Why am i doing this?
The rink I grew up skating at, Bayswater Roller City, is now defunct and on the rink list of this site. Always being curious, I was amazed at how other rinks i could remember from my childhood had absolutely no hits at all on the internet. I thought this project would be a good way to address that problem, so that other similarly curious people wouldn't run into the same brick walls i did. This page is designed to inspire nostalgia and preserve history.
How did i do it?
I am pretty handy on the computer but i am no web developer and know (or perhaps knew) nothing about creating or hosting websites. After a lot of searching I found Google Sites, which is the platform this website is built and hosted on. It's a very basic website builder, with limited functionality. So far it's been perfect for me as an absolute beginner.
Where is the information coming from?
The first big source of information was the Melway Street Directory, or as everyone in Melbourne knows it, "The Melways". Melbourne University have digitised every Melways from edition 1, 1966 to edition 26, 1999.
Using the skating rink lists at the back of the Melways gave me the scope of the project. From these lists i was able to get a rough idea of when rinks opened and closed by going through each edition. Although, i have since found that some rinks had been open for years before they appeared in the Melways. Using the Melways maps i was able to make informed guesses as to which building might have once been skating rinks. After a little while of looking you realise that a skating rink building has a certain look to it.
Another source of information, particularly for the more recently closed rinks, has been the Internet Archive's way back machine.
Using the way back machine i have been able to find archived websites for rinks such as Campbellfield Roller Sports Centre, Bayswater Roller City and Laverton Skate Centre.
Searching Facebook has also turned up some good results, leading to various groups with interesting information, stories and photos.
Website Content
If you have any concerns or issues with any of the content or material on this site please contact me at vicrinks@gmail.com