The Melbourne Star doesn't shine brightly

@JudyEv (359830)
Rockingham, Australia
July 26, 2025 8:40pm CST
On our way to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport we passed the Melbourne Star. It was raining at the time and I had to take the photo through the window of the bus. The ferris wheel, previously the Southern Star, is now closed to the public. It is 120 metres tall (394ft) and has seven spokes, representing the seven-pointed star of our flag. One rotation would take 30 minutes and give 360-degree views of up to 40 kms (25 miles). It closed permanently in September 2021, due to covid. There were numerous problems during its operational life and it is a great pity that it is now closed permanently.
13 people like this
13 responses
Anna
@LadyDuck (480223)
• Italy
27 Jul
I know that I would have been sick riding the Southern Star.
4 people like this
Anna
@LadyDuck (480223)
• Italy
27 Jul
@JudyEv I also feel sick if I look down, the second floor of our house in Switzerland was already too high for me.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul
Vince wouldn't have gone up in it. It would be too high for him to be comfortable.
3 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jul
@LadyDuck When he had to travel over the West Gate Bridge in Sydney, he make the taxi driver travel in the inside lanes away from the edge! I wonder what the taxi driver thought!
1 person likes this
rakski
@rakski (144830)
• Philippines
27 Jul
Aw, that's sad it is not operational now
2 people like this
rakski
@rakski (144830)
• Philippines
28 Jul
@JudyEv true, it must have been costly to repair it repairing it might cause a lot of problems too in the future
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jul
@rakski That's for sure.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jul
It would have cost a lot to build and then it cost more over the years as it would break down occasionally.
1 person likes this
DE
@DaddyEvil (155089)
• United States
27 Jul
I would not want to be that high without a plane around me... I'm sure a lot of people rode it over the years, though.
2 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (155089)
• United States
27 Jul
@JudyEv Closing it during the pandemic was reasonable. If it needs a lot of work, then keeping it closed is also reasonable.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul
It would have been popular when it was operational. It's a shame they've closed it.
2 people like this
Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (119993)
• Marion, Ohio
27 Jul
That is a huge ferris wheel.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jul
You would get a great view from the top.
1 person likes this
April
@thislittlepennyearns (65194)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
27 Jul
That is a huge ferris wheel. Is that what they call them there? They built one at one of the beaches here, and it cost over two million dollars, then a hurricane eotok it out.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul
Yes, it's called a ferris wheel here too. This one would have cost a lot too.
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jul
@thislittlepennyearns I never know if a word/phrase is known or not. I always worry about sounding patronising if I spell stuff out and it turns out to be common as all heck.
April
@thislittlepennyearns (65194)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
27 Jul
@JudyEv I didn't know, sometimes y'all have different words than we do. Lol
1 person likes this
Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (46577)
•
27 Jul
Oh, wow...it must be super tall? To take 30 minutes to view it all...I will go look it up, it sounds like it was fascinating.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul
It's 120 metres tall. It's a shame it had to close.
2 people like this
Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (46577)
•
28 Jul
@JudyEv It's sad when things like this happen.
1 person likes this
Fishmomma
@Fishmomma (11552)
• United States
28 Jul
I wouldn't get on it fear of heights. Its sad that others can't get on it now.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jul
My husband wouldn't be interested either. He doesn't like heights.
1 person likes this
snowy
@snowy22315 (193603)
• United States
27 Jul
That is too bad,
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul
It's turned into a white elephant!
2 people like this
Yanzalong
@yanzalong (19074)
• Indonesia
27 Jul
It's too bad it was permanently closed. Would it be possible to build another?
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul
I suppose they could but it would cost a lot of money. If this one wasn't a success, the next one may not be either.
1 person likes this
Judy Story
@jstory07 (145190)
• Roseburg, Oregon
27 Jul
That is sad that they closed it.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul
It was closed on and off at least a couple of times. Different engineers declared it unsafe. In the end it closed all together.
1 person likes this
Shiva
@Shiva49 (27443)
• Singapore
27 Jul
It has become a white elephant but having been in operation earlier, it is better to revive it at least for the sake of children and tourists.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Jul
I don't know why they don't start it up again. Maybe it would cost too much to overhaul.
1 person likes this
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (196091)
• United States
27 Jul
Many places have a huge ferris wheel. I'm sorry that Melbourne's is closed.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul
There seemed to be a lot of problems with it over the years.
2 people like this
M Cheung
@Beestring (15695)
• Hong Kong
27 Jul
Any plan to build a new one?
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (359830)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jul
I don't think so. It would be very expensive.
2 people like this