One of Pittwater's favourite writers is heading back to Avalon Beach SLSC on May 7th for an Author Talk on her new work, Luna Park.
Helen will be interviewed by the wonderful Sarah Macdonald, divulging tales of con men, criminals, and crooked cops who make up the colourful history of the park.
Helen Pitt is an award-winning journalist and author - her first book, The House: The dramatic story of the Sydney Opera House and the people who made it, won the 2018 Walkley Book Award.
Sarah Macdonald is a broadcaster, writer and communicator of much experience and passion. She has been associated with several ABC radio programs, including Triple J, and ABC Radio Sydney. She is also known for her book Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure.
From its 19th-century American origins to the bright lights of Sydney Harbour, Luna Park’s history is a true rollercoaster - marked by spectacle, scandal, and the tragedy of the 1979 Ghost Train fire.
It promises to be a fascinating night of storytelling, history and nostalgia - one that will leave you seeing this Australian cultural icon in an entirely new light.
Without spoiling the treat attendees will experience, Helen kindly answered a few queries this week:
Why did you choose this subject?
''I chose Luna Park as it is a Sydney Harbour sibling to that other icon the Sydney Opera House, which I wrote about in my first book, The House (spoke at Avalon Surf club then too in 2018). It was a natural choice to go across the harbour - but also I am a Sydneysider. I've got special childhood memories of spending birthdays (my 8th and my 14th) at Luna Park.
Also I knew my uncle Fred worked on the Big Dipper, but I didn't understand until I started writing this book and speaking to my cousins, that he actually helped build the Big Dipper, as a mechanic when the park opened in 1935. We have continued the family tradition. My son worked as a ride attendant in Coney Island in the summer of 2024/25.''
What does the work encompass?
''It is the nearly century-long story of an amusement park on this site. It starts at the 1893 Chicago's world Fair which laid the groundwork for the amusement park movement the world over. It then goes to Coney Island in the New York borough of Brooklyn where the world's first Luna Park was established in 1903, to Melbourne where Australia in 1912 where Australia's first successful Luna Park was established, then Glenelg in South Australia where the Luna Park at Milsons Point began its life in 1930.
Thanks to the Depression, and the fact South Australia wouldn't allow Sunday trading, the owners packed up all the rides - including the Big Dipper - and sent it to Sydney where it began life in 1935. Many out of work Harbour Bridge riggers helped piece it together again on the site of what was once the workshops where the bridge was built. Luna Park Sydney has had a rollercoaster of a history - closures due to the 1979 Ghost train fire, court cases with the neighbours, political battles in Macquarie Street, but amazingly it survives still, glistening by the harbour, lightening up even the darkest of days.''
Join us, Thursday 7 May at 6pm at the Avalon Beach Surf Club, for a special evening with one of Bookoccino’s favourite authors, Helen Pitt, sharing the extraordinary story of the showmen, shysters and schemers who built Sydney’s famous Luna Park.
‘A rollercoaster ride through some of Sydney’s brightest and darkest stories. A compelling tale, vividly told, and history every Sydneysider should know.’ - Richard Glover'A hugely enjoyable rollercoaster of a book' Delia Falconer
'An irresistible ride from start to finish' Heather Rose'A compelling page-turner that will make you look at that beaming grin across Sydney Harbour with fresh eyes' Kate Mulvany'A timely reminder of how lucky we are to still have an amusement park with one of the best locations in the world' Sam Marshall'Pitt writes with a contagious enthusiasm, and her meticulous research, beginning with her own eighth birthday party adventure in the River Caves, unearths wonderful anecdotes and tantalising trivia.' Sydney Morning Herald
Helen has over four decades of experience in the media, reporting from three different continents (Australia, Europe and the United States). She has worked as the Sydney Morning Herald's opinion editor, Spectrum deputy editor and as a staff news and feature writer there, and at The Bulletin, HQ magazine and New York Times Digital. This is her second book.