History of the Iconic Ferris Wheel

Luna Park Sydney’s Ferris Wheel stands 40 metres in the air, with a ride in one of its open-air gondolas boasting one of the best views you can get of Sydney Harbour. But did you know the world’s first Ferris Wheel was twice as big? At eighty metres high, it contained 36 passenger cars with 40 revolving cars that could accommodate up to 60 people? It dates back to 1893, when George Ferris Junior built his invention in time for the World’s Columbian Fair in Chicago. It was that fair’s tallest attraction and built to prove that America could outshine France, which had hosted the previous World Fair  (‘Exposition Universelle’) in Paris in 1889. Not only did the French fair attract 32 million visitors, it delivered the world’s tallest structure, the Eiffel Tower, as a lasting legacy. 

For an ambitious city like Chicago, home to the world’s first skyscraper in 1885, Alexandre Gustav Eiffel’s iron tower had challenged America’s perception of itself as dominant in the realm of iron and steel. “To out Eiffel, Eiffel,” becomes a rally cry among Chicagoans,on a quest to make their home a world-class city. 

The Ferris Wheel, became the American invention which had the most lasting impact on the shape of future fun. Chicago’s World Fair, also known as “White City” became known as the “fair that changed America”. It was the first to introduce the term the “Midway” – which is still used at Luna Park Sydney today to describe the central alley where the bulk of rides are located.

SThe Luna Park Sydney Ferris Wheel also starred in a 1969 episode of the TV show Skippy the bush kangaroo. In the second series of the show, Sonny (played by Garry Pankhurst) wins a trip for himself and a friend to Sydney's Luna Park in a newspaper competition. En route, Sonny encounters a pickpocket (played by actor John Meillon) who hides a stolen wallet in Skippy's pouch to evade the police. Sonny talks his new friend into rescuing a child trapped on the Ferris wheel – so Meillon features climbing to the top of the ride. 

Do you have a favourite Luna Park Sydney Ferris Wheel story?

If so send to Helen Pitt history@lunaparksydney.com and tell us your story – for her book about the park, to be launched before the amusement park’s 90th birthday in October 2025.