which pinball parlour was your favourite when growing up ?

[Prince]

TunZaFun on Doncaster Rd, Doncaster, VIC.
As you walked in, pinball machines to the right hand side. Remember when T2 came out and my older brother was playing this game relentlessly. He would still be playing a game, whilst I would finish in minutes playing Double Dragon and Operation Wolf.
It was pretty hard as a kid, not having any coins to continue on, whilst the older brother was a gun playing pinball!!!
Cherished those moments there. I think they closed up 93-94….

Timezone, Box Hill, VIC.
Played Party Zone & Fish Tales numerous times there, whilst studying at Box Hill Tafe.

One other arcade/pinball parlour I visited in the early 90’s was in the city (Melbourne) -  North on Russell Street (RHS), between Lonsdale St & Latrobe St – Where Barton Towers project is.
Massive room, full of arcades. Never got into playing the likes of Street Fighter & Mortal Combat. Pretty sure I played pinball instead.

SC.

[illawarra_steelers]

An indoor cricket/soccer centre around the corner from my parents opened when i was 12. This was the first time i had somewhere close-by, before that having to ride for 4kms in either direction to play arcade games with no money .

Anyway, they had a Star Trek that was there for years, Six Million $man for a while (hardly ever worked), Future Spa for a while (never worked), Xeviuos (my favourite arcade game), a coffee table Gyruss that i trashed by shaking it to try get free games (my second favourite arcade game). About a year after that they bought in a KISS which was there for years. Replay was on the Kiss was 120k, so, i'd ride around with 20c, score a credit (most times), and just keep racking credits and play all day, then leave the machine full of credits to the younger kids. Besides that just a some scattered machines around a couple of take-away stores, and that's where i met Gorgar. I use to also love playing ALI, i'll hopefully own one oneday .

Brad,

Was that in Wollongong?

Which Indoor centre was it?the one at North Gong?  I'm sure I know the ones - John Medin used to be the operator there

[bossninja17]

Momma's (aka Clem's) Fish Shop, Beecroft Rd Epping NSW in the 60s and early 70s ; 2 EMs always there- RIP
Macquarie Uni, downstairs below the Burger Bar - probably 10 machines 1970s - RIP
Epping Squash Courts, Oxford St, Epping ; 4 or 5 machines - where I first played solid state machines late 70s  early 80s - RIP

[JD]

I frequented some of those places JD.Mostly Burwood snooker room,although I can't remember AC/DC being there.Ashfield snooker room and Campsie snooker room.
Other arcades I liked were at "The Entrance" on the central coast.Ful-o-fun,The Esquire and others that i can't remember the names of.Pins were everywhere.

Yea the entrance was great. Went to that place near the picture cinema with the kids the other day and half the machines were broken and it is really on it's last legs. Unfortunate!

Not sure If I would be keen to go to Campsie these days without the Police Riot squad standing next to me whilst I played the pinball.

Those were the days!

J.D.

[Dirty daz]

hi guys
I used to play at time zoneback in the 90s at knox city in wantirna victoria they had two pins whirlwind & black night 2000 mainly played the whirlwind  also used to go to the factory of fun in dandenong vic they had lights camera action & pinbot always played both id b at ither place every week playing games & my favorate pins spent many $$$ back then  still play other pins if i see them when im out!....  DAZ....

[studley67]

  what a great thread.i loved jackos at the bay (glenelg,sa)because of all the em`s he had.only 10 c a game,some were 5 c.centigrade37,mustang cant remember the rest.next door at the bay they had 20 c machines,new ss,wow smdm,pb later black knight,firepower,gorgar,meteor etc.then there was the famous hindley street with tilt,downtown,kalidascope and more.great venues great memories.got goose bumps and tears writing this.then there was school holidays when my mate and i would travrel to melb on the train and play pinnie all day at a place on the corner of flinders and franklin streets.i think.cant remember to much these days i was only 11-12.so overall i did`nt have a favourite parlor as i enjoyed them all.ps bought my first pin at 13 yrs old.

[illawarra_steelers]

Actually ANY place that had pins during the late 1960s to the early 1980s was a fave for me.....

They were like drugs back in that time....on pushbikes all over the place just to play more games.

In Bulli (small seaside town) during the 1970s there were FOUR places that had pins....a total of around 30 games and that didn't include the EM arcade games and the games in my collection 

[braddo]

An indoor cricket/soccer centre around the corner from my parents opened when i was 12. This was the first time i had somewhere close-by, before that having to ride for 4kms in either direction to play arcade games with no money .

Anyway, they had a Star Trek that was there for years, Six Million $man for a while (hardly ever worked), Future Spa for a while (never worked), Xeviuos (my favourite arcade game), a coffee table Gyruss that i trashed by shaking it to try get free games (my second favourite arcade game). About a year after that they bought in a KISS which was there for years. Replay was on the Kiss was 120k, so, i'd ride around with 20c, score a credit (most times), and just keep racking credits and play all day, then leave the machine full of credits to the younger kids. Besides that just a some scattered machines around a couple of take-away stores, and that's where i met Gorgar. I use to also love playing ALI, i'll hopefully own one oneday .

Brad,

Was that in Wollongong?

Which Indoor centre was it?the one at North Gong?  I'm sure I know the ones - John Medin used to be the operator there

This was in Fairy Meadow called Howzat! when the indoor cricket thing became the craze. A guy with blond hair ran the place. The building in still there now on the highway, gutted and for sale. I nearly took a photo of it today to post up but i'm flat out with work. I'm sure you'd remember it a big yellow and green building i use to nearly live there playing cricket and soccer for free when the place was empty. Never made it to the North Gong one don't know why , I think that place came along a bit later. There was also a take-away shop on the highway in Fairy Meadow nicknamed 'The Pom Shop', an older 'rougher' crowd hung out there it was great. Don't know how the name came about, but it had 3-4 arcades and a pin. LOVED these places how cool.

Also a question for you Wollongong guys. Remember a place called 'Flashback' in Keira Street? I sure that was the name. I was way too young to go in there, almost like walking into a pub for me back then, i would have been about 8-9.

[illawarra_steelers]

Hey Brad,

Rod Kirkwood and his wife Cindy used to run that indoor cricket centre and John Medin (Southtronic Amusements of Corrimal) owned the games.

[felixthadog]

My family used to go to Merrimbula for the September school holidays, my cousin and I would get pocket money for doing the dishes every night after dinner so we spent every day at Top Fun. It was mostly arcade machines, but there was always a couple of pins too. I was so crap at playing pinball (nothing's changed) that I didn't spend too much money on them but was happy to watch others chasing the elusive silver ball. My memory is a bit blurry, but I can remember there was a High Speed, a Funhouse and an Addams Family over the years. I believe Top Fun is still there, if I ever go back to Merrimbula I will be sure to check it out. My other favourite place was the second level at Timezone in Bourke Street, Melbourne. To see 20+ pinball machines lined up against the wall "in the wild" was an awesome sight, and I am glad I had the opportunity to see this in my lifetime.

Matthew

[illawarra_steelers]

My family used to go to Merrimbula for the September school holidays, my cousin and I would get pocket money for doing the dishes every night after dinner so we spent every day at Top Fun.

Yeah Matt,

It's still there and pinball wise very sad.

I went in there not long ago with my wife and kids and actually for the first time in my life felt old 

What I could gather is they still have a stash of 'old school' pinballs but were hard pressed to give out more info....I just couldn't be bothered playing their game and left 

[ajlaird]

My family used to go to Merrimbula for the September school holidays, my cousin and I would get pocket money for doing the dishes every night after dinner so we spent every day at Top Fun.

Yeah Matt,

It's still there and pinball wise very sad.

I went in there not long ago with my wife and kids and actually for the first time in my life felt old 

What I could gather is they still have a stash of 'old school' pinballs but were hard pressed to give out more info....I just couldn't be bothered playing their game and left 

Did you try sticking a wad of $50 bills under their noses?

It's surprising how that manages to prise out info sometimes...

[Strangeways]

in the early eighties The Keon Park AMF was my favorite place. When it first opened there was about 4 or 5 video games but the rest of the games were pins. there was a mixture of EM's and SS pins.
But slowly the EM's disappeared and were replaced be SS's and video games, but at least they had a decent amount of pins back then. pins like , Joker Poker, Lost World, Paragon, evil Kenevil, playboy, strikes and spares, The list just goes on.

then i discovered Top Room in edward street Reservoir (not far from Strange Ways hangout) but their was a lot more vids than pins.

then when i was about 13 I took my first trip into melbourne with out an adult and with a few other guys not much older than me (you know how it is when your a kid and you go to a big city for the first time with out your parents) I was introduced to Flash Back, 10.4, Invaders. so many pins.

a year later 10,4 and flash back then became my regular hang outl. many great pins released in those years (1984 to 1989)

if you watch the video of AC/DC (long way to the top) they go past the place which became 10,4. you cant miss it its the only building in the video that is all painted in black.

"Top Room" was about 6 doors down. You went up a flight of steps, and you would see around 9 Billiard tables and a couple of snooker tables. I remember it well - it was FULL of video games. No pins - But my father has the Bingos in there for a while. It was a VERY seedy place. I think the police shut it down eventually - after all - the cop shop was almost across the road !

There was another "Top Room" in Lalor.

There was a small Fish Shop just across the road from Keon Park Station. Used to have Pinballs out the front - Williams machines - Gulf Stream, Ding Dong, Apollo and Honey. I think the owner's name was George, but Dad had the pins in there as well. I wanted the Apollo in my collection - but it didn't happen !

[beaky]

in the early eighties The Keon Park AMF was my favorite place. When it first opened there was about 4 or 5 video games but the rest of the games were pins. there was a mixture of EM's and SS pins.
But slowly the EM's disappeared and were replaced be SS's and video games, but at least they had a decent amount of pins back then. pins like , Joker Poker, Lost World, Paragon, evil Kenevil, playboy, strikes and spares, The list just goes on.

then i discovered Top Room in edward street Reservoir (not far from Strange Ways hangout) but their was a lot more vids than pins.

then when i was about 13 I took my first trip into melbourne with out an adult and with a few other guys not much older than me (you know how it is when your a kid and you go to a big city for the first time with out your parents) I was introduced to Flash Back, 10.4, Invaders. so many pins.

a year later 10,4 and flash back then became my regular hang outl. many great pins released in those years (1984 to 1989)

if you watch the video of AC/DC (long way to the top) they go past the place which became 10,4. you cant miss it its the only building in the video that is all painted in black.

"Top Room" was about 6 doors down. You went up a flight of steps, and you would see around 9 Billiard tables and a couple of snooker tables. I remember it well - it was FULL of video games. No pins - But my father has the Bingos in there for a while. It was a VERY seedy place. I think the police shut it down eventually - after all - the cop shop was almost across the road !

There was another "Top Room" in Lalor.

There was a small Fish Shop just across the road from Keon Park Station. Used to have Pinballs out the front - Williams machines - Gulf Stream, Ding Dong, Apollo and Honey. I think the owner's name was George, but Dad had the pins in there as well. I wanted the Apollo in my collection - but it didn't happen !

when i used to go to top room when you got to the top of the stairs you had vids and pins directly in front of you and to the left. but to the right all the way to the back there were billiard tables.
i remember EBD in there + centaur, fire power and a few others.

then the fish & chip shop had some bingos + a star trek pin and at one stage they had a haunted house there, they also had a galaga upright and a moon cresta cocktail.

then the pizza shop in Keon Park a couple of doors down from the state bank on Keon Pde had a couple of pins, Gorgar and Trident (when standing on the corner of Keon Pde and Johnson St. the pizza shop was on the left a couple of doors down and the fish and chip was on the right)

[mark jackson]

Howdy all, When I was growing up in Auburn in the 60's there were a few places around. On one side of the railway station there was the 'Monte Cristo Cafe' with its red and green neon sign. They only had two machines at any one time but this is where I played all the great wedgeheads of that time ... Buckaroo, Ice review, Bank A Ball, Sweethearts, Sweet Sioux (2 or 4 player?) and more... On the other side of the tracks was 'Sam's Milkbar' where he had 3 machines side by side, as well as a couple of Bally Bingos 'in the back room'... the other notable venue in Auburn at that time was this .... opposite St Joseph's Hospital was a small general store type shop which had just one, lone pinball....would you believe it was the famous woodrail, "Daisy May". We thought it was just the easiest machine to get a replay on....from memory, when you let the ball drain between the flippers, then this lit one of the top rollovers for 'Special'. You could get 2 or 3 free games per game just by doing this!! There were other milkbar type shops in Nth Auburn (Silverwater) as well. With its name, I've often wondered what 'Silverwater' must have looked like before the days of Sims Scrap Metal, Shell Oil, and all the other big polluters had moved in and taken over that suburb. I can tell you that as ordinary at that suburb may seem, it's now a hell of a lot better than it was in the days when business used the river as its personal dumping ground.
           The other fantastic pinnie parlour was the famous 'Crystal Palace' in George St Sydney, where they had 21 full sized snooker tables, as well as many pinball machines and Bally Bingos.......what a wonderful place that was. It's been so long since those days that it seems like another lifetime ago when I think back to the mid 60's. ...once a pinball fan, always a pinball fan I reckon. Cheers, Mark