Redcliffe family seaside holidays were once simple affairs: swimming, fishing, boating, sandcastles for the little ones, fish and chips for a big night out. By the 1920s and 30s, though, the average holidaymaker wanted more in the way of entertainment: enter the picture show, the pier arcade and, in 1938, the Rollerdrome.
Roller skating had come a long way since its inception in the 18th century. For one thing, modern skates allowed the skater to move in something other than a straight line. Skating’s popularity fluctuated over the years but by the 1930s – “the golden age of roller skating” – it was a full-blown craze. This coincided with the Redcliffe council’s recognition that visiting vacationers were demanding more sophisticated attractions than just pretty beaches. To be competitive with other coastal holiday spots (Southport already had its Pier Rollerdrome), Redcliffe had to come up with alternative ways to have fun. Which they did, signing an agreement with a Gold Coast company to erect a skating rink on the waterfront near the jetty.
The Rise, Struggles, and Legacy of the Redcliffe Rollerdrome
Accordingly, on 10 December 1938, as reported by the Telegraph, “Redcliffe made a forward step in solving the problem of how to spend leisure” with the grand opening of the Redcliffe Rollerdrome. The mayoress, Mrs Langdon, officiated, cutting the ribbon with a pair of gold scissors, and the rink was open for business: “500 skaters crowded the floor”, said the Sunday Mail, while many more milled around the doorways, which must have occasioned much self-congratulation among the councillors.
This popularity continued, with some of Australia’s best skaters, such as Ethel and George Flanagan, performing and teaching there over the years. Not all ratepayers were enamoured, of course. In 1946, one W Morris huffed to the Courier Mail that the council should be providing as much support for the library “and readers of good literature” as “for roller skating”.
And nor was it always healthy, clean, fun. There were, naturally, many bruises and broken bones, and, in 1959, police were stationed at the Rollerdrome because “adolescent hooligans … tried to take control of the rink”, occasioning the suspension of Sunday night sessions. This “larrikin element” (“youths in leather jackets and other exhibitionist clothing”), rink management was quick to point out, were not locals, rather they hailed from “Sandgate, Zillmere and other districts”.
Just as roller skating swept the popular imagination in the mid-century, its popularity waned in the 1970s (perhaps due to “larrikin elements”). The Rollerdrome building deteriorated and a replacement was considered uneconomic. The rink closed, to the regret of many, in 1985.
[With thanks to City of Moreton Bay]
Featured image: Redcliffe Rollerdrome circa 1940 courtesy of City of Moreton Bay: reference number RLPC-001\001689
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