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MEMORIES OF THE CINEMA (through a small pair of eyes)
by lan Baker

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Hoyts Cinema Theatre- Richmond c. 1938

Hoyts Cinema Theatre, Richmond, (nowadays disguised fined to the smal)jsh school ground 1 soon found myself at
as a Barbeques Galore retail outlet) had a brief but pro- an open side exit door of the Cinema. (I later found that
found influence on my life. the side doors were left open during most days as a low-
cost airing process). Apart from the daylight seeping
In December 1947, our family moved from Dandenong, through the several open doorways, the interior was in dark-
then a small country market town, to inner-submban Rich- ness. I had never seen such a large auditorium. What caught
mond. I fu·st saw the Cinema theatre on a mild early sum- my small eyes was the arched trellis-like ceiling, a massive
mer evening. My family was having its induction su·oJI stage with hs maroon curtains and row after row of seats
along Bridge Road, sharing it with other pedestrians. It blending with a dimly lit balcony which vanished into the
was post World War 2 and vehicles were few and no bother blackness. As 1 wandered back to school I planned my next
to the occasional trams that clanked across the Church Street step.
intersection.
The following Saturday afternoon 1 arrived at I o'clock
I looked in awe for the fu·st time at the colourful flashing and joined a rapidly growing queue of kjds. At 1.30 Head-
illuminated Hoyts sign above the verandah edged with il- Usher, Harry Archibald, smartly dressecL in his Hoyt's uni-
luminated light bulbs. We paused and I saw inside the white form of maroon jacket. white shi1t, maroon tie, black trou-
(marble?) tiled foyer with a double ticket box as the central sers and shiny black shoes, unbolted two of several glass
feature. Beyond the ticket box were several tiled steps ris- doors . The queue snaked inside in an orderly fashion to
ing to two sets of double mitTOr glass doors opening into a the ticket box occupied by a very pretty ticket lady (Mrs.
mysterious interior. On either side of the spacious foyer Harris) dressed in her Hoyt's issue white blouse and long-
were illuminated glass display windows. A steady stream flowing maroon skirt. She dispensed sixpenny (front stalls)
of patrons queued for tickets. I wished that I was one of and ninepenny (centre stalls) tickets. With ticket in band
them because I was eager to try out the Cinema. we scurried past Page Boy, Ernie Carr, dressed in his Hoyt's
issue page-boy uniform of maroon waistcoat with gold but-
My chance to find the inner secrets of the Cinema came tons, white shirt, maroon tie, grey trousers with a maroon
early in February 1948. By then I was enrolled at Rich- side strip and a maroon peaked cap. Ernie did his best to
mond Technical School in Church Street. The rear of the extract a fwther threepence in exchange for an obsolete
Cinema was separated from the Tech. by a paling fence copy of the Screen News. Harry looked on like a school-
and a lane. The temptation to explore during lunchtime master. He obviously had good discipline because none of
was great and upon finding that students were not con- the kids put a foot wrong.

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