Melbourne Girl Flips Switch on Beloved Observation Wheel

Charli-Koko, 12, will flip the switch that brings Melbourne's giant observation wheel back to life on Thursday, sharing the honor with her mother, Mel Olsen, who has terminal cancer.

The 120-meter-tall Melbourne Star has stood dark in Docklands for five years after the business failed in 2021. But families at the nearby Royal Children's Hospital never forgot the joy those lights brought to sick children gazing out their windows each night.

"The lights would bring so much joy to us," said Olsen, who would watch the colorful wheel with Charli-Koko during hospital visits. "Being able to see it and talk about it brought me joy seeing her enjoy it."

Charli-Koko lives with a rare chromosome deletion disorder that causes intellectual disability, epilepsy, and heart problems. Her mother has beaten cancer twice but now faces a terminal diagnosis after the disease returned and spread.

When new owners Jay and Jane Jones took over the Star this year, they learned about the families' request to keep the lights on for hospitalized children. The couple reached out to children's charity Very Special Kids to make it happen.

"Just the story of Charli-Koko and Mel, it breaks your heart," said Jay Jones. "It's hard to talk about without crying."

Sunny's Take

This story captures something powerful about memory and light. Mel Olsen knows her time with her daughter is limited, but she's using it to create a moment Charli-Koko can treasure forever. "I'm so excited to watch her have her moment and be seen," Olsen said. "To watch her have the joy of turning the lights on and everyone celebrating her."

The Melbourne Star has had a rough history since opening in 2008. It was rebuilt once and has now sat idle twice, most recently through the COVID-19 pandemic. But the new owners plan to reopen the wheel to the public later this year, bringing jobs and tourism back to Docklands.

The lights will stay on every night starting Thursday, visible across Melbourne just like before. And somewhere in a hospital room, a child will look out the window and smile.