Ghost Train Fire: Accident Or Arson?

Seven Australians died in the tragedy. Now a new documentary series explores what really happened at Luna Park on june 9, 1979

- Melissa Field

It was a cold, clear winter’s night. Laughter, shouts and screams of joy rang out across Sydney Harbour and the irresistible smell of hot chips filled the air. Luna Park was busy that evening back in 1979 – and its Ghost Train ride was particularly in demand. As it approached 10.15pm, a queue for admittance still snaked outside the ride. Just moments later, though, the screams took on a pitch of terror and the stench of acrid smoke slowly spread across the park. Soon, the eerie wail of sirens drowned out the anguished cries.

A fire had erupted on the busy Ghost Train ride. That inferno at Luna Park on June 9, 1979, resulted in the deaths of seven Australians, including six children (see box above).

The unimaginable tragedy is the subject of award-winning journalist Caro Meldrum Hanna’s new three-part documentary series, Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire. It follows her 2018 investigation into the disappearance of Keli Lane’s baby, Tegan.