Park’s still their field of dreams
ON a day when grown-ups reflected on tragedy, loss and the lottery of life, these were the pictures that truly painted a thousand words.
Each of them taken since that dark day 12 months ago. Each of them a reminder that Dreamworld remains the happiest place on Earth for so many of our littlies.
“Any time we ask them what they want to do as a special treat, they always say ‘Dreamworld’,” said Brisbane’s Cat Bensein, aka Georgia and Lulu’s mummy.
“Take Georgia’s birthday. We didn’t suggest going there. She did and they had the time of their lives.”
The first anniversary of the accident that killed four people and devastated the lives of countless more was always going to be a balancing act for the team at Dreamworld.
They held a private service for hundreds of staff.
They removed all colour from their website home page and posted a solemn message on their social media platforms.
They did all they could to respect the people who lost the most on October 25, 2016.
The balancing act was because Dreamworld is ultimately in the business of creating happy memories and, as these images so beautifully highlight, an entire generation is waiting to bank them.
“Dreamworld’s still just Dreamworld for her,” Tara King said of two-year-old Ivy, her kangaroo-loving girl.
“She doesn’t know what happened behind the scenes. For her it’s about visiting Wiggle Bay (at WhiteWater World) and meeting and greeting all the characters.
“We live at Cleveland but the drive is always worth it.”
For Rosie McClintock, a day at Dreamworld with her granddaughters now doubles as a trip down memory lane. “I remember taking our kids there when they were little,” she said.
“They obviously liked it because now they’re taking their own children.”
On the day the lights of her life got a cuddle with The Gingerbread Man, Rosie had made the trek from Gympie with so many of the special people in her life – her son, her daughter and three little girls who, like a girl called Alice, were in a wonderland.
“They absolutely loved it,” Nana Rosie said. “They adore the place.”
But surely not as much as the Bensein girls – Georgia, 6, and Lulu, 4 – adore paying a visit to Fairytale Treasures.
“We can’t get them out of there,” Cat said of the shop where “fantasies come true”.
“But they love it all, even having an ice-cream.
“That photo was actually taken on (Georgia’s friend) Sienna’s sixth birthday. That was also the first time they were tall enough to go on the roller-coasters so they were pretty excited.”
And do they know of what happened a year ago?
“No, we haven’t told them. We make it a fun place because that’s what it’s about.”
As difficult as it must have been, another mum somewhat echoed those words this week when she reflected on the children she lost a year ago.
“They were huge fans of the theme parks,” Kim Dorsett said of Luke Dorsett and Kate Goodchild.
“They would never want people to miss out on the enjoyment and thrills of Dreamworld and the theme parks because of this.”