A harbourfront water park that played a role in launching Nicole Kidman’s acting career will be demolished within days.
For nearly fifty years, Australians gathered at Manly Waterworks in Sydney’s coastal suburb every summer, celebrating school breaks, weekend fun, end-of-year events, and birthdays.
First opened in 1981, its famous water slides featured in the 1983 teen flick BMX Bandits, which gave Kidman her first screen role.
An iconic moment featured Kidman and her group of bandits rushing into the park on their BMX bikes to flee from police, then speeding down the water slides with their bikes to escape capture.
After numerous leaseholders, a short-lived renaming, and a temporary closure in 2015, The Boathouse Group acquired Manly Waterworks in 2021 after it was listed on Facebook Marketplace for $950,000.
The hospitality group confirmed this week that Manly Waterworks will be demolished after its waterslide structures were ruled as unsafe.
It comes after the water park closed in mid-February for the remainder of the summer due to ‘necessary scheduled maintenance’.
‘After 45 years, Manly Waterworks has come to the end of its life and will be turning off the pumps for good,’ its website states.
Manly Waterworks will be demolished after its waterslides were deemed no longer safe
The Manly institution featured in BMX Bandits, which launched Nicole Kidman’s career
‘Engineers have deemed the structure no longer safe for sliders with demolition planned to commence from end of September.
“Even though this Manly landmark will no longer stand tall on West Esplanade, the cherished memories will endure for generations of locals and visitors who have enjoyed the water park through the years.”
‘Any further plans for the site are yet to be confirmed.’
A complete rebuild of the aging waterpark was deemed as not only financially unfeasible but outside the operator’s expertise food and beverage.
“I think if the structure was still in good condition, we would undoubtedly keep it running because it attracts a unique clientele,” a Boathouse Group representative shared with the Manly Observer.
“But ultimately, we’re at our core a hospitality food and beverage company, not an amusement park operator, so it wasn’t aligned with our primary expertise. We ran the slides for a few years, and we believe we did a decent job, but ultimately, that’s not our main business focus.”
Daily Mail contacted The Boathouse Group for further comment.
The closure comes seven years after nearby Manly Sea Life Sanctuary shut down after more than half a century in operation.
Nicole Kidman hurtled down the famous water slides in an iconic scene in BMX Bandits
The park’s famous water slides will soon be lost forever
Fans were sad to hear of the water park’s demise.
‘A sad day for Manly,’ one woman wrote.
Another added: ‘I’ve lived here now for 23 years, and things I used to enjoy doing, or was looking forward to sharing with my children, are now vanishing.
‘What is the point of having a billion apartment blocks everywhere and zero infrastructure to support it, no parking, no fun.’
For others, the news brought back nostalgic memories.
‘My first ever job was at Manly Waterworks in 1985. I got $6.30 an hour working weekends and holidays,’ another said.
Opened in 1981, Manly Waterworks endured a long list of leaseholders, a brief rename and a temporary closure in 2015
However, not everyone was sad to see the attraction go.
‘Realistically, it was never anything special. A handful of slides crammed into a tiny area with massive lines during the summer,’ one local wrote.
Another added: ‘Good, that noisy water thing is so old and archaic. Good riddance!’
