LIKE one of its roller coasters, iconic Bibra Lake theme park Adventure World had a week of ups and downs.

Last Sunday CEO Andrew Sharry was on a high after celebrating AW’s 35th birthday with the launch of Goliath, a hair-raising, spinning, swinging arm that even left Navy-trained WA premier Mark McGowan struggling to hold onto his brekkie.

But the celebration was marred during the week with the mother of a teen criticising the company for leaving her in the dark after he broke a leg on the giant funnel waterslide Kraken last month.

• Goliath is a monster of a ride, as premier Mark McGowan, Adenture World CEO Andrew Sharry and tourism minister Paul Papalia discover.

Mr Sharry said when AW opened in 1982, it was already ahead of its time; the Gold Coast’s Wet and Wild was still two years away, while Sydney’s Wonderland wasn’t even a twinkle in its creators’ eyes.

“Perth was a vastly different place from the cosmopolitan city it is today,” Mr Sharry said.

“Bibra Lake had just benefited from the extension of the Kwinana Freeway.

“We had 12 attractions; we now have 29.”

• Mr McGowan was decidedly pale and sweaty after his encounter with Goliath, while Mr Sharry appears to have been innoculated to the ride’s terror.

Mr Sharry said with attractions like Goliath, the company wanted to play a big part in rescuing WA’s faltering tourism sector, saying they’re planning to hit the market to attract overseas and interstate visitors, with the aim of getting them to stay longer in WA.

Earlier in the week Heidi Herget had told 6PR radio no one at the park called her when her son Toby broke his leg on the waterslide.

She said her son was a state-level basketball player who’d had to miss out on last weekend’s state championships because of his leg.

Mr Sharry said staff responded within minutes, while Kraken was shut down briefly for an examination, which found no faults.

by STEVE GRANT