Thread: old QLD dinosaur attraction information

Originally Posted by F4Phantom

When I was a kid I went to a dinosaur attraction in QLD somewhere along the hwy in the surfers to coomera area. I cant pinpoint it. Anyway it was a walking robot T-rex 1:1 scale and was pretty awesome. I cant find any info on it so it seems to have faded into non exsistance.

Does anyone know anything about it, an a web site with photos or anything? Or did anyone here actually go there?

A hint please as to what year/s that might have been?

I don't recall anything like that in my lifetime, and I can recall Seaworld when it was the only theme park on the Gold Coast. Then again I'm not a local.

There was a touring show a few years ago with combined puppets and robotics, but I'm guessing your childhood was more than 5-10 years ago???

Originally Posted by scrambler

A hint please as to what year/s that might have been?

I don't recall anything like that in my lifetime, and I can recall Seaworld when it was the only theme park on the Gold Coast. Then again I'm not a local.

There was a touring show a few years ago with combined puppets and robotics, but I'm guessing your childhood was more than 5-10 years ago???

Yeah this was the early 80's. I went to see the walking with dinosaurs thing too in the tennis centre.

It was not your usual attraction, it was down an old dusty road in shrub land. The dinosaur was no where to be seen and this girl dressed in cave girl clothes would call him out, and he would walk out (unassisted?) quite slowly to the crowd. It took ages. Although it was impressive I think it died as a money making excercise.

I never remember a time where dreamworld was not there. I am not a local either but we did have a house accross the river from sanctury cove when it was just mangroves for $2000 per acre, dad told me "who would ever buy that useless land"

I've lived around SEQ for 66 years and cannot recall it.Bullens Lion Park was down that way.Wonder if it was part of that?
John.

more info arriving. On the old brisbane goldcoast hwy in this area the T-rex was parked behind trees and you used to be able to see his head above the trees as you drove past. Dad said he thinks the T-rex may have come down to geelong or something as part of a project down here. I am running dry on info now.

Originally Posted by F4Phantom

more info arriving. On the old brisbane goldcoast hwy in this area the T-rex was parked behind trees and you used to be able to see his head above the trees as you drove past. Dad said he thinks the T-rex may have come down to geelong or something as part of a project down here. I am running dry on info now.

I vaguely remember it as we used to travel up and down from Mel to QLD every holidays as my grandparents lived on Mt Tamborine at the time, dont remember them moving but do recall seeing the heads over the top of the trees as you drove near.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

I vaguely remember it as we used to travel up and down from Mel to QLD every holidays as my grandparents lived on Mt Tamborine at the time, dont remember them moving but do recall seeing the heads over the top of the trees as you drove near.

yehaa, just going down to the dr to get a 'not insane' sticker on my forehead.

Got me beat. We ran a tourist coach company covering this area for about 21 years and I don't recall what you are describing. (but this doesn't mean it wasn't there!)
There were pretty large dinosaur displays at Gosford, 2 at Coonabarabran, and another at Hughenden, although this last one is pretty recent (the display, not the dinosaur!)
I cant quite recall what else was at an early venture on the Eastern side of the Gold Coast Highway featuring a few old ex Brisbane trams and a rocket of some description, it was called the tram stop I think, and it stood about where the auction yards are now near the brewery.
If you go way back, the first attraction on the Gold Coast would have to have been Jim Cavills Surfers Paradise Hotel with its inbuilt zoo and "Topsy" the talking horse. This started up about 1925 or so and lasted until 1936 when the pub burnt down. The zoo carried on though until 1957.
Jack Evans was a big name with his Porpoise Pool opening in '51 and going on until around the mid 70's when the burgeoning competition at the new Surfers attractions sapped into the patronage figures and Jack sold out to Keith Williams. Now Keith was an interesting bloke, he had the ski show on the Nerang River, then Seaworld on the spit then bought out his opposition Marine world, then moved on to Hamilton Island then eventually managed to pull off the Cardwell Oyster Point development.
Jack Davey was another name instrumental in getting the Gold Coast tourism bit going, as he used to offer as a prize on the 'Dulux show,' a holiday in his new Motel near to the Lennon's Broadbeach hotel in the sand dunes where Broadbeach is today. Back in those days there were only the two buildings and one always looked for the monstrous "Lennons White Elephant" (The Broadie") as that was where the turn off inland to Brisbane was on the way north.
Back in the 70's when I was pushing a "Greyhound" up and down the track there was really nothing between Beenleigh and Labrador except for "Peachey's tractor spares" at Ormeau, and then Pimpama.
Sorry I can't be of any help dinosaur-wise, but the reminisce was fun.
Regards
Glen

Between Coonabarabran and the Warambungles, maybe Timor Rock, there was a tourist attraction that had a big dinosaur next to the entrance from the car park, you put a coin in the slot and it roared and may have waved it arms around. There was greenery around it and you couldn't see the fence behind, so may have had a fake rock wall/cave there. My parents were too stinjy to let us kids put a coin in the slot, so had to wait till someone else came along
This would have been late 80s early 90s, I remember standing in front of it for a photo before I was school age (pre-1990) and again after being in school a while.
-Mark

EDIT: I didn't read Glen's reply too well