(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 28, 2008 ) Australia - This week, Melbourne’s skyline will be changed forever with the addition of the first observation wheel in the Southern Hemisphere, providing a new symbol of contemporary Melbourne and enticing more tourists than ever to the city…

I love Melbourne. I used to live there, and, had I been able to get another visa, would have stayed. It’s got everything London has - culture, restaurants, cosmopolitan people, great jobs, shopping, nightlife, and, er… the London Eye?

That’s right; Melbourne is getting its own version of the London Eye this week, when the brand new £43 million Southern Star Observation Wheel opens on Friday 28th November.

Built by ING Real Estate, the wheel is the biggest Australian investment in a paid tourist attraction since Movie World opened on the Gold Coast in 1989. It is tipped to become Melbourne’s most popular tourist attraction, operating 365 days a year and attracting 1.5 million visitors in the first 12 months of opening.

The Southern Star is modelled on the massively successful London Eye (did you know the Eye was originally intended to be a temporary addition to the London skyline to celebrate the Millennium, but when it proved so popular it was agreed that it should remain.

The new Southern Star is one of the highlights of Waterfront City, a new £427 million development in the regenerated Docklands area which is five minutes from Melbourne’s city centre.

Waterfront City will include a five-star boutique hotel, offices, residential properties and an ice sports centre, plus Harbour Town, an open air shopping precinct located directly under the Southern Star.

The Wheel is 120 metres high - equal in height to a 40 storey building, and only 15 metres smaller than its forerunner, the London Eye.

The Star, which includes 21 glass pods holding up to 20 people each, will provide 360 degree views over Melbourne’s skyline, Docklands and Port Phillip Bay, stretching all the way to Geelong (an hours drive from Melbourne).

You can even hire one of the cabins to get married in. But no getting cold feet at the last minute - there’s no where to escape to if you change your mind at the altar!

The ride will last between 25-30-minutes and passengers will be able to step on and off without the Wheel having to stop. Adult tickets will cost around £12 and child tickets around £7.

Come nightfall, the wheel will be lit up with a spectacular light show providing ever-changing displays.

Fred Maybury, Chairman of the Southern Star observation wheel, said, “Southern Star is set to become Melbourne’s most popular tourist attraction and will be the hottest ticket in Australia this summer.

“It is a significant development, with great potential to increase inbound tourism to Melbourne and to other destinations in Australia,” he added.

Other similar observation Wheels around the world include the Star of Nanchang, located in the eastern Chinese city of Nanchang, the provincial capital of Jiangxi Province, which opened in May 2006.

The Eye on Malaysia, which is temporary until 31st December 2008, the Great Berlin Wheel (due for completion in 2009), the Beijing Great Wheel (due for completion in 2009) and the Great Dubai Wheel (due for completion in 2009).

For more information on Australian properties and the market in general, please visit http://australia.themovechannel.com/

-ENDS-

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