Pardon the thread necromancy.

I grew up in Dee Why in the 60s/early 70s and spent a great deal of time around  MFP/Marineland.

Does anyone remember the arcade on the boardwalk to the southwest of Marineland? It was something that came and went in the early 70s. Probably about 20-30 machines mostly pins but also some of the very first car racing uprights (Midway Grand Prix?). I remember having a "short day" from school and getting there as they were taking the wrapping off a brand new Glb Duotron....I hung around all arvo to get a go

Very vivid memories of Gulfstream, Klondike, Doodlebug, High Hand to name a few.

Fun Pier was pretty shady in those days, Brookvale sharpies would eat you alive or at least stand over you for money/smokes

The octopus was awesome but I think it ended up killing someone at some point, shutting the entire pier down for a while...it reopened with a facelift at the same time the aquarium got its sharkface.

On Saturdays me and a couple of mates would take our snorkelling gear down to the swimming enclosure (washed away in the '74 storms) and hassle folks coming off the ferry to chuck coins in the water...it was about a 4 metre duckdive to collect but quite lucrative...4 or 4 ferries kept us in smokes/coins/chips for the arvo, supplementing the bottle deposit money/pocket money we picked up during the week

The great thing about pinnies and this site/scene is it reconnects me with those times. It's a cheap, effective form of regression.

Just recounting this and I can smell the chips frying, the chime boxes ring up bonuses, the North Head being chucked into reverse as she pulled in at pier 1, a Charger doing burnouts up west esplanard.

Good times...