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Patron Frank Van Straten AM

have vivid memories of the very first film I saw. It was Fantasia, in 1941. I was
Ifive. And I can also remember the strangeness of the environment of the first theatre
I ever entered. It was the Savoy in Russell Street. It had none of the grandeur that I
was soon to experience at the Capitol, the State and the Regent. Even our local
cinemas were grander – the Regent in South Yarra and the Village in Toorak.
Nevertheless it was an exciting introduction to the heady experience of enjoying
entertainment in the company of complete strangers.

I can still recall the avalanche of laughter at the St James in Bourke Street during the
screening of the Marx Brothers’ The Big Store in 1942, and the opulent glory of the
rebuilt Regent when it was launched with The Homestretch in 1947. In 1953 a school
friend and I conned our way into the Regent to see an industry unveiling of wide-screen
CinemaScope. Five years later the Plaza premiered the even wider three-strip
Cinerama. By then we had drive-ins and television, and slowly but inexorably the
familiar city, suburban and country cinemas faced extinction, while the city’s cosy
newsreel theatres – remember the Century, the Times and the Albany – disappeared
almost overnight.
Our live theatres faced similar challenges. Among the casualties were the King’s in
Russell Street, the Metro and the Tivoli in Bourke Street, and the plucky Plaza in
Northcote.

From early on I was intrigued by the history of these varied entertainment venues, the
shows they presented – both live and ‘canned’ – and the audiences who patronised them. I collected piles of programs and other memorabilia, and
avidly read the books that gradually began to record various aspects of our entertainment history. Little did I realise that in the years to come I would
write several volumes of Australian theatrical history myself.
In 1979 I was appointed to the team setting up the Performing Arts Museum at the Victorian Arts Centre. An early visitor was Ian Hanson, who
told me of his dream of establishing a society to promote and help preserve cinema and theatre history. His enthusiasm was infectious, and the
Performing Arts Museum was one of the first members of the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society when it was launched in 1989. Ten years later
I was privileged to be asked to be one of its first patrons.
The Society’s magazine, CinemaRecord, was first published in 1994. Over the years, thanks to a succession of dedicated editors, researchers and
writers, it has developed into a lively, authoritative and attractive magazine. Inevitably many of the earlier contributors have passed on, but happily
their work survives and is now freely available on line.

As CinemaRecord achieves its 100th edition, I have great pleasure in offering my hearty congratulations to everyone involved and to look forward
to a bright future for the magazine, the Society, and for each and every one of its members. ★

CinemaRecord - this is where it started.

CinemaRecord number one was published in January 1994, some four and a bit years after the formation of
CATHS. Both the publication and the name were the brainchild of the first editor, Peter O’Reilly.
Edition number one was a modest 20 pages, produced on a photocopier and distributed to the 50 odd members
of the time.
The opening page defines the purpose of CATHS and CinemaRecord as “The objective of CATHS-V, and
this publication, is to accurately document and create an archive of the history of cinemas in Victoria”.
Only the name and coverage has changed, but the aims of 25 years ago remain much the same. Today, the “-V” (indicating
Victoria) has gone, and is now “of Australia Inc.” The magazine aims to provide coverage of all of Australia and New Zealand.
Edition number one contained the following articles:
• Carlton Moviehouse · Rod How
• Film Theatres of Ballarat · Graham Smythe
• The Garfield Picture Theatre · Gerry Kennedy
• New Theatre For Frankston · Fred Page
• Cinemas of Warracknabeal · Brian Miller
• Castlemaine Theatre Royal · Denzil Howson All back editions are currently still available
• Swanpool Cinema · Gerry Kennedy

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