Surviving heatwaves, lockdowns and floods, Ponyfish Island’s founders Grant Smillie, Andrew Mackinnon and Jerome Borazio now celebrate 15 years of the floating bar’s often water-logged existence.
Andrew tells the story of how Ponyfish came to be; “So about 15 years ago, three gentlemen were walking around here – along the Yarra – and they spotted a concrete atoll and they ventured down and decided that this would be a fantastic spot to enjoy a beer with friends.
Now the atoll was sketchy. It was barren and a little bit sticky underfoot. And we decided it was absolutely perfect. It was around the time when it was all about either the Northside or the Southside [of Melbourne]. But there was absolutely no one talking about what happens in the middle.
And this venue is smack bang in the middle. At the time there was a real stigma around the Yarra River; which we were brave enough to try and conquer. So Jerome sat Grant and I down: we had a Very Serious Meeting. And Jerome said, “Guys, let’s be honest. How many of your mates are going to come and have beers at this place in the middle of the Yarra by Southbank?”
And I was like, “I reckon…8”.
And Grant said “12?” and Jerome reckoned he had about 13.
We were like, “that’s all the market research we really need to get this thing going!” And so Ponyfish Island was born.”
The bar is named after the ‘Crayon Ponyfish’ a fictional, seahorse-like creature gifted to the main character in the Wes Anderson film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou by his estranged son. During the film, the titular oceanographer and his haphazard crew go on a submarine journey in search of the rare Jaguar Shark that killed his partner.
“We thought it was quite fitting that we would sit down there on the bow, drink beers, and look out at the sunset, waiting for that elusive ponyfish. So we launched,” explains Andrew.
“Lots of people would write articles about us because they were wondering who the silly people were that would build a venue underneath a bridge in the middle of the Yarra River. But it grew quite the crowd and we look back at those 15 years and there have been many, many dates – potentially many babies that have been created from those dates – [the bar’s been] attracting people, wandering in from planes and the boats or just wanderers like us. But it has been a venue that’s brought us a lot of joy over the years.
But along with that, it’s had its tribulations.
We go underwater.
Quite a lot.
You’ve probably seen it go underwater about four or five times, but it’s truly gone underwater, maybe over 100. So a big thanks goes to the team down here that runs this like a well-oiled machine and a very ship-shaped boat.”
As part of the 15-year celebrations – with only three week’s lead time, Oscar-winning local creative Leo Baker has crafted a mini-submarine installation as well as a sub captain’s control panel – inspired by The Life Aquatic film. The striking submarine sits pride of place at the entry point to the venue for now while the whimsical control panel forms the DJ console for the bar. These submarine motifs are an ode to the Life Aquatic-esque mission of chasing something elusive or even incomprehensible to others. But it is also a nod to the lofty mission that Ponyfish Island shares with the Regen Melbourne organisation and the City of Melbourne – that is to make the Yarra River swimmable again!
Andrew “One thing I’ll say about the submarine is it is. It’s built so well that it’s safer, more waterproof than that of OceanGate.”
A weekend long 15th birthday party awaits would-be sailors today until Sunday. DJs Edd Fisher, Cooper Smith, No Era, Lex Barlin will be on decks on the literal deck. The bar is slinging a $15 birthday cocktail menu, $15 pizzas, and – if you hear the bell randomly ring – it’s Ponyfish Island’s shout for shots.
Photography by Michael Pham.
