The 'cheese grater' bowls that fed a generation of skaters

By Jonathon Kendall

Skateboarding

Alistair Miller started the Corio Skateboard Club at 13.

In short:

A Victorian council listed the state's first public skate park for heritage protection.

The City of Greater Geelong protected the skate park alongside historic churches and homes.

What's next?

The community and state government will review the proposed changes.

Guitar music played at the Geelong's Corio Skate Bowls opening day in 1980.

The vision is pixelated, but Alistair Miller's memories are vivid.

Everyone was excited to see 200-300 people at the bowl's opening demo.

It was crazy.

Hundreds attended the Corio Bowls' opening in 1980.

In the 1970s, traditional sports gave way to counterculture.

Young people in Geelong's northern suburbs needed an outlet.

Alistair Miller skateboarded as a teen.

Alistair Miller and friends started the Corio Skateboard Club at 13.

Club members read skateboarding magazines to learn about US parks.

They yearned for US facilities and decided to take action.

Alistair Miller often visited the advanced bowl after it opened in 1980.

Club members set up a petition table and gathered 300 signatures.

The Shire of Corio decided to build the park.

The Corio Bowl officially opened in March 1980.

The kids achieved a victory in a blue-collar area.

Families were hardworking and made do with what they had.

The Corio Skateboard Club members met with Geelong's mayor.

The shire and a service club paid $15,000 each for the $30,000 project.

The bowls fed a generation of skaters

Three Corio Bowls were built in the Fountain of Friendship Park.

The bowls were the first purpose-built public skate park in Victoria.

The bowls became popular with locals and outsiders.

People came from Melbourne, Melton, and interstate to skate.

Some skaters from magazines visited the Corio Bowls.

Many did not dare to skate the advanced bowl.

Tony Hawk visited the Corio Bowls in 1987.

The bowls were a place for locals to hang out and connect with skate culture.

Parents would tell kids to be back home by dinner time.

The Corio Skate Bowls were like a playground and backyard.

Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj knew the Corio Skate Bowls well.

He usually didn't try the advanced bowl.

The intermediate bowl is one of three constructed in the late '70s.

Donating blood on a cheese grater

The Corio Bowls will be preserved thanks to the council's moves.

The City of Greater Geelong voted to impose a heritage overlay.

The heritage overlay gives the bowls extra protection from development.

The mayor supports the heritage protection.

The Corio Bowls are one of the oldest skate parks in Australia.

The bowls' age is starting to show, with worn-away concrete.

Graffiti features strongly at the decades-old skate bowls.

Skating the bowls without pads can be like running your hand over a cheese grater.

Alistair Miller has made many 'blood donations' to the park.

He likes the way the surface has aged naturally.

The bowls are not fancy, but they make you work for tricks.

Many skaters now prefer smoother modern surfaces.

There has been talk of upgrading the Corio Bowls and adding a modern skate park.

Geelong skaters now use more modern parks like the Northern Skate Park.

Skateboarding Victoria supports heritage protection for the bowls.

Victoria was a stronghold for skateboarding in Australia.

Preserving historical skate parks is important for the sport's history.

The Victorian government will authorise the heritage overlay.

The City of Greater Geelong will take public submissions on the heritage changes.

Public concerns can be referred to a planning panel for review.

Alistair Miller's love of skateboarding started at the Corio Skate Bowl.

The bowls kicked off a love of skating that has lasted Alistair Miller's whole life.

Skateboarding gives back to you more than you can imagine.

Alistair Miller still skates at 60 years old.

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