World’s second-oldest skate park, Albany Snake Run to celebrate 50 years with Fiddy-Fiddy Festival ‘26

Australia’s oldest surviving skate park, the Albany Snake Run, will celebrate half a century of skaters riding — and donating blood to — its storied slopes this weekend. The newly formed Albany Skateboard Society Inc. will host the 50th anniversary bash, Fiddy-Fiddy Festival ‘26, for the Albany Snake Run Skateboard Park on Saturday. Thought to be the world’s first community-built skate park, the concept of the Snake Run was conceived in 1975 by Albany Senior High School students Steven and Graham Macaulay, who, with the help of their father Jim, fundraised $3000 for the project. “We (Steven and Graham) were keen to have something, but we didn’t really have the ideas or the foresight, shall we say, as Jim Macaulay had,” Steven said. “He had us doing a fairy floss machine, a drinks machine, we were blowing up balloons; these were our main fundraising exercises, and then we would go to different show events, different Christmas events to get the money together. “(Dad) helped us with the original concept, and he knew what needed to be done, and he had the contacts with the council in other areas, so it all got away as a result of him.” Impressed by their dedication, the Town of Albany donated $10,000 and provided the land — a former quarry site near ASHS — for the park. Constructed in a winding surf bowl, slalom-style with steep slopes by about 100 local people, including the Macaulays’ ASHS classmates, the park was opened in 1976 by US National Skateboard champion, Russ Howell, who labelled it “the best he’d ever seen”. “It wasn’t built to specs,” Albany Skateboard Society Inc. president Kus Rolph said. “It was just a bunch of locals throwing concrete down a hill, basically. “So it’s super steep, and the surface is super rough as well so it’s kind of not for everyone. Mr Rolph, who is also co-proprietor of The Shed, said the event came about when he was approached by Perth skater Elliot Barber, who, also celebrating his 50th birthday, wanted to do something to commemorate both events. “Originally, we were just going to do a sort-of bit of a get-together with our gang, and then we thought, well, no one’s actually doing anything public for the 50th of the Snake Run, and maybe we should make it a public event,” he said. “So we quickly whipped up a non-profit organisation committee, ASS Inc — got our asses into gear even — and we were lucky to get some really good help with some local businesses to help push that through quite quickly, which helped us secure a little bit of funding from the city.” He said the festival will involve music, a barbecue, art exhibitions, and pop-up skate spots for those not willing to “tackle the beast” and an afterparty at The Shed. “Everyone has a story about this place, so we want to have a bit of fun, a bit of quite light-hearted banter and see some amazing skating going on, see sort of what people can still do on something so old and crusty,” Mr Rolph said. “I don’t think anyone would build anything like this ever again. “There are too many safety standards involved now, and there’s something like this, we’re lucky to have it, and for it to be preserved, because it is, it is from a different era.” The Snake Run was listed on the State Heritage register in 2016, recognising its position as the world’s second-oldest surviving skate park. Steven Macaulay said he was thrilled the park was still as beloved as it was when it first opened. “In the old days, when it first opened up, for about two or three years, you couldn’t move on the track without just about knocking someone over,” he said. “You had to wait up to two to five minutes before you had a turn, because of the number of kids all trying to get their little bit on the on the surface. “It’s really great that its still used, as that’s the most important thing — you don’t want a facility sitting there and no one attending. “It’s now 50 years on, and so you’ve had generations of kids going through who now use this track and continue to use it.” The Fiddy-Fiddy Festival ‘26 will run from noon at the Snake Run on Hare Street on Saturday.