In June 1979, seven people, including several children, got in line for the Ghost Train ride
at Sydney, Australia's Luna Park; they would not return home at the end of the day. The ride would
catch fire and claim their lives through either carbon monoxide poisoning or burns.
The youngest victim of the fire was just 4 years old. In the wake of the tragedy, heartbroken
locals looked for a cause of the fire, a mystery that has yet to be solved over four decades later.
Riders on the Ghost Train wound through a pitch-black building,
which added suspense and surprise to the track's
turns and effects — and which helped the fire go unnoticed until it was too late.
Survivors indicated that they smelled smoke a few minutes before the fire
spread but figured it was part of the horror-themed ride's special effects.
Investigations have revealed a long list of instances of incompetence and corruption on
the parts of the Luna Park management and the local police. While evidence of arson
has been thrown around for decades, no definite cause of the tragedy has been fully accepted.
In the years since the fire, multiple witnesses and survivors have come forward to shed doubt
on the official ruling that the tragedy was caused by a simple electrical malfunction.
According to ABC Australia, both patrons and Luna Park employees
reported seeing a suspicious group of biker gang members, or "bikies," around the park,
and some reported smelling something suspicious in the build-up to the tragedy.
"We decided to have a second go in the Ghost Train,
and as we were in there, I could distinctly smell the kerosene burning."
The police chief called off any search for suspects and doubled down that the
fire was caused by an electrical failure. Witnesses say they were hounded by the New
South Wales police after their statements, while others feared retribution from the biker gang.
Recent evidence from an ABC true crime special makes a strong case
that the Ghost Train fire was no accident, although rumored connections to an infamous
Sydney mob boss and his supposed New South Wales political puppet are more tenuous.
The motive behind an arson would be for the financial benefit of whatever
company would earn the contract to rebuild and redevelop the park.
Harbourside Apartments, the company that eventually won,
employed relatives of Abe Saffron, an infamous figure in Sydney's organized crime scene.
The reviewers found sufficient evidence connecting Saffron to Harbourside but
were less than impressed with the ties made to New South Wales politician Neville Wran.
Allegations that Wran influenced the board to choose Harbourside
or that he regularly socialized with Saffron were unable to be backed up.
An independent review from respected Australian professors and investigative
journalists concluded that the police investigation seemed pre-determined
to find the fire was caused by an electrical fault. They found that there was no forensic
evidence taken from the crime scene, which was immediately compromised by the police.
Most scathing have been the reports from former senior police officers
who say that Saffron had directly ordered the fires. Some say he was able to get away
with the crime with assistance from police officers he had in his pocket,
even when children were killed. Reports go on to allege that Detective Doug Knight, who led the
investigation and was adamant that mechanical failure was behind the inferno, was actually
a "fixer" for Saffron, manipulating evidence and witnesses to achieve the desired outcome.
"The second tragedy for me was the failed investigation. There was so much buried."
With more and more people saying that it looks increasingly likely arson and greed
were behind the fire, New South Wales police are offering a $1 million reward for anyone that
can provide new information or evidence to the case as the arson angle grows in plausibility.
The entire situation was made worse by an initial investigation that also revealed
Luna Park had failed to install proper fire suppression systems
or emergency lighting for the ride, which took place in the dark. This was despite a
recommendation from the local fire department to do so a year and a half prior to the blaze,
which echoed a consultant's cautions to install a sprinkler system in 1977.
Ultimately, years of incompetence and penny-pinching led to the fire,
and the inadequate response of the police in its aftermath means the true cause of this
tragedy might never be revealed, although plenty of theories still exist and evolve to this day.
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