Evidence on day one of the coronial inquiry into the Dreamworld tragedy, where four people were killed on a family-friendly ride at the theme park on Queensland's Gold Coast, could damage the theme park's reputation for good, media and branding analysts say.

A coronial inquest resumes on the Gold Coast today, investigating the deaths of Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett, his partner Roozi Araghi and Cindy Low.

The group perished on the Thunder River Rapids ride at Dreamworld in October 2016 when their raft collided with a stranded vessel after a large water pump feeding the ride failed.

Roozi Araghi, Luke Dorsett, Kate Goodchild, and Cindy Low lost their lives on the ride. ( Facebook )

Yesterday, the inquiry heard that not one single event caused the incident, rather, a series of operator procedures and design faults, which all occurred within a short period of time.

The inquest heard one of four people killed on the ride would not have fallen to his death had his Velcro seatbelt not come apart.

Barrister for Kate Goodchild and Luke Dorsett, Steven Whybrow, questioned crash investigator Senior Constable Steven Cornish about the Velcro seatbelts used to secure guests on the six-person raft.

"[Luke Dorsett] was on the up side of the raft … and it was only after several violent shakes of the raft that his Velcro strap came apart and he fell onto the conveyor?" Mr Whybrow asked.

"Yes," Senior Constable Cornish replied.

"If his restraint had been one of which was able to hold him, what would have been the outcome for him?"

"He would not have fallen in."

The first day of the inquest also heard how a memo was sent to Dreamworld staff less than a week before the incident, discouraging operators from pressing an emergency stop button.

It could have shut down the ride almost instantly.

It also heard how on the day of the tragedy, the ride had broken down twice before and that operators relied on a simple "scumline" rather than a ruler or device to tell the water level was no longer functional.

Dreamworld's reputation irretrievable: analysts

Communications expert Alex Smith said the barrage of negativity from the witness box so early in the inquest meant the company's "reputation was irretrievable".

"You can't manage reputation in the face of an avalanche of negatives," Mr Smith said.

"The reality of reputation management today is that no amount of spin can put a wrecked reputation back together."

Investigators says a "slow stop" button was pressed 10 seconds after four people were thrown from the raft. ( AAP: Dan Peled )

Brand strategist Allan Bonsall from Brand Genetics agreed, if that kind of evidence was coming out so early there was very little chance of rebuilding the brand.

"They never really got the numbers back after the incident," he said.

"You would almost believe, the only way to get out of the bind they are in, is by selling and having a complete new group of people come in and make all the assurances and promises and then diligently deliver on them.

"The biggest problem with brand is trust … and the majority of it is to do with emotions.

"They had built that trust up and usually a company has to do some pretty dumb things to lose that trust.

"But Dreamworld is now in a position where its trust level is down to rock bottom and I do not see how they can recover from that."

The accident led to industrial manslaughter laws being introduced into State Parliament. ( ABC News: Ashleigh Stevenson )

Union hopes findings will address Dreamworld's 'culture of secrecy'

The Australian Workers Union (AWU), which had been critical of Dreamworld's "culture of secrecy" said it hoped the findings would address the behaviours of Dreamworld management and the Regulator.

AWU acting branch secretary Steve Baker said union members had always been concerned about Dreamworld's approach to safety matters.

"The AWU has taken a proactive role in pursuing these concerns about safety with Dreamworld management," Steve Baker said.

"A major concern has been a culture of secrecy in the behaviour of Dreamworld.

"Whenever the union sought documentation from Dreamworld regarding safety issues, these requests were refused.

"This meant the union had to pursue this information through other means including Right to Information processes."

Staff from Dreamworld are expected to give evidence at the inquiry today. ( AAP/Dreamworld )

The day after the deaths, Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure Group's share price plummeted 22 per cent.

But yesterday the ASX Listed firm jumped one cent higher (or 0.51 per cent) at $1.98, giving the company a market capitalisation of $933.20 million at the end of trade.

Brand strategist Allan Bonsall said that share market was a "weird beast".

"It is not what I would be concentrating on," Mr Bonsall said.

"I would be looking at it from a public perception and that is where the lessons will be learnt."

The accident led to industrial manslaughter laws being introduced into State Parliament, but they were not retrospective.

Staff from Dreamworld are expected to give evidence at the inquiry today.