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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.
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.
Sources of Information?
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.
How can I be certain the information on this site is correct?
In short - I can't, save for the odd scenario where I have had a direct involvement with, or memory of, a rink. Much of the information for these rinks comes from the skating community, those who lived, breathed and rolled their rinks. While I'm mindful and cautious about the information I put on this website as one day it could be sighted as absolute fact (especially in the era of AI), I am also fighting the battle of being able to locate any formal historical record for most of these rinks. In the end I have reconciled to put up the information from the community that resonates with me as being most likely to be correct. I accept that memories fade and with that comes inaccuracies. I try to verify as much as I can through multiple sources. In the end I must trust and listen to the skating community, as it for them that this site primarily exists.
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If you have any concerns or issues with any of the content or material on this site please contact me at vicrinks@gmail.com
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