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By Ross King

In 1970 I met film exhibitor George The Ashril was set up with a
Williams who ran the show at Toora, Raycophone plant, so Lou had the
South Gippsland. George was in the machines in storage, intending to do an
throes of winding up his cinema upgrade, but had never actually done
interests and he offered me a set of so. Realizing that he never would, he
German-made AEG (Allgemeine let George have them for his Toora
Elektrzitats Gesellsehaft) 35mm show.
projectors. Having always appreciated A chance meeting in 1970 gave me
the high engineering and design an insight into the strange, early years
standard of German equipment, I of what were now my AEG projectors.
bought them. The man I was introduced to, the
AEG had been manufacturers of late Sam Cylich, had brought them to
projection and cinema equipment from Australia. Sam was born in Poland
the silent era. They introduced around 1920, and like so many of us,
advances such as the conical shutter on developed a great interest in cinema
their 1927 Theatremachine. The and photography.
machines I bought, the Euro M2 from When Germany invaded Poland in
the 1940s, with barrel shutters and 1939, Sam was interned in Germany.
forced air-cooled film gates were He survived the war years, and when
probably their last model. the POW camps were liberated the plan
As was common with European was to return internees to their
projectors, one machine is a left-hand countries of origin. Sam knew that the
projector, the other a right-hand Russians now occupied Poland, so he
machine suitable for a one-man wisely shortened his Polish name to
operation. Having been manufactured Cylich, and by claiming Germany as
during the war years when metal was in his homeland, was able to stay there.
high demand, the projector pedestals Sam settled in Velden, north-east of
are made of pre-stressed concrete. Munich, where he operated the local
The company is still a major cinema, the first home of the AEGs.
manufacturer. For example, the They had been a gift to the town
electrical traction machinery on cinema from Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s
Melbourne’s trams is from AEG. They propagandist, for the purpose of youth
are also known for domestic appliances. ‘education’. Much of Velden, including
I suspected that these projectors the theatre had been taken over by the
would have an interesting history, but dictatorship and utilised as a Hitler
just how interesting - their time in Youth Movement training camp.
Germany - I was not to learn until after Sam became restless in post-war
a coincidental meeting. Velden, and decided to immigrate. Still
Lou Riley who ran the Ashril in interested in a career in film production
Main Street, Greensborough had sold and exhibition, he considered the
the AEGs to George Williams. At this United States or Canada, but since the
time, the best part of forty years ago, USA had such an established film
Greensborough was an outer, almost industry he knew there would be little
rural suburb of Melbourne. The Ashril, opportunity for him to pursue his
formerly the Victory, was a converted interest there, so he settled for Australia
hall situated on the western side of - at the end of the earth - where there
Main Street, midway between was a possibility of starting up film
Grimshaw Street and the railway production and exhibition, and maybe
crossing. Today it is difficult to even creating a Hollywood in Melbourne! Above: Hitler Youth stamps
visualise where the theatre stood.

8 2008 CINEMARECORD