Page 11 - CinemaRecord #82

RICHARD STEPHENS

Paddington Theatre Paddington Theatre

Paddington Picture Pavilion - Stephens &
Ogilvie, Lyric Theatre – Stephens &Garrick,
Gabba Continentals – Hugh Black, Rosalie
– Stephens.

This venture did not last as Arthur Richards
pulled out, as his Fiveways was profitable and
Black’s Gabba Continentals was not.
Black seems to have left a number of his shows
in the hands of Stephens after the amalgamation 1915 - Paddington Picture Theatre (also Pops at Red Hill
folded, but continued with the Gabba himself. called Ithaca Picture Theatre), in partnership
with C E Munro. Munro would later become
1913 - Stephens and Ogilvie took on a partner the managing director of 20 Century-Fox
th
by the name of Mr Farley of Boonah and they in Australia. Stephens later said that their
were exhibiting at Boonah School of Arts partnership was based on a handshake only and
with varied success, this partnership last just that no paperwork existed.
9 months.
1915 - Spring Hill Picture Palace was
1913 - Rosalie Picture Palace (aka the retained by Stephens and Ogilvie after the
Bungalow) was purchased from Bill Forster, amalgamation with Hugh Black. On the 31 st
and Stephens ran this show for about a year December 1917 they finally severed their
and a half before he auctioned it off. Thomas connection with Spring Hill Picture Palace to
Garrick purchased the equipment and timbers move onto bigger and better shows.
for his Arcadia Theatre in Bayswater,
Brisbane. 1915 - Red Hill Pictures POPS with Charles
Munro was another of their partnerships.
1914 - The Elite Skating Rink in the Valley POPS stood for People’s Own Picture Show,
was an attempt to hold onto winter trade for a name it retained until the early 1930s when it
Stephens & Ogilvie, but they had varied was sold and renamed the State.
success with this enterprise. The bottom fell
out of skating, so they converted it to an open
air cinema called Pictureland, but this only
lasted some months. It was situated opposite
McWirther’s in the Valley.

Clayfield 1930s

Clayfield Savoy before modernisa�on.

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