Tribulations of dynasty not amusing
Mark Hawthorne
June 15, 2007, The Age
THERE'S an old saying that it takes one generation to build a family fortune, one generation to consolidate it, and one generation to squander it.
The Wittingslow amusement empire doesn't have the death rattle just yet, but times are tough for third-generation carnival ride operator Michael Anthony Wittingslow.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has banned Wittingslow, of Rye, from managing corporations for three years after investigating four failed companies. It found that Wittingslow failed to assist the liquidator of one of them, Monstory, and that he allowed Monstory and another company, Entertainment Services International, to trade while insolvent.
It's a sad fall for a famous name in Victorian history.
Founder Thomas Wittingslow started his working life at Melbourne fun parlours in the 1920s.
By 1932 he was touring Victoria's country fairs with his Guess Your Weight game, which he later took to the Royal Melbourne Show.
The Wittingslows have provided rides at the Royal Melbourne Show since the 1930s and Moomba since 1948.
Under the control of Thomas' son, Des Wittingslow, the company expanded during the 1950s. Wittingslow Carnival had rides at the major agricultural shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, and also toured the nation.
Since the 1950s, the family has also staged Christmas holiday carnivals in Rye and Rosebud, and at Alexandra Gardens. Chances are, if you have ever ridden the Breakdance, Rainbow, Pirate Ship or Matterhorn, or sunk a ping-pong ball into a Laughing Clown at Moomba, then you have made a contribution to the Wittingslow fortune.
The company even built the Corkscrew ride at Sea World on the Gold Coast, and was part-owner of Luna Park in Sydney and Melbourne.
But in 2001 the first of a number of accidents and subsequent court cases ended with parts of the Wittingslow empire going into receivership. A series of company name changes ensued but eventually a petitioner by the name of the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation had much of the empire put into liquidation.
As a result, a company that began during the Great Depression faces its darkest days during one of the greatest economic booms in the nation's history.
And the Tax Office could well become the country's biggest owner of amusement rides.
At least the next generation has brought a few smiles to the family dinner table of late — Sophie Wittingslow, of Rye, who this year made it through to the sixth episode of Australia's Next Top Model.
At least the next generation has brought a few smiles to the family dinner table of late — Sophie Wittingslow, of Rye, who this year made it through to the sixth episode of Australia's Next Top Model.