1999: The birth of Eastern Creek Business Park

Source: Buchan, N. 1999. "$500m silicon valley for west". The Daily Telegraph, November 13:17.

The Eastern Creek Business Park is managed by Frasers Property. Two decades ago, it was owned by Malaysian company Sungeiway.

In 1999, plans were unveiled to develop a business park on land located just to the south of Australia's Wonderland at Eastern Creek known as the Wonderland Business Park. The first stage was to cost $40 million and was to be anchored by Malaysia House. Malaysian companies including Malaysia Airlines and carmarker Proton were interested in participating in the project. An estimated 5000 jobs were to be created.

Five years later (2004), Australia's Wonderland closed after mounting financial losses. The land was purchased by ING Industrial Fund (IIF) who teamed up with developer The PacLib Group. This  contributed to the evolution of the business park.

The proposed hotel, convention centre and world's largest indoor wave pool were not built.

Since conception, the business park has been built in five stages. Stage 6 offers 35 000 sq/m of land for development subject to council approval.

Companies based within the business park in 2020 include:

• LG
• Fujitsu
• Fisher & Paykel
• Bunnings (Distribution Centre)
• H&M (Warehouse)
• Best & Less (Distribution Centre)

Remember This? Australia's Wonderland Daypass Special (1986)

Last year, I shared a preview feature from 1985 of Australia's Wonderland at Eastern Creek as published in The Daily Telegraph.

This week, I share an advertisement from its first season of operation where a day pass was available for just $10.95.  It is equivalent to $27.95 in today's money according to the RBA Inflation Calculator. Good value even though you could only visit on a Saturday or Sunday.

Source: Australia's Wonderland. 1986. "Hurry! Only 2 Weekends To Go." (Advertisement). The Daily Telegraph, May 29: 12. 

1985: Rare Preview Feature on Australia's Wonderland

Just three months before Australia's Wonderland opened in 1985, The Daily Telegraph went inside "the Down Under version of Disneyland".

Source: Coombs, R. 1985. "A Down Under land of wonder". The Daily Telegraph, August 24: 23 & 23. 

Australia's Wonderland traded until April 24, when the site was redeveloped into a business park. There are plans for the theme park to be resurrected at a site in Western Sydney. 

It never evolved into the Aussie Disneyland that was envisioned. 

As a bonus, below is a video containing rare footage from opening day in December 1985, plus a short history of the theme park. It was presented as Seven News Flashback Report by Mark Ferguson in 2013 on Seven News.