COUNTDOWN TO DISASTER
1986: The Thunder River Rapids Ride is built.
LATE 80s/early 90s: In a date unable to be specified, the ride undergoes maintenance to remove some wooden slats near the conveyor belt creating a gap.
1999: A safety audit recommends an emergency stop button to stop all mechanisms of the ride be placed on the main control panel. It is never done.
JANUARY 18, 2001: A raft flips on the Thunder River Rapids Ride during a dry run before the ride opens for the day. The raft flips after hitting other carriages stopped on a protrusion on the conveyor belt. In an internal email, a safety manager writes they “shudder to think” what would have happened if the rafts had guests on them. The Southport Coroner’s Court hears yesterday it was one of a “number” of incidents with the ride.
OCTOBER 7, 2004: A passenger ends up in the water after two rafts collide. No one is injured.
2006: Safety audits are conducted of the ride. Recommends all buttons be clearly labelled. The upgrades are never made.
EARLY 2016: A safety audit across the entire park gives Dreamworld a rating of 41.7 per cent. A pass is 75 per cent.
OCTOBER 18, 2016: A memo is sent to all staff that the emergency stop button should only be used when the main control panel cannot be reached.
OCTOBER 19, 2016: The south pump fails. Engineers describe it as a “earth fault” and reset the pump. Engineers and “drive managers: are booked to do further maintenance on October 27, 2016.
11.50AM, OCTOBER 25, 2016: The south pump has an “earth fault” again and engineers reset the pump and the ride continues. Operators had noticed the water levels dropped and stopped the ride.
1.09PM: The south pump fails again. The ride is stopped and the pump is once again reset so the ride can continue.
2.03PM: The south pump fails a third time. 2.04PM: A raft is stuck on the conveyor. 2.05PM: The raft carrying Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Roozbeh Araghi and Cindy Low and two children hits the first raft. Their raft flips, killing the four adults almost instantly.
2.45PM: Coomera CIB acting officer-in-charge Detective Sergeant Nicola Brown arrives on scene after requests from police on the ground. Det-Sgt Brown becomes the principal investigating officer for the tragedy.