Pics from the Past | Shepparton’s iconic Snake Island dance

Go figure — perhaps someone saw a snake on it one day and spread the word.

Anyhoo, back in the day, Shepparton celebrated a Fun and Food Fiesta for a few years, and one year, some bright spark had an idea for a dance party on the island.

The organising committee was inspired and managed to make it happen on February 22, 1964.

A News article from 2008 published a photo, as shown, of the band and dancers.

Here is the story:

“A recent News story about Snake Island at Victoria Park Lake has brought back memories for a band member who played for a dance on the lake in the 1960s.

Tony Colmer was lead guitarist for The Shantels when they were invited to play for a gig at the unusual venue.

Army engineers built a pontoon bridge from the lake foreshore to Snake Island for the dance on February 22, 1964.

It was a one-off event, Tony recalled.

Wooden platforms were put down for the dancers and the band, and it was quite a successful night.

Of course, there was no alcohol because of the ban after 10pm, and the island seemed bigger than it does now.”

This Victoria Park Lake photo was posted on my Lost Shepparton page and attracted much interest.

Here are a few of the comments:

Chez Bishop

“I went to that dance party on Snake Island.

It was so much fun, getting across the floppy bridge first was a bit of a feat.

I would say it would’ve been 1964-65? Those sure were fun days at the pool and skiing on the lake.“

William Ely

“You can just make out the MacIntosh St shops.

Our house, built in 1961, is just off to the top left of the photo.“

Dennis Patterson

“And the Shell Service Station was truly a national icon.

People would travel from all over the country and indeed the world to see it.“

Chelle Hanley

“Back when you could actually ski on it! I learned to double ski on the Shepp lake! Useless now!”

Anthony Looby

“Grew up across the road. We always had boats and rafts on the lake.

We used to camp on Snake Island.

The big house across from the Shell was Jack Maldarys’.

He was the biggest builder in Shepp at the time.

The house is still there and still a big house by today's standards.

The island was always Snake Island.

The south end of the lake at the back of the caravan park was always called the Bottle Neck.

We used to walk across the lake to go swimming at the pool.

The deepest part of the lake was the north end at the willows.

It was over our head there.

Sometimes when the reddies were biting, we could get a sugar bag full of them in a couple of hours on worms. It was a great life growing up on the lake.”

Allan Mansell

“The island dances were part of the mid-1960s Fun and Food Fiesta activities, from memory.

I was a young kid at the time, around 10 to 12 years old.

The FFF was held in early February each year for a few years and involved a big parade of marching girls, brass bands and vehicle floats through the main streets of Shepp.

The island dance was part of the entertainment at the lake that also included carnival rides, hot food stands, etc.

The FFF was held for two or three years, from memory.

The surfing fad was big, and The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Deltones, Shadows, and Atlantics surfing music — and the dances like the Swim, Mashed Potato, Twist, etc — that came along with the music were huge.

A live band on the island too, I assume, as there were no DJs back then.

The island at the lake was part of Shepp’s tilt at the (inland) surf scene.“

Kay Lucas

“I remember when the local paper said on the front page how it was going to become a frog breeding ground for the local restaurants.

It was printed on April 1, but it fooled so many people!“

Jason Gardner

“The Branston family used to manage the servo there back in the day and then managed and owned Riverside Garden Supplies over the Broken River Bridge in Wyndham St, opposite the drive-in."

Mary Holtham,

"Yes, I remember the pontoon and the army men coming to Shepparton to build it.

The dance and the carnival on the edge of the lake too, and 3SR Radio caravan there, playing music and throwing records out to the crowd.“

Peter Boschetti

“There was a dance on Snake Island in the ’70s also. I remember the army assembling a pontoon bridge there.”

Geoff Allemand is an amateur photographer and Lost Shepparton Facebook page admin. Please share your Pics from the Past at pastpics@mmg.com.au