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rental for the term of the lease.
Holland agreed. As a sweetener, Henry
Holland became the first manager of
the Broadway Camberwell, working
directly for Robert McLeish.
Holland was ever the optimist. As
soon as Hoyts’ lease expired, he
installed sound and held another gala
opening. The theatre was said to have
done some good business, especially
with Viennese Nights. Somehow
Holland managed to scoop Hoyts/
McLeish to get this stand-out hit.
(see CR 45).
Henry Holland died suddenly from
a heart attack. In December 1932 his
widow sold the theatre fittings to the
McLeish group and leased the building
to Coles Stores.
For a man with the tenacity to steer
his theatre through tough times, it is
fitting that his bricks and iron have
outlasted all trace of his Burke Road
rivals.
Camberwell Picture Theatre
465-67 Burke Road
Built for: Henry Holland
Opened: Sat. 26 Sept. 1914
Projectors: Pathe Freres
Seating: 1,000 (approx.)
Hoyts Lease: 1921-1930
Hoyts Camberwell 1921-1926
Closed: 1927-1930
Re-opened: 1931
Finally Closed: 1932
Building today: Commercial
REFERENCES
1. J. Alex Allan's A History of
Camberwell 1841 - 1950 in the Local
History section of the Camberwell
Library, is the source for much of this
story.
2. The Hawthorn and Camberwell
Advertiser. 26 September 1914.
3. The Herald 27 May 1921

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My mother Zoe Smith, still vital at
93, was the inspiration to find out more
about Holland’s theatre.
I wish to thank Maurice Smith of
the Hawthorn Library for permission to
reproduce the image of the theatre.
Right from top: First record of the
theatre under the Hoyts banner. The
Herald, 9 April 1921.
Henry Holland's signature on a letter to
the Board of Health in 1926, identifying
himself as the Manager of the Broadway,
late Our Theatre.
The roof-line from the rear is the giveaway
that this was once a cinema.

18 2006 CINEMARECORD