Japan has become pretty much synonymous with high quality construction, but that didn’t prove to be in what was supposed to be a star project in Melbourne but ended up being more of a black hole.
The 120-meter-high Melbourne Star Ferris wheel was supposed to be a boon for tourism in Australia’s largest city, as well as a strong leap forward for Sanoyas, an Osaka-based shipbuilding company looking to expand into the amusement park business.
The Melbourne Star was plagued from the outset. It was supposed to open in 2006, but didn’t start taking customers until two years later. It ran for just 40 days when it was shut down because of structural results that Sanoyas accepted the blame for and promised to rectify. The wheel didn’t open again for another five years as the wheel was plagued by problems stemming from its design. Basically, Sanoyas had to rebuild the whole thing.
Sanoyas took over direct operation of the wheel in 2013, saying it would be able to run it as long as there was no strong winds or heavy rains: phenomena for which Melbourne is notorious.
Several more operational hiccups confronted Sanoyas, including one caused by a bird flying into one of its cabins, but managed to run the wheel more or less stably until February 2021. Sanoyas finally managed to wash its hands of the wheel by selling it to Switerland’s Robu Group.
Yoshio Nagamatsu, Sanoyas Rides Australia Managing Director, told the Euro Amusement Professional Trade Magazoine at the time of the sale: “We’re proud of the safe and successful operation of Melbourne Star over the last seven years, and significant tourism and economic contribution made to the City of Melbourne and State of Victoria. We believe the Robu Group is the right organisation to lead the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel into future growth, and we look forward to seeing their vision for the world-class attraction materialise.”
Just six months later, Robu announced the permanent closure of the wheel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions and high-rise development in the surrounding area.
The wheel was a dormant eyesore in the center of Melbourne until August 2025. MB Star Properties Pty Ltd, the owner that went into liquidation in 2021, was restructured under an $11m takeover. It has pledged to get the Melbourne Star operating again in 2026.
“It’s failed so many times before. Of course, I’m nervous,” Jack Jones, the proposed new operator said. But, it is a world-class piece of equipment in a world-class city, so why can’t we make it work?”
Though there is no longer an operational role, the Melbourne Star retains a Japanese link through the Sanoyas-designed and manufactured replacement wheel and cabins, leaving a technical legacy.
