Bendigo Zoo Roller Disco

Address: 119-121 Mitchell Street, Bendigo 3550

Years of Operation:  January 1980 - 1996 (approx.)

Building Status: STILL STANDING

Associated name/s (manager/proprietor/owner):  John Cannon

Also Known As: Bendigo Rollerama (1991-1996)

Rink Mascot: 

• Bojangles the Monkey (Zoo Roller Disco)

• Roller Ted and Roller Rabbit (Bendigo Rollerama) 

About this rink:

The rink was opened on 17 January 1980. John Cannon and his mate 'Phil' were keen entrepreneurs and wanted to capitalise on the roller skating boom that was sweeping Victoria. To that end they located a country town that hadn't yet had a rink opened. They were initially hoping to rent a factory and convert it into a roller rink. Once the business was established they planned to sell it and return to Melbourne within a matter weeks. However they ran into issues securing a factory for lease. instead they bought a vacant block of land at the top end of Mitchell Street and built a roller rink from scratch. Zoo Roller Disco was born. Rental skates were sourced locally (within Victoria) from Champion Skates.  

John and Phil ran Zoo Roller Disco for about 18 months before selling the business to local operators. John retained ownership of the building and bought Phil's share out. Zoo Roller Disco ceased operations in 1987 and the premises was used for other purposes. 

By 1990-1991 the building was sitting vacant so John decided to "recycle" it back into a roller rink. Like a phoenix from the ashes Bendigo Rollerama came into being. As before, John sold the business on but retained ownership of the building.  'Laser-tag' was also added to Bendigo Rollerama's resume by converting the building's underground carpark. All roller skating operations ceased in 1996 when the building was sold to the Reilly family who still run Reilly's Designer Appliances out of the premises to this day. 

I'd like to thank John Cannon for kindly providing me with this history of Zoo Roller Disco and Bendigo Rollerama. 

Remnants of a rink:

I would like to thank Reilly Designer Appliances for sharing the below photos that show the remnants of this rink that still exist within their business. Please check out their Facebook and Website.