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NEWSREEL by Martin Powell

Hoyts Plaster C handeliea·s: Do you have some knowl- The addresses are as follows:
edge about the Hoyts plaster chandeliers c. 1940? Her Maj-
esty's Theatre in Ballarat have six of them and want to www.sorrentocinemas.com.au
repaint them. If you can help them witl1 some advice please www.rosebudcinemas.com.au
contact Peter Freund, Publicist, Her Majesty's Theatre, ww. warragulcinemas.com.au
Ballarat, Victoria. 5333-5800
Victoria's Mechanics' Institutes were in almost every
T he Melbourne Capitol T heatre have announced that hamlet in Victoria. If not there was a School of Arts or an
they will be screening The Sound of Music. The re-re- Athenaeum. These halls hosted Saturday night dances, film
leased film will be a special edition, featuring the words screenings, concerts, plays, weddings, wakes, elections and
to the songs on the bottom of the screen. From June, The land sales. In many cases they provided libraries for their
Sound of Music screens regularly Friday and Saturday eve- community. Victoria had about II 00, or more than a quar-
nings. ter, of the world's Mechanics' Institutes.

Mamma Mia!, the musical based on the songs of ABBA, The Mechanics' movement started in 1800 in Glasgow,
is coming to Melboume. It starts its Australian season at Scotland, by Dr. George Birbeck, and it spread through-
the Melboume Princess Theatre from June 9th. out the British Empire and into the USA during the 19th
Century.
T he Frankston C ultural Centre has changed its name.
As from February 200 I it will be known as the Frankston Historian Pam Baragwanath bas spent the past 15 years
Arts Centre. researching the history ofVictoria's Mechanic's Institutes.
Her book "If The Walls Could Speak: A Social History of
T he Agora Cinema at La Trobe University now has a the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria" was launched at the
website at www.latrobe.edu.au/campus/agora The Agora recent National Mechanics' lnstitutes Conference.
screens a selection of mainstream Hollywood and Arthouse
movies. The cinema is equipped with the state-of-the art The handsome 360 page, hardbound book has 600 photos
technology in cinema sound with Dolby processor and DTS ofMechanics' buildings and documents.
digital sound systems. Open daily except Mondays. La
Trobe University, Bundoora 3083 Tel: 03 9471 1241 The book was funded by a Centenary of Federation Fed-
agoracinema200 I @yahoo.com eral grant recognising that the Father of Federation. Sir
Henry Parkes, was self-educated at the Birmingham Me-
Americans and the Birth of Oz Television Star Span- chanics' Institute in. England and chose the Tenterfield
gled Manner: Americans and the Birth of Australian Tel- School of Arts to launch his Australian Federation Move-
evision 1955-65 is a new exhibition on at the Victorian ment in 1889.
Arts CentTe. The exhibition looks at the first ten years of
Australian television and examines the impact visiting 'If the Walls Could Speak' ($62 posted), is available from
Americans had on our black and wbite screens. Includes the Mechanics' Institute ofVictoria Inc, Box 1080, Wind-
Tommy Hanlon Jr .. Bob Dyer, Jack Little. Delo and Daly. sor 3181.
Don Lane and others, connecting the worlds of radio, thea-
tre, cabaret and TV. At the George Adams Gallery until Symbols of Australia by Mimmo Cozzolino is a book
April 29. which charts the visual history of h·ademarks in Australia
-over I 00 years of consumer heritage preserved. A major
Dive-In Movies: Bendigo member Fred Page reports that work of commercial archaeology, it contains over 1710
over summer, the Bendigo area is host to some interesting trademarks - including over 100 in full colour, symbols,
cinema and theatre venues. Near Castlemaine there's shields and logos, many with detailed historical design
"Dive-In" Movies at Harcourt Swimming Pool, Pictures development along with brief corporate histories.
In The Park in Bendigo, and the travelling production
"CATS under the Big Top".
Koroit Theatre Re-opens. Edward McKinnon from the
Koroit Film Society reports that the Koroit Theatre will be
Mornington Cinema, originally a single screen cinema.
officially re-opened on Saturday night March 17th. after
was twinned in the mid 1990's, and later a tJ1ird screen
being closed for 20 years.
added. A building to house two more screens is currently
under construction, adjoining the existing cinema com- T he old Garfield Cinema in West Gippsland is cun·ently
plex. undergoing renovations to re-open as a theatre restaurant.

Kirby family cinemas (Village) on the Mornington Pe- Castlemaine T heatre Royal is up for sale. Enquiries can
ninsula and in West Gippsland bave recently established be directed to estate agent Joe Cappy on (03) 5472-1133.
websites for their cinemas.

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