Page 16 - CR

May 4
1915

By May 1912, business at the Lyceum Despite claims of being “Brisbane’s Somewhat ahead of its time, in January
had been so successful that Mr King Finest Picture-Theatre” AND “The 1913, the Lyceum was advertising
was ready to take the Brisbane cinema coolest in Australia”… it would prove for a strictly limited season - The
scene by storm with a plan to build a to have a short life and never make it Chronomegaphone - “the Pictures
newer, bigger, elaborate luxury theatre out of the silent-era, as within a few that Talk – the epitome of modern
in Queen Street. years it would be outmoded by the picturedom!”
Strand, Wintergarden and King’s
To achieve this, a new company was own Majestic. This attraction was “direct from
formed titled Kings Pictures Limited. Spencers Lyceum in Sydney –holders
The capital of this company was 50,000 By 1922 it was converted for retail use, of the absolute exclusive rights” and
pounds in shares of 1-pound each. The and the massive Hoyts Regent Theatre featured Harry Lauder “positively the
object of the company was to acquire would eventually be built and loom over world’s greatest comedian – hear and
from King, the lease, licence and it for 50 years - right next door. see the most famous of all singing
goodwill of the Lyceum – along with humorists in all of his specialties!”
the plant, fixtures and fittings, and to The Pavilion was finally demolished in
purchase the freehold of the proposed the late 1970s. It would seem that the Chronomegaphone
Queen Street site. The Lyceum was doomed to quickly fade away into
remained open and would continue to obscurity and was soon forgotten.
operate as before.

An audit of the Lyceum books showed
a net profit of 3781 pounds for the year
of 1911 which in itself was sufficient to
return a dividend of 12 ½ per cent on
the capital. Industry big-wigs: Mr. E. J
Carroll of Brisbane, Mr. Harold Ashton
of J.C. Williamson Ltd, Mr John H. Tait
of J and N Tait, and Mr W.B. Miller of
New Zealand underwrote 12,500 of the
shares to make the floatation of the new
company assured.

Soon Kings Pictures Ltd were operating
their second continuous movie-house ABOVE: The New Lyceum
– the Pavilion in Queen Street which LEFT: The Pavilion
offered patrons an all-day cinematic
diet from 11am until 11pm daily.

16 2011 CINEMAREC ORD