By Lyn Collingwood, Bulletin 7/2024, September

There are few ice skating rinks now operating in Australia but in its heyday the sport was hugely popular. The state’s first indoor facility, the Glaciarium at 849 George Street West near Sydney’s Central Station, opened in 1907. When Pat Gregory began skating there, figure-skating champion and Hollywood movie star Sonja Henie was all the rage and the rink was patronised by as many as a thousand people daily during the March to December season.

Patricia Gregory was born on 5 July 1928, the only child of Florence Catherine Gregory, a confectionery worker. Following bouts of pneumonia, she was advised by her doctor, a keen skater, to take up vigorous exercise. At age 10 she put on her first skates at the Glaciarium. After a hesitant start she quickly developed under the encouragement of her coach Mireylees Reid, a state champion. Soon Pat was a featured soloist in exhibition displays and by age 15 was teaching the sport to beginners including local and overseas members of the armed forces. 

Pat lived with her mother at 39 Broughton Street Glebe. She entered a number of beauty and fundraising contests, including the 1942 and 1943 Glaciarium’s Popular Girl. A keen surfer at Manly, she was a finalist in the 1947 Sunday Telegraph Beach Girl competition which culminated in a ball at the Trocadero compered by radio personality Jack Davey. On a revolving stage the young women quick-changed from evening gown to swimsuit in convertible outfits designed by David Jones. The same year, Pat entered the Miss Australia Quest.

During the 1946 season Pat was engaged with fellow silver medallist Margaret McDonald to teach at St Kilda’s Saint Moritz Ice Skating Palais. The ambition of both teenagers was to perform professionally overseas. Back in Sydney, Pat led the Persian ballet in Icelvania and practised six hours a day to win the International Gold Medal for Skating, a prestigious award. 

In December 1948 Pat sailed to London ‘on spec’ with her manager Harold ‘Hal’ Downey, formerly a professional ballroom dancer. After giving a demonstration of figure skating at the Empress Hall, Earl’s Court, she was contracted to skate at interval during ice hockey matches at London’s Wembley Ice Rink. Other work followed, including lead roles in Rose Marie on Ice and Dick Whittington on Ice (the 100-strong chorus included Hal Downey). Her flying splits executed four feet in the air was televised by BBC TV. 

In November 1950 Pat and Hal Downey married in a quiet ceremony at Brighton, England. The following March they sailed first class on the Strathmore to Sydney where they stayed in Florence Gregory’s Glebe house between Pat’s engagements. These included an Australasian tour of Ice Follie on the Tivoli circuit, Rose Marie on Ice in Perth and Kalgoorlie, Hot Ice in most Australian capitals, and Puss in Boots on Ice in Sydney and Auckland. In New Zealand in 1953 Pat skated on natural ice for the first time. During a European tour of Holiday on Ice she met Elvis Presley in Germany.

In need of expensive repairs, the Glaciarium closed in 1955 after which Pat practised on the City of Sydney’s Prince Alfred Park outdoor rink. She continued to perform on the Tivoli circuit: Ecstasy on Ice, Follies On Ice, Frosty Follies and Robin Hood. From 1972 she presented ice shows on her own portable rink at venues such as Bondi’s Hakoah Club and the St George, Guildford, and South Sydney Juniors Leagues Clubs. In 1978 the rink was airlifted to Port Moresby for Ice Time Las Vegas. In 1980, the year she retired, she was the subject of a This is Your Life television episode.

Pat Gregory was an inaugural inductee into Ice Skating Australia’s Hall of Fame in 2004. She died on 5 April 2019, survived by her daughter and son-in-law. 

Sources: icelegendsaustralia.com; NSW electoral rolls; Trove website.