Laverton Skate Centre

Address: 2 Oakdene Grove, Laverton 3028

Telephone:  9369 4634

Website: http://lavertonskatecentre.com.au/

Years of Operation: 1983 - 2021

Melway Reference:  Edition 26 (1999), 53 B11

Building Status: STILL STANDING

Also Known As: "West End Roller Disco" (period unknown)

About this rink

The West End Roller Disco opened in 1983. It was a family owned business, run the by Inserra and the Depetro families.The families wanted to create a place in the local community that would bring people together. The rink featured a concrete skating area, an upstairs DJ box, upstairs and downstairs party rooms, a smoke machine and all of the usual rink lighting, including disco balls.  Throughout its life the rink hosted hockey teams, an artistic skating team and a roller derby team. 

The canteen was known for its hot chips, potato cakes, hot dogs, mini pizzas, hot chocolates and cappuccinos. At general sessions you could expect to play games like Limbo, Dice, Heads or Tails and Flying saucers. 

In the early days you would have heard tunes such as 'I wanna dance with somebody', 'Love is in the air', ' You sexy thing' and 'Danger zone', blaring out of the rinks large speakers. Session skaters would also break out into dance when roller rink classics such as 'Nutbush', Bus stop, Time warp', 'bird dance' and 'Macarena' were played. 

The rink hosted some annual events of its own making such as its popular, Halloween skate, Valentine’s Day skate and various charity skates for the Royal Children’s Hospital. 

The rink changed their name to Laverton Skate Centre in 2000 and the families sold the business in 2006. The rink managed to remain open until 2021. The Inserra and Depetro families still own the building, which is now operating as an automotive panel beating business. 

The photos on this page and the information was provided by Josefina Inserra, the daughter of Giuseppe Inserra, one of the co-founders/owners of the rink. Giuseppe was born in Italy and was taught to skate by Jack Trestail. Josefina has many fond memories of skating at the rink growing up. 

Archived Website

Wayback Machine snapshot of http://lavertonskatecentre.com.au/ from 20 October 2021 (other snapshots also available)

https://web.archive.org/web/20211020074029/http://lavertonskatecentre.com.au/