Town of Gold Rush

Town of Gold Rush
The entrance to the Town of Gold Rush when it was known as Gold Rush Country.
Location	Dreamworld
Coordinates	27°51′45″S 153°18′56″E / 27.862394°S 153.315572°ECoordinates: 27°51′45″S 153°18′56″E / 27.862394°S 153.315572°E
Opening date	11 December 1986
Replaced	Gold Rush Country (1986–2011)
Theme	Australian gold rush town
Attractions
Attractions	2 total
Roller coasters	1

The Town of Gold Rush (formerly Gold Rush Country) is a themed land at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It currently provides a link between Main Street and Rocky Hollow.^[1]

History

The Town of Gold Rush opened on 11 December 1986 as Gold Rush Country. The area featured the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride and the Thunder River Rapids Ride.^[2] In 2006, the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride was decommissioned due to safety concerns.^[3] In the middle of 2011, Gold Rush Country was refurbished with shops being relocated around the area in preparation for its conversion into the Town of Gold Rush. On 17 September 2011, Gold Rush Country officially reopened as the Town of Gold Rush to match BuzzSaw's backstory.

Previous attractions

Eureka Mountain Mine Ride

Eureka Mountain Mine Ride

The Eureka Mountain Mine Ride was a wild mouse roller coaster designed by HyFab. The ride has not operated since 2006 due to safety concerns.^[3]

Helicopter Joy Flights

Helicopter Joy Flights allowed park visitors to take helicopter flights taking in views of Dreamworld and the Gold Coast. Visitors could choose from five different flight paths. Joy flights incurred an additional expense.^[4] The helicopter tours have not resumed since June 2009 when a helicopter crashed in the carpark of Dreamworld causing only minor injuries.^[5] The launch pad now forms part of BuzzSaw's area and the sales booth is now a beverage outlet named Jack's Watering Hole.

Thunder River Rapids Ride

The Thunder River Rapids is a river rapid water ride which features floating rafts holding up to six people floating down a foamy, turbulent river reaching speeds of up to 45 kilometres per hour (28 mph). Riders can end up quite wet due to waves splashing over the side of the raft. The ride opened in 1986 in conjunction with the opening of Gold Rush Country.^[6] The ride originally featured a rotating platform which allowed riders to board and dismount the 6 person boats without the need for stopping them. This functionality has since been decommissioned due to safety concerns. The ride continues to be the park’s most popular ride.^[2]

On 25 October 2016 four patrons were killed when the ride malfunctioned.^[7] On 9 November Ardent Leisure chief executive Deborah Thomas announced that the ride would be permanently closed and demolished.^[8]

Attractions

The Thunder River Rapids Ride

BuzzSaw

BuzzSaw is a Maurer Söhne SkyLoop roller coaster in the Town of Gold Rush. The roller coaster begins with a vertical chain lift hill to a height of 46.2 metres (152 ft). Riders, restrained by only a lap bar, are then pulled slowly back over on themselves before the train is released into a full heartline roll. A steep drop returns riders back to the station.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Kelly's Showdown

Kelly's Showdown is an upcharge shooting gallery themed to Ned Kelly.^[13] The shooting gallery was originally located in the Rivertown and Gum Tree Gully area where it existed until the construction of Wiggles World in 2005.^[14][15]

Shopping & Dining

Snack food and drinks can be purchased from Jack's Watering Hole while various forms of Gold Rush themed merchandise can be purchased from the BuzzSaw Mill General Store, Old Time Photos and Thunder River Rapids Photos.^[13]

References

1. "Park Map" (PDF). Dreamworld. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
2. "Dreamworld History" (PDF). Dreamworld. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
3. Marden, Duane. "Eureka Mountain Mine Ride  (Dreamworld)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
4. "Helicopter Flights". Dreamworld. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
5. MacDonald, Andrew (12 June 2009). "Dreamworld chopper crash update". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
6. "Thunder River Rapids (Dreamworld)". Database Entry. Parkz. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
7. "Four people killed on Thunder River Rapids ride at Gold Coast theme park". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
8. "Dreamworld's Thunder River Rapids Ride to be demolished after theme park deaths". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
9. Maurer Söhne (14 October 2008). "Maurer Söhne: SKYLOOP official video". YouTube. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
10. "SkyLoop XT 150". Maurer Söhne. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
11. "Buzzsaw (Dreamworld)". Parkz. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
12. Marden, Duane. "BuzzSaw  (Dreamworld)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
13. Dreamworld and WhiteWater World Park Map (2009).
14. "Dreamworld 2004 Map".
15. "Dreamworld 2005 Map".