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CINEMARECORD

seating for some 409 patrons. For a cinema on the very fringe of
the eastern suburbs the Loyalty was a quite substantial building,
similar to the plaster-clad structure of the original Cameo Theatre
in Belgrave and comparable with many smaller inner suburban
cinemas.
In its later years the theatre was sold and renamed the 'Festival' in
recognition of the fact that its rebirth was, as the dictionary
defines the word, •·a joyous occasion"!
The Festival survived closing as a cinema to later re-open as a
live theatre, home to the well-known 1812 Theatre Company.
Croydon Hall Cinema

Interior o(the Croydon Hall today.
Sound came in July 1931 when the new operator, Mr Gray
Edmeston. installed a sound-on-disc system. The opening tallde
was The Trial of Mary Dugan, starring Norma Shearer. The
talkies were very popular and regu lar '·house-fulls" led to
pressure to enlarge the hall. Architectural changes to the hall saw
it finally emerge. much enlarged, in 1937 and renamed the
Croydon Hall. A heating system, new interior and a brick front
were combined with a smart new decor in the foyer of panelling
and the rear section raised to improve sight-lines for film shows.
Decorative plasterwork in the auditorium was added in the Art
Deco style which gave the hall an attractively srrean11ined and
The original Croydon Mechanics Institute Hall uncluttered look. Despite competition from the Croydon Drive-In
and the corning of television, even in 1964 the Croydon Hall was
Croydon too, boasted a more substantial cinema building. Seating
still operating as Croydon Cinema Pry Ltd, with both matinee and
460 the Croydon Hall Cinema had a long involvement with film evening shows on Saturdays. The Croydon Film Society. fom1ed
even after it ceased operating as a regular venue. Silent film
in 1956, continued to screen at the Croydon Hall even after
shows carne to Croydon around about 1923 at the Mechanics
regular film shows had ceased. Today, the building still stands,
institute Hall on Mt Dandenong Road, Croydon, which had been
now a youth-oriented leisure centre. Regular cinema is now to be
built in 1910. The first film operator was a ''Mr F. Taylor" who
found up Croydon's main street in a multi-cinema complex.
had only obtained a short term lease at first, apparently sceptical
of the viability of a cinema in this isolated agricultural settlement Public Hall , Montrose
of small farms and orchards. But business apparently flourished
and this impressed the Hall Board of Management in a periodic
inspection in August 1925. Their findings led to the installation of
new projection plant at a cost of some £284 ($569).
At first the movies alternaaed on Saturday nights with popular
dances but. by 1926. the cinema had won and was now operating
every Saturday with an additional room provided for sweet and
ice-cream sales. A "Mrs Swift" was engaged as the official pianist
to accompany silent lilms at a fee of 12 and 6d ($ 1.25) per show.
By 1928. however. someone had been doing their sums and her
services had been dispensed with. in favou r of a (cheaper)
"electric gramophone''.

It has often been called the 'Montrose Theatre' but cinema (rather
than live) shows were largely the only ones held in it over later
years.
The Montrose Hall was erecred in 1915. It was, and sti II is, a
simple country weatherboard hall, with the biobox above the tiny
entrance foyer (originally accessed by an inside ladder) and a
small stage at the far end. Having screened films there myself I
would estimate an audience capacity of about 150 people would
have just about filled the auditorium. The Montrose Hall is an
attractive and neat little venue for movies.

The facade of the Croydon Hall today

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