Before Melbourne had Luna Park, there was Princes Court. Advertised as the ‘Premier PLEASURE GROUND of Australasia’,1Princes Court is considered to be the first amusement park in Australia.2 Sydney’s first amusement park, Wonderland City, was established a few years later in 1907 (Sydney Morning Herald, 12 November 1949, p 7).

In September 1904, The Argus reported that ‘about four and a half hectares of land has been secured in St Kilda Road, near Prince’s bridge, upon which will be erected a water-chute, toboggan slide, fiery dragon (a novel form of motor railway), bandstands and refreshment rooms’ (24 September 1904). The location on St Kilda Road was where the Arts Centre is now. The new pleasure resort, heralded to be the Earl’s Court of Australia (The Age, 12 November 1904, p 16), opened to the public in December of that year.
This part of St Kilda Road was well-established as Melbourne’s live entertainment district. Travelling circuses had been pitching their tents there since the late 19th century, with the Fitzgerald Bros Circus erecting the first permanent building on the site in 1901.3 Princes Court was located between Fitzgerald’s Circus and the Yarra River.


Princes Court manager A.L. Baird was inspired by amusement parks he had observed in England and America (Table Talk, 14 September 1905, p 9). The primary attraction was the Canadian water chute, which was said to be 70 feet high (the same size as the one at Earl’s Court) (The Herald, 18 November 1904, p 8), and ‘far loftier than either of its cousins in Bendigo and Manly’.4 The boats could fit 8 passengers and a steersman, and were hauled slowly to the top of the platform by means of electric motors. Once the boats and their cargo reached the precipice they then hurtled down at breakneck speed into an artificial lake, which was 75 feet wide at one end and over 225 feet long (Table Talk, 24 November 1904, p 18). The lake was excavated from the soil and constructed of wood, made watertight with a lining of Malthoid Roofing, which allowed for quite efficient water conservation.5


The Premier of Victoria Thomas Bent, then in his late sixties, was the first to ‘shoot the chute’ at the park’s opening ceremony on December 14, a feat he accomplished with an audience of 2000 guests, along with the Minster of Lands, and the Minister of Education, and ‘several ladies’, without injury (The Age, 15 December 1904, p 6). Bent was said to be quite rotund and the Melbourne Punch observed that he flew down the chute ‘like a streak of greased lightning’.6 ‘It is a unique experience’ one rider commented, ‘and feels very much, one would imagine, like flying’ (The Australasian, 17 December 1904, p 49).


Other attractions included a Toboggon slide that allowed people to race each other, a ‘tugaroo’ or tug-of-war on wheels, an electric rifle range with moving models of animals set in a stage forest, a miniature train ride for the little ones called ‘The Great Dragon’, an open-air stage hosting Pierrot performances,7 and a military band that played every afternoon and evening.8 These entertainments were considered to be ‘suitable to the taste of the better class of pleasure-seekers’ (The Herald, 18 November 1904, p 8).
Princes Court also offered a two-storied Japanese tea house, where the female attendants were dressed in traditional kimonos (The Australasian, 17 December 1904, p 49). The general theme and decorations of the park also took their inspiration from Japan, with the grand entrance of the theme park of Japanese design with a grinning demon perched atop. At night it was lit with countless electric lanterns and fairy lights, staying open until 11pm (The Herald, 7 January 1905, p 5).


As Princes Court grew in popularity, new attractions were added, including Lindgard’s flying machine, an early model of the swing ride, powered by a man sitting on a large bicycle (pictured below), and the Katzenjammer Castle, a haunted mansion which visitors entered via a ‘dimly lighted archway to processionise through many a dark, winding passage, to be entertained by the unseen in a strange and wondrous fashion, and exit at last, both amused and amazed’ (Independent (Footscray, Vic), 6 January 1906, p 3).
![Shows early model flying machine being powered by a man sitting on a large bicycle, with patrons riding in the seats. The machine is sitting on a wooden structure with signage which reads: FREE/ LINGARD'S FLYING MACHINE AND [..ERICAN] SLOT PARLOR/ FREE. Possibly an attraction at Princes Court amusement park in St. Kilda, Melbourne](https://blogs.slv.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Lingards-flying-machine-1024x1021.jpg)

Despite being enormously popular and drawing large crowds daily, the park was sadly short-lived. In 1906 both of the Fitzgerald Bros died (The Maitland Daily Mercury (NSW), 21 April 1906, p 4), and their building was eventually taken over by the Wirth Bros.9 When Princes Court experienced financial difficulties around 1908 the Wirth Bros bought the park and combined it with their circus building.10 In 1909, they opened a large roller-skating rink (Table Talk, 12 August 1909, p 11). The Wirths remained at this location, known as Wirths’ Park, until 1953, when the site was tragically destroyed by fire (The Argus, 28 December 1953, p 1).
A golden age of live entertainment had come to an end.


[between 1950 and 1959?]. Photo by Charles Daniel Pratt; H2016.33/12
We are fortunate that the Library holds several items relating to the history of Princes Court, including several photographs, a souvenir booklet celebrating their opening and describing their attractions in detail, a collection of 8 architectural and engineering plans of the park, and a collection of visually striking souvenir postcards by Laurie Taylor – all which have been digitised and can be viewed online, like this stunning watercolour of the Japanese teahouse.


Further reading
‘Circus, slides & roller skates: before Arts Centre Melbourne’, 28 May, 2020, Arts Centre Melbourne, <https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20201209134657/https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/community/content-hub/together-with-you/stories/2020/circus-slides-and-roller-skates>
Marshall, S, 2005, Luna Park : just for fun, 2nd ed, Milsons Point, N.S.W., Luna Park Sydney
Philips, D, 2012, Fairground attractions: a genealogy of the pleasure ground, London, Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Pub
Wood, J, ed, 2017, The amusement park : history, culture and the heritage of pleasure, London and New York, Routledge
“Princes Court” Melbourne : Season 1904-5 has been digitised by Deakin university
References
- “Princes Court” Melbourne : Season 1904-5
- Djubal, C, 2012, ‘Princes Court’, Australian Variety Theatre Archive, Industry: Misc 1, Amusements, viewed 19 October 2024, <https://ozvta.com/industry-misc-1/2/>
- Jackson, I, 2020, ‘Circus, slides & roller skates: before Arts Centre Melbourne’, viewed 19 October 2024, <https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20201209134657/https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/community/content-hub/together-with-you/stories/2020/circus-slides-and-roller-skates>
- “Princes Court” Melbourne : Season 1904-5
- As above, p 40
- Punch (Melbourne, Vic), 22 December 1904, p 4, cited by Jackson, I, 2020, ‘Circus, slides & roller skates: before Arts Centre Melbourne’, viewed 19 October 2024, <https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20201209134657/https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/community/content-hub/together-with-you/stories/2020/circus-slides-and-roller-skates>
- commedia dell’arte
- “Princes Court” Melbourne : Season 1904-5, Melbourne, Princes Court Property. Ltd.
- Jackson, I, 2020, ‘Circus, slides & roller skates: before Arts Centre Melbourne’, viewed 19 October 2024, <https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20201209134657/https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/community/content-hub/together-with-you/stories/2020/circus-slides-and-roller-skates>
- As above