Dreamworld’s original owner has spoken of his devastation at the accident that claimed four lives.
John Longhurst – who built and opened the theme park in 1981 – compared his relationship with the Gold Coast park to that of a mother and child.
‘I’m almost broken by what’s happened,’ he told the Courier Mail.
‘A woman gives birth to a child, loves it and cares for it. That’s how it was with Dreamworld. I’ve lost a lot of tears over that’.
Mr Longhurst’s words come as investigators claim a ‘horrible’ combination of issues – including operational problems, mechanical failure and human error – were to blame for the tragedy that claimed the lives of Cindy Low, Kate Goodchile, Luke Dorsett and Roozi Araghi on October 25.
The former owner went on to say;
‘It’s just an unbelievable occurrence
‘You don’t expect it, especially when people go out to have a great time’.
Mr Longhurst said he last visited Dreamworld a week after selling it to Dreamco in 1989.
The park was subsequently sold to Macquarie Leisure Trust Group in 1999, which changed its name to Ardent Leisure a decade later.
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