildlife Park'. Another attraction named 'The Outback Woolshed' was added