Coast won’t forget victims
THE shockwaves from the Gold Coast’s darkest day are continuing to reverberate through the city, but two years on the ripples are getting smaller.
About 2pm on October 25, 2016, a pump stopped working on Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids Ride, causing water levels to drop, a raft to become stuck on the conveyor belt and the lives of many to change forever.
That raft was hit by another carrying Luke Dorsett, his sister Kate Goodchild, her daughter Ebony, 12, Roozbeh Araghi, Cindy Low and her son, Kieran, 10. The four adults were killed as a result of the incident. The children escaped uninjured.
For two years the Gold Coast and the tourism sector have felt the shock of the fatal incident, and continue to bear witness to the long drawn-out inquest to uncover the contributing factors to the disaster.
Outside the Southport Court precinct the city is starting to notice a shift.
Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista is seeing a change.
“Approximately seven million people visit Gold Coast theme parks each year and the offering continues to be at the top of visitors’ list of things to go to.
“The last two years have been very testing of this sector but the unwavering compassion and resilience shown will enable the journey of recovery to continue.
“Our thoughts are with the families of loved ones and those affected by this tragedy.”
Tour Gold Coast operator Hisaya Kishihara, who caters to Chinese and Japanese visitors, said the international tourism market saw the tragedy out best.
“I remember the day it happened, I was shocked and felt so sorry for the families,” he said.
“The news though really didn’t go international enough to impact on the Asian markets. The Gold Coast’s name has fared well.”
An unnamed safety adviser who had been contracted to theme parks across Queensland said he saw the impact in the theme park industry and its staff firsthand.
“The theme parks are an important piece of Queensland tourism and thus obviously had a dramatic effect on not only Dreamworld but all parks,” he said.
“It hit hard with a few of the employees I knew from Dreamworld – and still does.
“I spoke with one just the other week and she said the ongoing flack that she receives when people see her after work with her Dreamworld name tag on is horrible.”
Families of the victims left the Gold Coast after the inquest last week, instead choosing to commemorate the anniversary in private.
They have been through a tough month, spending two weeks listening to excruciating detail about what happened on the day in the lead up to the terrifying tragedy as the inquest sifted through the evidence.
They are expected to return to the Gold Coast again next month when the inquest resumes.
The theme park will not be officially commemorating the day of the tragedy today but have offered support to staff who wish to do so in private.