February 2026

The ‘Glaciarium’ in City Road Southbank was Melbourne’s first ice rink, built in 1906. Entrepreneur Harry Reid got architects Ussher & Kemp to give it a bit of style (but not much), and include a basement cold store for extra income.

Melburnians immediately took to the fun of ice skating, or you could just watch staged exhibitions, all done in Edwardian neck to knee with big hats.

In the summer months they covered all or part of it to create a dance floor, and to stage big shows. It remained popular right up until it closed in 1957, and then burned down in 1963. I think the site was probably empty for ages, just a carpark, until it was incorporated into the Southgate site in the late 80s. It was more or less where the 1992 St Johns Lutheran is now.

All photos via Facebook, some originally @library_vic, and others clipped from newspapers or magazines. Im kind of surprised because until recently I’d never seen good pics of it. The first interior is 1910, next 3 are 1906, then 1930, then a demonstration from 1933 that ladies could do curling, noting ‘the domestic appeal of the broom’. Then the bandstand in 1940, and ‘Showboat’ in 1954. The ‘Glaci’ also hosted ice hockey from the beginning, which took off around WWII, and enthusiasts have posted lots of snaps. The Glaci had its own team.

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