Bid for new Hi Lite Big whell set for waterfront

Andrew Mathieson
GEELONG’S skyline is set to include a ferris wheel overlooking Corio Bay for at least the next three years.
Applicants to Geelong’s council plan to relocate a 45-metre high sky wheel to Eastern Beach’s Ritchie Boulevard.
The giant ferris wheel was trialed for three months in Geelong during the 2007 summer but has since operated next to Melbourne’s Yarra River.
The wheel’s owner has asked Geelong architectural company KVA Design to organise planning permits. Owner Hi-Lite Amusements had operated popular Geelong attraction Hi-Lite Park for three decades until it closed in the early 1980s.
The same proposed site has already been listed on a Victorian Heritage register.
KVA Design’s Kane Airey believed the ferris wheel would be positive for the Geelong landscape.
“It definitely will bring benefits (to Geelong),” Mr Airey said.
“It’s another great attraction to the foreshore.
“The area is well used and it’s another great promotion for the city.”
A recent waterfront survey found that daytrippers spent an average $40 per visit to Eastern Beach .
The operators are considering charging patrons $10 a ride on the wheel, which has 36 separate gondolas. Hi-Lite Amusments expects the wheel to create 10 full-time and 20 part-time jobs.
However, dismantling the wheel during the off-peak season for maintenance and safety checks will cost $60,000.
Mr Airey was hopeful the wheel would not be lost to Geelong after the three years.
Geelong councillors have previously indicated support for a ferris wheel following the three-month trial. Mayor Bruce Harwood said consultation with the community, especially nearby residents, would determine support for a ferris wheel.
“We will need to take into consideration the impacts of the ferris wheel,” he said.
However, the application might not come before council until after local government elections next month.
“It may end up being a decision for the new council,” Cr Harwood said.