The Sydney Ghost Train fire at Luna Park Sydney in Australia killed seven people (six children and one adult) and destroyed the ride on 9 June 1979. The fire was originally blamed on an electrical fault despite firefighter observations to the contrary. A 1979 coronial inquiry and mid-1980s investigation were inconclusive about the fire's cause.
Over the years there have been claims the true cause was arson ordered by Abe Saffron, and that NSW Police had covered it up. This conspiracy theory was perpetuated by park artist Martin Sharp, who spent over three decades amassing a large personal archive of documents relating to the fire, creating art inspired by the fire (including the unfinished film Street of Dreams) and advocating for new investigations into its cause, insisting it had been deliberately lit.
Since Saffron's death in 2006, two of his relatives have substantiated this theory. A 2021 Australian Broadcasting Corporation investigation featured testimony from numerous eyewitnesses consistent with arson. The ABC concluded that Saffron was responsible and that NSW Police had indeed conspired to cover up his involvement. Renewed interest since then has led to public demand for the case to be reopened. In late 2024, there were court hearings indicating the potential for a second coroner's inquest. As of 2026, it has been claimed by "anonymous police sources" that this is unlikely.
Background
Ride
The Ghost Train was one of Luna Park's 1935 opening day attractions. Located between Big Dipper's station and the River Caves, the building housing it was originally built as a storeroom for equipment awaiting installation after arriving from Luna Park Glenelg. Architectural plans of the Ghost Train are held at the State Library of New South Wales.
The looped recording that attracted guests to the ride promised "the creepiest spine-tingling ride of your life", adding:
Cars would enter through a door reading "Hell's Doorway." Many twists and turns in pitch black then followed, yanking passengers along a 180-metre electric track. Most of the ride was pitch black. The ride was lined with dancing skeletons, an ape monster, a dragon's head, Dracula in a graveyard and a skeleton in a box. The ride also featured a fake fireplace which, according to witnesses, is where the actual fire originated.
Disputed lease In the early 1970s, Luna Park was leased by the NSW government to property developers Leon Fink and Nathan Spatt. That lease expired in 1975, leaving Fink and Spatt paying $30,000 in rent annually. By 1979, plans were underway for a new 30-year lease to be drawn up for Fink and Spatt, although the specifics had been in dispute. Fink and Spatt were on good terms with NSW Premier Neville Wran until relations soured following a lunch at Wran's Woollahra mansion for reasons which are unclear - potentially involving comments Spatt made about the fit-out of Wran's house, criticism of Wran's use of a private jet or Fink and Spatt not donating enough money to the Australian Labor Party. Whatever the reason, Wran is said to have told Fink: "While my bum points to the ground, you and your partner won't get that place." Later developments would raise the credible possibility that underworld figure Abe Saffron wanted the lease, and it was later established that businesses connected to him were at least peripherally involved with the park.
Martin Sharp park involvement Artist Martin Sharp had been involved with Luna Park since being invited to redesign the face in 1973. Sharp was a passionate advocate for the park and was also fixated on the eccentric musician Tiny Tim, who played a ukulele and commanded a working knowledge of thousands of popular songs. In January 1979, Sharp brought Tiny to Australia to set the world record for the longest non-stop professional singing marathon in a concert at Luna Park. In April 1979, several children were injured when the park's Big Dipper roller coaster crashed. Sharp wrote a letter to Wran expressing concerns about safety at the park, but chose not to send it after a friend warned him the language was too strong.
Fire On the night of 9 June 1979, Jennifer and John Godson, and their two children Damien and Craig, were visiting Sydney on holiday from Warren in regional New South Wales. Before boarding a ferry to Luna Park at Circular Quay, a man dressed in a "loincloth and wearing a mask with horns" approached Damien Godson and said "Do you mind if I have my photo taken with your little boy?" then placed a hand on his shoulder. Jennifer Godson then took a photo, which ended up being the last of Damien while alive. The man has never been identified. While at Luna Park, the Godson children rode the Ghost Train once but insisted on going again. At around 10pm, Jennifer decided to buy an ice cream but returned to find that Damien, Craig and John had all boarded the Ghost Train without her. Five students from Waverley College were also on the ride at that Jonathan Billings, Richard Carroll, Michael Johnson, Seamus Rahilly and Jason on a rare independent outing, having spent the earlier part of the day playing rugby and attending church.
Fire broke out inside the ride at approximately 10pm. Around thirty-five people were believed to have been on the ride when thick smoke began to escape from the tunnel doors. The fire began within an imitation fireplace that typically had paper "flames", which confused several of the riders. Once others realised the fire was real, they warned the ride operatorsExposed: The Ghost Train Fire, ABC, 2021 who began to pull people from the ride as their cars exited the tunnel, including Holman.
The fire brigade were informed at 10:14 pm and left soon after. Their job on the night was made difficult for a number of reasons. Crews struggled to enter the park via the one road in and out while thousands of guests were evacuating. They then found that there was "no water pressure whatsoever" from the on-site hydrants and the hoses "leaked like sieves", which meant fire trucks had to be repositioned in order to drain water out of the harbour then set up a relay pump from one truck to the other. It was also necessary to set up lighting powered by generators, which took more time. The blaze was particularly ferocious as the Ghost Train was built of "highly combustible materials" and did not have an in-built sprinkler system. The fire spread to the "Toyland" area of the nearby River Caves before finally being put out at 11:17 pm, after more than an hour. It took even longer to cool the wreckage down enough to allow the fire crew to search inside.
At 11:30pm, the bodies of John, Damien and Craig Godson were discovered, apparently having left the cars to seek safety then having perished as the father attempted to shelter the children. Billings, Carroll, Johnson and Rahilly were also discovered in "another section." The surviving Jennifer Godson was left in immense shock at the sudden loss of her husband and children, and Holman found himself as the only survivor of the group of friends he went out with. Most of the ride was destroyed, leaving behind burnt-out cars and "a painting of a leering skeleton." While taking photos to document the scene, the crew also observed that the switchboard area was completely intact, meaning whatever caused the fire "wasn't consistent with an electrical fault."
Witnesses to the fire included park founder Ted Hopkins, Sharp, who arrived at Luna Park around 11pm after receiving a call from Arkie Whiteley and watched the plumes of smoke from a distance, and future investigative reporter Kate McClymont. Fink arrived at the park later in the night, and claims to have been told by a police officer:
Subsequent events 1979–1984: Initial investigation, Abe Saffron rumours and Street of Dreams
The morning after the fire, Sharp delivered his unsent letter to Wran about safety concerns at the park. The fire was a major turning point in Sharp's life that would consume his artistic practice and activism for the next three decades.
Luna Park was shut down immediately after the fire for a federal investigation. The fire was initially blamed on an "electrical fault" by NSW Police, who immediately ruled out arson. It was also speculated that the seven dead may have survived had they stayed in the cars.
A memorial service for Carroll, Johnson, Billings and Rahilly organised by Waverley College was held at St. Mary's Cathedral on 15 June, attended by three to four thousand people plus thousands of others who lined the streets to pay their respects to the motorcade. Another service for the Godsons took place in Warren.
A Coroner's Court of New South Wales inquest began on 13 August 1979. Holman gave evidence and claimed that while he was waiting to go on the ride, a couple left while complaining of a "vile smell in there." Senior lecturer in electrical engineering, A.D. Stokes, also stated there was no evidence to support that an electrical fault was responsible. Around a quarter of the 80 witnesses who were called were dismissed without giving evidence. Decades later, it was publicly revealed several of those had described seeing "bikies" in the park on the night and smelling kerosene on the ride. Several of them also later claimed that they were coerced by police into changing their stories.
The results of the inquest were released in September. The Coroner concluded that the cause of the fire "cannot conclusively be stated", while accepting expert testimony that the ride's permanent wiring and attractions were unlikely to have been the source of though it could not be completely excluded. Having heard from witnesses that ride patrons often ignored no smoking signs and "had the habit of discarding food wrapping and other litter", Anderson stated that while "the most probable cause of the fire was ignition of flammable litter by a cigarette or match[...] discarded by a person riding on the train[...] how the fire was ignited, the evidence adduced does not allow me to say".
Anderson's inquiry examined issues beyond the source of ignition. He found that Luna Park's management had failed to develop an adequate fire suppression program despite recommendations by North Sydney Council and the fire department eighteen months earlier. Anderson's report stated that while the park's owners and management had failed in their duty of care towards patrons, the failure was not "that high degree of negligence necessary to support a charge of criminal negligence". The Government of New South Wales called for new tenders to operate the park on 31 July 1979. It was also revealed that a Sydney design consultant advised Luna Park management to install a sprinkler system in the Ghost Train in December 1977 but this recommendation was not followed. New legislation setting standards for fire egress across the state was passed in the inquest's aftermath.