The History of Australia's Abandoned Old Sydney Town Theme Park

[@cheryllgates181]

I remember going on a school excursion. I bought a sausage roll and asked for sauce, “sorry sauce hadn’t been invented yet”! So sad it’s gone, lovely memories.

[@tonymontana897]

Haha, Yeah me too Cheryll. I also went there as a young student in primary school back in 1980. Great memories.

[@Angel-nr8td]

Yeap me too in the 70s

[@possumintheblossom]

Yep, me too in the 70s!

[@garry19681]

Me to it was awesome. Pity it isn’t around to show the kids how tough life use to be and to appreciate what they have now.

[@ClintsGuitarsNGear]

I went there quite a few times as a kid with my family in the 80s and again in the very early 90s for a school excursion. It was a lot of fun. I only have good memories of the place.

[@livingthedreamshutup]

Today o'clock I find out it's abandoned. (27 sep 2022). I'm 50 years old and it was the coolest place I'd ever gone to as a kid. Litterally ignited my passion for Australian history. I went there first with my school, and a few times with my family.

[@patelliott8724]

I remember going there for a school excursion and loved it! Back then, there were many places and things on TV that showed our history and what it was like to live as a convict or early settler. Programs like Against the Wind, All the rivers runs etc, were wonderful to watch and learn from. Sadly this part of our history is no longer taught in schools and most young Australians or new Australians, have no idea of our past. This I think is why many don't understand the significance of what Australia Day is really about! They don't know how lucky they are to be Australian! Places like Old Sydney town, and the programs I've mentioned, should be brought back into our schools before our history is lost forever.

[@possumintheblossom]

I think we must be around the same age because i remember those programs you named (although i'm not so sure about there being "many"). You might be interested in watching Pemulwuy on the Heroes and Legends channel here on KZbin. Excellent and informative. Also a good one about the botanist Banks i think and another amazing guy called Fitzroy.

[@swagmanexplores7472]

- And Rush !, Seven Little Australians, Carson’s Law, Ben Hall, The Sullivans etc...

[@graemesandstrom5654]

Good on you ! Totally agree. Unfortunately there is a very one sided view now. I know that the aborigines had it bad but so did practically everyone else in the early settlement especially the convicts!

[@andyman8630]

@@graemesandstrom5654 exactly! "the Stolen Generation" included many white children as well, specially from single mothers

[@telekmetyk]

I'm a teacher and we still teach this part of history, accept now we teach the actual truth of it and not some rose coloured fantasy.

[@someotherguyyouknow]

Visited here in 87 or 88, as a 10 or 11 year old. I was already a budding little history nerd and had a great time, but the thing that really sticks with me (apart from witnessing a flogging - I was old enough to understand it wasn't real, but it was still very impressive) was the entrance. You went in through this fairly unremarkable looking ticket office / giftshop building, then after you'd paid you walked into this tunnel. It was decently long and curved around so you couldn't see out the end. When you emerged into daylight, you'd gone 200 years back in time. You couldn't see or hear anything from outside - no traffic noise or glimpses of roads and modern buildings off in the distance - and you were just transported to this other time. Then at the end you'd come back through a different tunnel and - disappointingly - back to the modern world.

[@mrgozz2780]

So sad to see such an iconic part of Australian history gone…..we use to go on school excursions…..in the 70s …..shame I couldn’t take my kids …it was all gone ….Evan though I wasn’t born here I’m…still an Aussie…and very proud of our history

[@sean1121970]

Cool...... story.......bro.................................................,....

[@janellehoney-badger6525]

Absolutely!

[@christinelawrence4315]

Old Sydney Town was a huge and fun part of my childhood... such a shame that time moves on and that the Town has fallen into such disrepair...

[@TonyBlackshaw]

It was a great 10 days slaving away building those first huts - Bob Irving was a very cool dude

[@boop7313]

you were one of the students? I wondered what it was like for them.

[@TonyBlackshaw]

Well, as 1st year architecture students, we had a great time. We got given a target of a workers cottage and built it. We slept in a barn.

[@blokeabouttown2490]

In addition to Sovereign Hill in Victoria, there are a couple of history related theme parks that are still operating in NSW. On the mid-north coast of NSW at the town of Wauchope is a place called Timbertown which is a recreation of a 19th Century timber and logging settlement, complete with a steam train that guests can ride as well as a working blacksmith and sawmill, horse and carriage rides and a pretty authentic looking village. Also in Wilberforce in western Sydney there is Australiana Pioneer village which is a smaller park, run mostly by volunteers. It is a recreation of an early 19th Century township it has a small but nice looking historic streetscape and some quaint little shops. The cafe there sells damper with golden syrup.

[@petermcculloch4933]

Pleased to hear Timber town is still operating.I like these historic theme parks.I went to Old Sydney Town, Timbertown, Swan Hill Pioneer Village, Ben Hall Village at Forbes, The seaside village at Warrnambool, Coal Creek at Currumbarra and of course Sovereign Hill, Ballarat on numerous occasions.

[@speedmastermarkiii]

The Eureka Rebellion forms an intrinsic part of the successful operation of Sovereign Hill. I guess Old Sydney Town could have used the Rum Rebellion similarly, but the operators seemed more intent on presenting kids with dancing, banjo-playing convicts and the occasional whipping.

[@thereselarfield7177]

As a family we loved visiting Sovereign Hill and blood on the Southern Cross… and yes old Timber town…. I get the feeling now that our governments want to dismiss our white history and heritage, like it’s something we should be ashamed of and feel guilty about… it’s actually very divisive…racist….and intentional

[@speedmastermarkiii]

@@thereselarfield7177 What you call racist and divisive is reality. You'd prefer not to hear the truth because it makes you uncomfortable,. You thirst for the disneyfication of history, where virulent anti-Asian racism wasn't the norm and where Aboriginal Australians weren't treated like feral pests. Boo bloody hoo.

[@thereselarfield7177]

@@speedmastermarkiii I’m quite aware of the dark side of history, and I prefer that we did not repeat it…. If I thought for a second that this virtue signalling would make one of bit difference I’d be all over it… but NO, it’s just a lot of noise, and nothing changes, it only creates division … and why shouldn’t I look on the positive side of my heritage and celebrate the good things with new Australians …. Oh that’s right, I can’t because I am white…the hypocrisy is astounding, yes I can see history repeating itself…very much so…. You don’t think that indigenous tribes didn’t wipe other indigenous tribes out… woman and children raped and murdered… let’s look at that. Are you doing anything about the poverty, the sexual and physical abuse of women and children in these current indigenous communities…yeah nothing changes, it’s just a lot of indoctrinated do gooders running around in their cult, making a lot of noise in order to feel good about themselves!!!!

[@robertmead3518]

I worked there as a ship's carpenter on the construction of the "Perseverance" and was put off with most of the other tradesmen just a week before the official opening. I would say it was the best job I have had and it is terribly sad to see the way it looks now. RIP Old Sydney Town

[@amp279]

Robert Mead, Late to reply but like a lot of folks I went there on a school excursion, I'd always wanted to go onto a tall ship, not just to envision what conditions might have been like on the journey but I love the craftsmanship, if it's any consolation you guys did a great job working with the budget given, I could really imagine a journey on it with the cramped quarters & the beautiful smell of the timber.

[@simonolsen9995]

I went there as a school kid in the late 70's. The "Ye Olde Convict Store" novelties included a big jar full of real black twist tobacco. I tried my luck and the young serving wench happily sold me a lolly bag full for about 20 cents. I wasn't much more than 10 years old. Standing behind and old dray, I broke off a bubble gum sized chunk and started chewin as hard and fast as I could. Things got blurry after that but I do remember vomiting my socks at some stage. Ah... school day memories. Thanks Old Sydney Town.

[@GoodMrDawes]

Awesome

[@glennllewellyn7369]

Same. Drove 3 hours to get there. Spewed in the car on the way home - Mum was livid.

[@simonolsen9995]

@@glennllewellyn7369 good on ya mate. We'll probably meet up in hell ;) Share a few more yarns from the good old days.

[@tessaroo222]

I went there in 1975 on a school excursion and remember we kids ( 10 year olds) buying a tins of tobacco “snuff” and snorting it up our nostrils in the bus on the way home !! My sister and I still laugh at the things that went on in the 70’s 😅. It was also the first place I ever encountered one of those hot air hand dryers in the dunnies !!

[@adrianahewett9557]

Naughty 😂

[@alisondawson5116]

So sad but so nice to read such wonderful comments on Old Sydney Town. Like everyone else, I loved this place as a kid (am 60 now) and i took my own children there in the early 2000. I have such fond memories of that day and I too am very sad that it never reopened. Yes, I suppose it was very limited and once you had seen it, you didn’t have to see it again. Makes me wonder though, it’s never too late …. Surely some enterprising entrepreneurs could do a fantastic job of making it just like new. What about it ???? I won’t say goodbye Old Sydney Town, I’ll just say maybe I’ll see you again in the near future. Thanks for this post. Well done. 💕💕🐾🐾🇦🇺🇦🇺xoxox

[@andyman8630]

thing is, new generations should see it and understand where they came from - and new generations will never end, so you have an unlimited supply of visitors - if only schools still taught the essentials, like *how* to think rather than *what* to think

[@judithmanderson431]

I used to take my class there when I was teaching. Such a great way to experience history.

[@mothstradamus1183]

My friend has always told me about this place, and recently shared this video with me. It is so incredibly well done, and I love all of the hard work that you put into it. It was fun to see the home videos assembled like this, with all the historical content of the park itself. Thank you very much! Can't wait to see what you make next!

[@ReviewTyme]

We're glad you enjoyed the video and stay tuned for some more history videos like this, even some more Sydney based parks coming very soon! - Luke

[@belindaf8821]

I went to Old Sydney Town as a kid with my Brownies group. I was probably about 6 or 7, and it was the first time I'd been away from home overnight without my parents. When I saw the flogging, I was TERRIFIED. Then a red coat guy came to try and console me, and I fair dinkum screamed in the poor man's face, because I thought he was going to flog me too! That's all I remember about that whole trip. Scarred for life, but I came to love reading about this part of Australia's history, so it probably sowed a seed in my brain somewhere. I went to Sovereign Hill a few years later and absolutely loved it, and have returned as an adult as well. I think Old Sydney Town could come back, if it took a leaf out of Sovereign Hill and other historical theme parks in Australia. It's far from the city, but it has a pretty good spot, especially since it's next to the Reptile Park.

[@retyroni]

I also remember being scared by the floggings the first time. At later visits the convict actor hammed it up so much even the little kids could see it was obviously fake - even funny.

[@Snaerffer]

I loved going there as a kid. I still remember being fascinated by the process of dipping beeswax candles and buying hard lollies. It was of a time when Aussies were thankful and interested in our colonial roots …

[@Christizm]

Having been born here from a family that migrated here I was raised as an Aussie and loved this place it’s a shame that this country is selling out and our culture is vanishing

[@brucehayes7251]

My dad was in the craft group,made leather goods.we spent many weekends there as he acted the part of convict in a cottage and in the shop selling

[@mehere8038]

were they bees wax? I never realised that, I thought they were cheap stuff. I remember buying a pair of the ones dipped, then squashed to flatten them, then twisted to give a nice shape. I don't think I got to buy the ones I watched made, even though I wanted to, I have a feeling they were too hot & needed to buy earlier made ones or something, still awesome anyway :)

[@indeedentertainment]

Bring this back for those who never got to experience it!

[@miletalevski1862]

Memories of our youth. Those where the better years of our time. Shame that our government has no interest in Australia’s past. It would be a great idea if the people rallied together to reopen it gathering government grants.

[@janellehoney-badger6525]

Absolutely but unfortunately our government, today, only cares about votes by pleasing the politically appointed indigenous Australians & the ignorant “woke” crowd who prey of the kind nature of modern western society, to gain power & control without ever earning it.

[@rickau]

I went there in the 90's and it was a pretty good experience, all things considered. Made me more interested in our own history than anything I had so far come across in school to that date.

[@chuckbeggles8858]

And made me a lot more interested than writing endless bloody essays which is sadly how they teach history today - with kids nodding off in the process - often in the back row.

[@catsadilla324]

Hear me out: What if they reopen it as.... **drum roll** .... NEW SYDNEY TOWN complete with expensive but delicious coffee, replicas of pricey inner-west dwellings that consist of one bedroom, one bathroom one garage, and bin chooks roaming the grounds for that authentic Sydney feel.

[@ReviewTyme]

Too real! Thanks for a good laugh! - Luke

[@markpollard9202]

Just like everything goes to SHIT...MONEY MONEY...since when are people supportive to keep something going...these days it all yuppie hypsters ..public servants ...who simply caaaant have a plain hamburger for lunch at a milk bar...i waaaant the healhier option...im sorry but society and this fucked up society of ours. Will kill u before anything....i fucken laugh my head off...its people not being supportive...ITS ALL ABOUT BIGGER BETTER NEWER ..WELLFUCK ALL THAT...how about older unique ...and cherish what u have....places like WONDERLAND SYDNEY .LUNA PARK ..OLD SYDNEY TOWN..CANBERRY FAIR..ANDHUNDREDS MORE CANT BE REPLACED....this govervment of ours..istotall shithouse....just wants more more infastructure...people ..immigration overload....AUSTRALIA PREPARE TO LOSE YOUR COUNTRY ...YOU WILL YOU FUKN DUMB LAXED RETARDS. . Anyway...i guess its memories u wont replace...BILL SHORTEN..I PISS ON YOUR ELECTRICCARS...I STILL OWN MY FULLAS ..which i can work onmyself...fuck computers ..on cars...i prefer elec tronic ignitions carburettors..and fumes thanks....listen to cockie smith... True Legend...miss TANDY stores....dearly....AUSTRALIA UHAVE FUCKED..UP...APPARTMENTS....APPARTMENTS...UNITS UNITS.....MEHHH TO AUSTRALIA...honestly..sydney town should be operating all day long ifthey stopped and thought ..a little...andless public greed ..lol wet nwild water park...gives no resemblence to wonderland...two different things ..uhave history..retro nostalgia catergory...then u have cimmercial capita plasticshithose🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🤥🤥🤥🤣🤣🤣🤣😋😋 ALL IN ALL......IV LIVED MY LIFE...AUSTRALIA....U HAVE TURNED TO SHIT...FROM 1998....HOW U BELLOWED SHIT NONSTOP ABOUT YOUR MILLIENIUM....I PISS ON IT....BRING BACK THE NIGHT CURFEWS..GLASS. BEER JUGS...smoke adds....smoke where u want i dont ....but this has fucked thecountry and peoples minds ingeneral....concluding this fuck craft beer its for upper class yuppies...who cant drink ajug of reschs orKB...tooths....or tooheys draught🇦🇺🤣🤣🤣🧐😜

[@npcnpc3047]

And no white people

[@nordic5490]

NPC NPC ha ha, another dumb racist. Good effort idiot.

[@AustNRail]

Nor Dic you loose every time you because name call and are abusive. NPC NPC had a victory over you!

[@leokimvideo]

I went there a few times as a kid, and the problem was as it's said in this video not much ever evolved there. If you want a really deep bunny hole to investigate look into Skippy Park at Terry Hills Sydney. But be careful it's a VERY sensitive subject now due to the current owners of the land. Really important Australian TV history now in very serious danger of just vanishing.

[@andrewvolf2916]

They should have built another Pier 1. Like, um, the real Sydney....

[@beardymcbeardface69]

I think the whole Waratah Park thing has been far too tarnished once it became known that Skippy turned to prostitution.

[@CQuinnLady]

@@andrewvolf2916 Pier 1 was just another small fraction of sydney... n it wasnt that exciting.I went once, that was enough.

[@jameshatton4211]

Could you be less cryptic as nobody is monitoring you and punishing you for conspiracy theories? I'm not going to go research a hard to research topic to scour it for unknown anomalies FFS.. Just tell us what we should be looking for and let us try find the evidence that supports your theory or not? By the way, I went to school with the girl that played in the skippy TV series! So I've even got a lead on most other people on that note..... But what the f*** am I meant to even ask her?

[@leokimvideo]

@@jameshatton4211 I've done my research and a video about the state of Skippy Ranger HQ some 15 years ago. Yet today I have no access to that site, it's completely off limits to everyone. I'm certainly not going to tell a troll any more. I wasn't born yesterday.

[@brettmcs9805]

My father made blades for electric planers with a sawtooth shape so that the planks of wood used in the buildings could be planed to make them look as if they had been cut out by a cross-cut saw.

[@boop7313]

fantastic!

[@ABBARoxAus]

Absolutely loved this place. We went there many times when I was a kid. So sad to see it abandoned. I agree it needed to expand to keep interest going and keep people returning. Someone needs to update it and re-open. It would be hugely popular !

[@MatteHatt]

I went to OST many times while I lived in Sydney and was saddened when the closure was announced. It was a well managed and entertaining time travel experience. 😢

[@966Mako]

I'm 53 & remember going when I was about 11 with the family. I remember a lot of places we couldn't go because they weren't open. I did see a flogging, that my father joked about bring the concept back home for naughty boys. The ship was open, but all you could do was walk it's top deck, nothing happened on it. I remember doing a lot of walking, but nothing really happening. Considering it closed in 03, I think it had a good run for what it was.

[@jaredmichaeldubois7784]

Great content mate! It'd be cool to see a history vid on Jamberoo (Recreation) Action Park at some stage. Such a small park but funnily enough one of the only ones remaining/expanding in NSW.

[@jacquiharding9651]

Wow so many trips with family and interstate visitors. Lots of fond memories and such a great time, Would love to see it open again

[@maggiepetrie7854]

I remember going there with an American family who were Australian residents. The dad got chosen for a convict wedding reenactment. The real fun began when they asked our friend - the American man - his name so they could conduct the ceremony. His name was Randy. The “clergyman” winked at the “bride” and ad libbed “Well you’re in for a good time tonight!” Which was all the more hilarious for us knowing that Randy was in australia as an evangelical fundamentalist Christian missionary 😂

[@bikepacker9850]

I haven't seen this ad in forty years but I knew all the words and sung along like I was 12 years old again

[@splashpit]

I went in the late 70s , I remember the whipping traumatising me for years .

[@rachaelbean1439]

Oh my god me too. I was 12 it was 1978 and I was a Kiwi kid very excited to be in Australia on holiday until I saw the over realistic flogging scene. But then I used to hide behind the sofa for Dr Who .

[@tiediehud]

Omg me too!

[@Spaceshipguy]

Everytime we had an excursion to Old Sydney Town I would always return with flint stock cap guns......oh God the memories

[@justaddwata]

Nicely done!! So many memories from my youth. Even the commercial was a welcome sight!! Just spent the day at Plymouth Plantation (Massachusetts USA) which was a far far cry from the scale and action of OST in my youth. Thanks for the memories!!

[@graemesandstrom5654]

How informative! I never made it to Old Sydney Town. It fitted into the “I’m gonna one day” category. When you said that it was missing one element I thought that you meant the aboriginals. I only saw 1 photo of aborigines in your video. If it was reopened and they tried to accurately depict what happened there would be some quite horrible scenes with the affect of smallpox on the aboriginal community. However there would also be a wonderful part when Bennelong returned to stay at government house. The time that followed was amazing - aboriginals came to to settlement out of curiosity and were warmly greeted. This continued until Phillip retired and then the shit hit the fan! There is a great series called First Australians that investigates those first few years in depth. Thanks for the history of historical Old Sydney Town!

[@beenmicrophone5817]

@3:50 omg.. That guy..!! I vividly remember that guy..!! he had a kinda croaky timbre to his voice and was very loud. I think I was like 10-11 years old when our school went there on excursion. but wow. that is a trip. and to add to that, I think it was a really great and eye opening experience for someone still in primary school. It really was something special... especially considering the state of things today in this crazy modern world I think that there was something quite magical about the whole experience. Cool vid x

[@milesipka]

I went to Old Sydney Town on a school excursion in around 1992 or 1993 (I don't exactly remember which year but it was within those two years). I remember being the last student in my class to get off the school bus because my arm got stuck in the bus seat in front of me... I actually still have the boomerang I bought from the gift shop there. Sad to see it in the condition it is in now.

[@theNikonGuy]

I used to work with the convict being whipped and next scene playing the banjo. Robert Stubbs.

[@micheledix2616]

Loved old Sydney Town . We went way back in the 1980's

[@harryaizenberg9233]

I was one of the students who built the first huts. Our group built the hut of Private John Easty. It was the only hut with a thatched roof. As no one knew how to thatch, we finally found a gentleman in Perth who was an experienced thatcher in the UK. He was flown over from Perth to teach us. The thatch was also problematic as it had to be made fireproof by soaking in a retardent once we found a suitable grass. Accommodation for us was in an old cowshed where we slept on army cots. The food was atrocious - (occasional jam sandwiches for lunch). Towards the end of the project we were visited by members of the BLF ( Builders Labourers Federation), who called a stop work meeting and tried to convince us that Frank Fox was taking advantage of free student labour. We quickly told them where to go. It was an incredible experience.

[@reesadeamer]

My uncle was a carpenter in Gosford. He worked on the interiors of the buildings here

[@Brandis13]

I'm surprised that they could not survive as an openair historical museum. They could have artisans showing how things were produced back then and with building new houses every couple of years, things would have been interesting for revisits. Maybe bringing in and conserving endangered historical buildings from other parts of the country.

[@davidrobertson4301]

I knew a lot of people who had been the convict that got whipping. A lot of people said it wasn't planned properly and it really was a nasty solid whipping. Workers comp wasn't set up properly. Very quickly. Everyone on the central coast was warned that wasn't worth it to get work there

[@johnreynolds4473]

I'm one of the kids in the ad. Great times there. Years later my best mate got married there. Sad to see it close.

[@burnsy9865]

This was a great place, went there as a kid, an 18 year old and took my kids there, always enjoyable, I think my mate was arrested and put in the stocks which was fantastic entertainment for me and my other mates ( From memory I think he said he was asked on the side if he was OK with it but didn't tell us) and I remember the court hearings were quite funny and entertaining. Such a shame but it probably was the same each time, just different experiences for me but have nothing but good memories from it. Would love the grand kids to experience it all one day hopefully.

[@debdunn4868]

I have such fond memories of Old Sydney Town. Thank you .

[@christiankirkenes5922]

I have such good memories of visiting there as a youngster. It was awesome!

[@Steve211Ucdhihifvshi]

Another cracking video about lost treasures in our beautiful country

[@turnerjmulletboy]

Great little video! I grew up just near Gosford and remember going to old Sydney town in the... late 80s? I would've only been 4 or 5 at the time but seeing that guy get whipped stuck with me for life! haha. There was also a zoo in the area as well, guessing it's now shut as well.

[@Emperorvalse]

Great video. Many memories of OST in fact as soon as I saw the KZbin thumbnail the jingle played in my head! I went there at least 5 times with the last on the second last day it was open. I saw the news segment and was in a pub with my friend and we decided to go the next day. It was very rundown and like others have said many buildings were shut and you just walked around. The dock was roped off and the poor Perseverance was just holding on. The staff were sad, some you could tell were angry, but I still will keep those school excursion memories and taking my foreign relatives there for a visit.

[@defdog7575]

I was so excited to go there when I was a kid, as I thought everything in the shops would be priced 'like the olden days' and was expecting to buy a heap of stuff for a few cents

[@ninjamaster7724]

I always wanted to go to Old Sydney Town when i was a kid but my parents never took me.I remember driving past it many times on the way up the coast. I miss the old days.

[@timeconstrained2400]

I just enjoyed the beautiful bushland setting and the earthy smell of the bush.

[@Haywoodjablomie100]

Great video mate, why this only has 24k views in almost a year i will never know. The KZbin algo can be shit at not suggesting good content to more people sometimes. If you watch this vid dont forget to hit the thumbs up.

[@Melbournelost66]

In the 1970s about 1976 my Mum and Dad took me to this Park. We came up from Melbourne to visit an Aunt in Hunters Hill. So we caught the train to Gosford to see it. We have slides taken of this visit. Fond memories!

[@charlieheywood7401]

GRATATUDE 4 VIDEO. So much of our history gone or lost. So many of 2day not know or care of yesterday. But 4 them selves and there future. I do hope that SYDNEY TOWN shall return and build the history of yesterday and carry forward to the late 70s. To remember the past and the changers that came in2 SYDNEY and AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺.

[@monkeyishi]

awww i loved this place when i went here on school camp.

[@ST8BALLIN88]

I went there as a kid when an episode of the power rangers was filmed there and i got to meet the power rangers

[@ReviewTyme]

That’s one of the most beautifully 90’s Australian sentences I’ve ever heard! Sounds like an awesome memory! - Luke

[@jkay606]

Oh gosh, I never knew it was closed, every visitor from overseas I would take there, it was such a fantastic experience, even moreso for adults and overseas visitors loved it. But no-one knew about it, and the commercials kind of looked like it was just a restaurant. This is so sad it closed down...a gem

[@zappy7393]

Holy shit, I went here as a kid on a school excursion!...This place and Wonderland were the best!

[@brettholness6994]

I remember going there back in 1978 and still have my handcarved kangaroo necklace

[@tinaniafamily916]

Omg I remember this when I was 7, years ago live this place as a kid

[@missbilbybadinage1199]

😢I was there on January 26th 2003. I saw everything, I took lots of photos and videos, bought what I could carry and gorged on as much food as I could. My family never went together, one of my siblings never had the chance. I wish it would reopen at least for the summer school holidays or something with some gov funding (education), it would have tell both sides of the story, but some would probably block any chance of future access. 😢

[@308V8HZ]

In the late 70's my brother and I and 4 or 5 mates would work and dress like convicts digging holes and typical labour duties , we dug the trench in front of the courthouse to lay in the sandstone blocks for the wall and other cool stuff around the property and because we were dressed like convicts we could go anywhere , one day we got into the pub and went back to work drunk , took photos with tourists , went in the windmill , went in the Endeavour which you had to walk bending over especially in the captains cabin . The funny thing is there was a big concrete pipe going into the water near the dock to the ship , our job was to break it up with sledgehammers , my best mate grabbed the biggest sledgy and hit this pipe and it bounced right back up and knocked him out cold , after the ambulance left for Gosford hospital we carried on working . I was also knocked out in the back of an old tiptruck , we were all standing up in the tipper going up to the top of the property when I came across a low hanging gum tree branch over the road , everyone ducked except for me , got me right across the forehead . 2nd best job I ever had !!

[@jack0slack]

The Sovereign Hill vs. Old Sydney Town comparison for me is very easy to understand and instructive if it were to re-open - Sovereign Hill had stuff to *do*. Nearly all of old Sydney Town was standing around and watching actors do things. By contrast, Sovereign Hill's pubs had pub games like Bagatelle. You could pan for gold. There were throughout the park honest to goodness activities that were fun. It was worth going back. Also the sweets shop there was incredible and I still have fond memories of their acid drops. Old Sydney Town's biggest flaw wasn't that it catered too closely to one time period. That was an obstacle, but Sovereign Hill proved it could work. Its biggest flaw was that it was boring.

[@CamperKev]

That was very interesting. I remember visiting Old Sydney Town on a school excursion and I remember a friend of the family that worked there. I recall that she was in the TV commercial and worked in the restaurant as a waitress. Her partner in real life was a news paper journalist who committed suicide.

[@brett22bt]

Well, that was a happy story.

[@flash_69]

I went there on a school excursion in the late seventies. As was great at the time because we were studing early Australian convict history.

[@andrewattenboroughtwothumb4697]

I remember going their as a kid in the 90s with our school and it was incredible great memories

[@njsmkmmsthatsit3518]

I think this was actually opened in the 70's. Back then as a very young child it was fascinating. We had no idea what a theme park was so I guess there was no disappointment at not seeing rides etc.

[@hannahcochrane3459]

The only memory I have of this place was going one January when my brother was very little, and watching the lashes. Incredibly traumatising Edit: turns out I went on my third birthday. What a day!!

[@gerryhouska2859]

Took the family there circa 1980. That and the African Lion Safari in Warragamba. The kids loved it. too bad it's all gone. I guess children today just finger their mobile phones instead.

[@argonanarchy3882]

I've never even heard of this. It would have been nice to see it on the trip my class made to Canberra and Sydney. (I'm from WA so...)

[@greghatton1787]

The floggings scared the shit out of me as a kid.

[@skipozzzz04]

I got 2,3 floggings a day when working there in the 90s , and that stage blood was had to get off your skin,

[@greghatton1787]

@@skipozzzz04 I ended up being an actor, partly because of you guys....Thanks

[@lundsweden]

Everyone seems to have gone here on school excursions!

[@vanessacollins9434]

Old Sydney town and also Timber Town were amazing places to go to as a kid in the 80’s

[@terryjohinke8250]

Took my kids there years ago and the good thing about it the kid learnt history with out knowing it because they did not get board . We all had a great time going from story teller to story teller and different acts of the time . Sad kids of today cant enjoy it .

[@truthseeker8483]

I went there on a school excursion in the late 70's I believe...it was a nice experience...it is sad to think it no longer exists..I guess the result of today's disrespect for the past

[@LanceWiggle]

As for the Old Sydney Town, it was filmed there during the production of Cold Spaghetti Western from The Wiggles

[@JeffreyPiatt]

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episode Return of the Green Ranger was filmed there too with the park being colonial Angel Grove. Two S2 episodes were filmed in Australia because the film was running late with its filming at the future Fox Studios Australia.

[@Darryl_Frost]

I went there lots of times, enjoyed it every time. It really was fun as a kid.

[@bloodmorel]

I was glad to see OST as a kid. One of those memorable childhood moments.

[@lynettegraves6261]

I still have souvenirs from my visits. I loved it so much and looked forward to taking my own kids. Such a shame, but great memories.

[@petermcculloch4933]

Sydney people would rather attend the Gay Mardis Gras or the New Year's Eve Fireworks Display than pay an admission fee.Old Sydney Town is not the only incredible attraction to fail. The Hanna Barbera Amusement Park also went broke.And look at Rugby League.The game is very popular, yet attendances are extremely poor - compared to AFL.

[@cody8860]

I went there in 2003 for school. I had no idea this shut down that same year.

[@andrewgraham7659]

I'm sure there are many other kids who visited Old Sydney Town, I was one of them.

[@waynet8496]

I remember as a young kid seeing the guy get whipped with the cat of 9 tails and they had red dye to make it look like cuts. I had trouble at the time telling if it was real.

[@kohlineyes]

I remember the windmill functioning!

[@danielraymond9631]

Me too. I thought it was odd lol

[@CrazyWhiteVanDriver]

Went there in the 80s on school excursion.. Great memories.

[@allouttagum4919]

In 89 remember having to cut our day short as nanna had heat stroke, as she was getting treatment my parents asked if there was anything I wanted... I said flintlock pistol. I still have my nanna and the replica. Thanks for the nostalgia bro.

[@MrThedwp]

Yep as noted in the video I went a couple of times to Old Sydney Town on school excursions as seemingly just about every school did. I vaguely remember it although still have an old wanted poster you could buy where they put your name on it which was a quaint little tourism ploy

[@JJSPARROW1978]

2020-2021 - We all went back to Ol Sydney Town, convicts we all be.

[@melross2884]

We went every year for a school excursion. I mostly remember the flogging and court performance and the candle dipping shop

[@oo0Spyder0oo]

Went there with my school on an excursion. I'm surprised the school visits didn't keep it going as with so many schools and new students there will be new eyes to see it, beside tourists. I thought it was a good idea as a kid and always told people to go do it. Greets to anyone from East Corrimal if they were on the same trip.

[@melissalove2463]

This is so interesting, I really loved going here for my school excursion. 💕❤️💕

[@Armourlego]

Would be interesting to know what happened to Peppermint Park in Port Macquarie.

[@01eddielawson]

It's been bulldozed and multi-story units built on the site

[@Armourlego]

Andrew Lawson Thanks for that. That’s a shame. Went there with the family as a kid on school holidays. Fond memories.

[@MrRecrute]

Sovereign Hill is located within Ballarat, a considerable advantage compared to the location of Old Sydney Town, and on a former gold mining site. So has some historical context. As I recall at the time there were questions as to why Old Sydney Town was located so far from Sydney. It’s an hours drive from where I live on the north side of the harbour, but more like 90 minutes if you’re from the western or southwestern suburbs. I never felt an urge to visit it but when the kids were young we went to Victoria and visited Sovereign Hill. If Old Sydney Town was located close to or within Sydney it might have succeeded.

[@leewarry8641]

My social motorcycle club rented the whole place for 3 days for our annual club get together. It was 2o11 & the place was still like when it was open every thing was still there .the groundsman told us a Chinese invested brought it for the land & just shut the gate . Great weekend was had by 200 bikers .

[@hmlandis1370]

Well, this was definitely a cool place for The Wiggles to make Cold Spaghetti Western.

[@Kaipi1988]

I'm not even Australian and this made me sad

[@andyman8630]

i loved going to Old Sydney Town in the late 70's - i could have ssspent a week there just studying the old machines and weapons

[@vitabricksnailslime8273]

Great bit of local history mate.

[@TheLexiconDevils]

How exactly did it ‘change every day’ according to the theme song?

[@aussiejubes]

Oh my gosh! I was just wondering what happened to this place recently! Everytime I went to visited my great grandparents in Woy Woy I'd make the poor coupek drive me here & walk around. I've always adored historical villages. We have one here in Brisbane, in Caboolture & I go usually about once a year.

[@peterkirgan2921]

I often frequent woy woy! My mate Billy knew the Milligan brothers ? Desmond & Terry! Terry u know was the mastermind behind the troupe called the Goons !! Lol aka Spike!!😂😂😂

[@LeslieMorris]

My school travelled 5-6 hours to go there in the mid-90s. I remember it being a big deal. Everything you said was on point. I remember the high lights where the whipping and a shoot out between a convict and a soilder, where the convict won. That entire region had a lot of shitty amusement parks: Timber Town, Fantasy Glades, Peppermint Park, Green Valley Farm. Green Valley Farm is pretty good for what it is and I believe still open. I grew up near another shitty amusement park called Mini Land. Which was basically mini golf and a dinasour statute.