With its humble origins, questionable safety record and nomadic character, the iconic Cannonball Run shouldn’t be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Rollercoaster enthusiasts do not exactly flock to the land of the long white cloud. Currently, New Zealand calls itself home to precisely one full-scale, non-“kiddie” coaster: the colourful corkscrew cutting through the skyline of Auckland’s Rainbow’s End. But once upon a time, there was another contender to our nation’s coaster throne. Yes, we were once a real society, united by the force of the iconic Cannonball Run.

The story of the Cannonball Run begins in the 1980s, when local company Mahons Amusements took a chance on the increasingly popular Galaxi rollercoaster model. Designed for mass production by Italian entertainment group S.D.C, Galaxi coasters made their way to the amusement world in the 70s. These steel beasts boasted two minutes of ride time, racing through sharp, unbanked turns and steep drops at up to 50km/h. 

Their compact footprints packed down easily onto only seven trailers, making them well suited to travelling fairs as well as stationary parks. Interestingly, Galaxis shared a nearly identical design to the Zyklon model by competing manufacturer Pinfari. These competing coaster styles succeeded in tandem, with over 50 models produced across the world. Our local Galaxi combined this advanced international tech with classic Kiwi ingenuity. Hamilton manufacturers crafted the jack stands and floor, and Mahons personalised the attraction by simulating the sensation of shooting riders out like a cannon blast.

Opening on Christmas Day 1985, the newly named Cannonball Run found its first home at Footrot Flats Fun Park on Auckland’s Te Atatū Peninsula. Formerly known as Leisureland, the humble park grew exponentially upon rebranding, using the iconic characters of New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball. Cannonball Run fans strolled past his costumed characters, and modest surrounding attractions like the sack slide and Driver’s Town, before taking their long-awaited turn on the park’s resident thrill ride.

Although Cannonball Run beat Rainbow’s End to the punch by opening their major coaster a year before the corkscrew, it missed out on the title of New Zealand’s first steel coaster by only a couple of months, narrowly beaten by Christchurch’s QE11 Fun Park’s Runaway Minecoaster. However, a couple of years later, safety regulations deemed the Runaway Minecoaster too dangerous to operate, leaving the oldest steel coaster title to Cannonball Run.

Despite excited park goers hyping up Cannonball Run as similarly dangerous, with many a rumour of its “derailment”, it experienced very few issues throughout its lifespan. The ride’s only documented incident took place in 1988 at Footrot Flats, when staff mistakenly sent two carriages onto the track at once. This caused a collision which trapped passengers atop the ride until the fire brigade freed them. Thankfully, there were no significant injuries. In fact, the park became more popular than ever, with thrillseekers looking to prove themselves worthy of the daunting Cannonball Run. 

Ironically, the rollercoaster’s only ongoing struggle was occasionally running out of steam, valleying above the station and needing a push start to get going again. This mild problem left Cannonball Run ready for a new adventure when Footrot Flats closed due to financial struggles in 1989.

Following Footrot Flats’ closure, Cannonball Run made its way in the 90s to Hawke’s Bay’s Fantasyland. Fantasyland, at Hastings’ Windsor Park, positioned itself as our country’s own underwhelming but endearing version of Disneyland. The park fought hard for this title, with its homemade turreted castle, paddle steamer, and eventually a costumed Mickey Mouse that earned them a cease and desist notice. 

Cannonball Run became Fantasyland’s answer to Disneyland’s beloved first rollercoaster, the Matterhorn Bobsleds. But its tenure at the park was so short that even many devotees are unaware it once lived there. Its run ended so soon because the Hastings Council bought Fantasyland out in 1998, reworking Fantasyland into Splash Planet, a waterpark which only opened during summer.

While the majority of Fantasyland attractions remained scattered through the grounds after the transition, from the rocket ship slide and flying fox to the rotting pirate ship, the council deemed thrill rides too out of the box for a seasonally operating waterpark. Alongside the Trabant, Chair-o-plane, Cinema 180 and Electric Speedway, the Cannonball Run went out with the Fantasyland name.

Kicked out of home once again, Cannonball Run returned to its original family, Mahons Amusements, near the end of the decade. The now ageing ride felt increasingly turbulent, perhaps in need of a retracking for a smoother experience, but it continued to run safely with no significant problems. Now, Mahons Amusements would make use of its portable nature. Cannonball Run became part of their travelling fleet, reserved for their biggest events. The ride appeared at the Auckland Easter Show, the Wellington and Waikato winter shows, and pop-up carnivals in Taupō and Rotorua.

While Cannonball Run was always a crowd pleaser, it quickly became an operational challenge. It was transportable, but still so large that the set up and pack down for only a few days per location proved a hassle. Matters worsened in 2004 when head staff member Bill Mahons was unexpectedly killed, struck by a carriage on the Super Loops ride while undergoing daily maintenance. As a result, Mahons Amusements cut down on operations and packed Cannonball Run into storage. It would never run for the public again.

Cannonball Run waited for another day in the sun for many years, but Mahons Amusements finally scrapped the ride in the late 2010s, facing the reality that it simply could not meet modern attraction standards. Newer rides in the fleet proved to be much easier to transport, making the old rollercoaster too much effort for too little reward. 

Other Zyklon and Galaxi coasters continue to operate internationally, but their aged design is undeniably out of fashion and suffers from lack of new interest. Two identical models in Australia each met similar fates as our Cannonball Run. Luna Park Melbourne’s model was scrapped, while the first Australian version, which originated at Sea World, is now privately owned; whether it will ever serve the public again is TBD.

Yet physical memories of our Cannonball Run do still remain. Our model’s station and cars remain safely packed away in Mahons Amusements storage, perhaps to serve as parts for a future attraction. Thousands of challenge-seeking 80s kids fondly remember the ride as 10 times taller and more violent a beast than our little country could ever contain. 

It’s a reminder that we’re in desperate need of a rival to the Rainbow’s End corkscrew, which outlived Cannonball Run by decades. But while it may have lacked the bright paint job and craved a few inversions, Cannonball Run will always be a superior tale, a monstrous travelling coaster reminding us to go hardout, no matter the time or place.