Melbourne Glaciarium | 1906 Melbourne Glaciarium | 1906

The Melbourne Glaciarium opened in Melbourne in June 1906, a full-blown rink capable of International standard skating and ice hockey.

The Melbourne Glaciarium was the second indoor ice skating facility built in Australia after the Adelaide Glaciarium.

It was the 3rd-largest rink in the world with an ice surface 180ft by 90ft or about 1,500 square metres.

In 1925, "The Glassy", as it was popularly known, accommodated a grand piano in an orchestra area conducted by Frank Bladen, who had played with the Pavlova and Gilbert and Sullivan orchestras.

It had seating for 2,000 people and it hired 1,500 pairs of skates. Up to 5,000 people attended hockey matches and ice and snow sports carnivals at any one time.

A newsreel of the time shows the first building was destroyed by fire in 1917. It was rebuilt and was the longest operating rink of the original indoor rink era in Australia, perhaps the world. The building was destroyed by fire again on Good Friday, 1964, and this time it did not rise from its ashes.

The rink closed in 1957 and was soon demolished.

Public skating sessions always finished with 'Till We Meet Again'.

❊ Address ❊

 ℅ Naarm
 ⊜  16 City Road,  South Melbourne  View Map

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➼ Melbourne Glaciarium | 1906 

➼ Melbourne Glaciarium






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