EYE ON REEF RIDE HAS US IN A SPIN

JAMES Jackson and his daughter Alice check out The Star of the Show ferris wheel at Melbourne’s Moomba Festival. The 30m-high ride, to be renamed The Reef Eye, is coming to Cairns from August 30 for a three-month trial.

A GIGANTIC wheel of fortune will be towering over the Cairns Esplanade by the end of the month amid hopes it will unlock a burst of free social media marketing for the city.

The 30m-tall Star of the Show ferris wheel – the largest continuously travelling ride of its type in Australia – will start operating at Fogarty Park for a three-month trial from August 30 to December 1.

It will be renamed The Reef Eye during its tropical tenure after getting the green light from Cairns Regional Council yesterday.

It will not cost ratepayers a cent unless they want a ride, with owner Westshell Wheels paying a fee to the council to use the inner-city park.

Mayor Bob Manning hoped the attraction would notch up some free tourism advertising for the region.

“I imagine it will also appeal to thousands of tourists who will be snapping photographs from the top and sharing them on Facebook and Instagram, sending amazing images of our city across the world,” he said.

Installation will take four days with a view to maintaining the wheel in the city if the numbers stack up beyond the three-month trial period.

The wheel has been a feature of some of the country’s iconic locations, festivals and shows including the Sydney Royal Easter Show, Moomba Festival in Melbourne and the Ekka in Brisbane.

Westshell Wheels general manager Leigh Achis said the ride would operate seven days a week from 10am-10pm.

Its base will only occupy a 20m-by-20m site.

The ride is the largest continuously travelling ferris wheel in Australia – but that does not mean that it never stops turning.

“When we say ‘continuously travelling’, that means it’s travelling around Australia,” Mr Achis said.

“It’s housed on four semitrailers which all link together to create the base of the wheel.”

The company anticipates strong numbers in Cairns.

“To be honest, I think Cairns has a very similar demographic to Fremantle,” Mr Achis said.

“We do have another wheel in Fremantle which has some great patronage for both locals and tourists coming through the town.”

Each gondola incorporates an LED lighting system with 35 changing patterns, which can be programmed to complement theming or branding for local businesses hoping to promote their services.