Page 22 - CinemaRecord #84

Some of these pockets also included rare My family and I returned to Lismore
negatives of photos he took around the 1920's in April 1990 and settled in
of the Northern Rivers area in New South Modanville in January 1991. Here is
Wales. the "unusual" piece. My father did
silent projection work in the Dunoon
Of the 180 negatives, there were only about Hall from 1925-1929. He would have
six which had been damaged. Over the next travelled along the Lismore/Dunoon
four months, I progressively took the negatives Road, passing directly in front of our
to the then Kodak shop opposite the old present day home here in Modanville,
Lismore Post Office in Magellan Street. When as it fronts onto the Dunoon Road.
finally printed, they were so clear that you Furthermore, I've been playing euchre
would swear they were taken only a few days in the Dunoon Hall since 1993! In
prior, and not nearly 90 years ago. There were addition to this, my father took
about a dozen that weren't quite clear and one numerous photos in his early years
of those was of the old A.I.F. Cinema in and identified each one of them.
Lismore, taken in 1920. I was told that the When I was living in PNG, I also took
cinema was possibly located in Woodlark hundreds of photos (and coloured slides) and screening that same afternoon. By the time I
Street back then. identified every one of them. was due for my next leave pass into Sydney a
month later, Rock Around The Clock had
It took me nearly six months to sort all this out, Between July and December 1956, I did my moved on.
and I knew I had some very historical photos National Service training at the Ingleburn
that no one else had ever seen before. To verify Military Camp outside Sydney. We were I returned home to Lismore on 15 December
the accuracy of the dates and locations of the allowed leave into Sydney on just one day per 1956 and, very soon after, Rock Around The
places my father had photographed (illegally), month. At that time, I was a very keen Clock screened at the Star Court Theatre,
I visited the Canberra War Museum Archives "Western" fan and loved any film to do with where I saw it twice. A few days later, a group
website and found that the dates and places the American Wild West. I was also becoming of us drove down to the theatre at Evans Head,
where the 67th Flying Corps was based interested in Rock and Roll music. Showing at where we saw it again, twice in two days. In
throughout the Middle East campaigns, one of the main cinemas in George Street in February 1957, I moved up to Brisbane to
together with my father’s notes and dates, Sydney (on my one day out in the big city) was work, living with my Aunt in Aspley, where
matched. Amazingly, the War Museum had no a very good Western film together with another Rock Around The Clock was screening at the
interest in these documents, so I contacted a movie called Rock Around The Clock, starring theatre in Chermside. I saw it three times there,
friend of mine, Dr. Peter Cahill at the Bill Haley and the Comets. At that time, I had and twice more at cinemas in Kelvin Grove,
University of Queensland in Brisbane, and told not heard of them and I thought to myself, "I Bulimba and The Valley, as well as in George
him of the Canberra problem. He told me that might stay and watch it". When the first few Street. I was so hooked by the music that I went
the Queensland University would be very bars of the title music of Rock Around The along to see it over and over again. When I was
pleased to receive them, and that's where they Clock started, I was suddenly thrown into a in Port Moresby in 1960, it screened at the
all ended up. new world of music, and loved it straight away. Papuan Theatre, and I saw it on two nights
It was so good to see and hear Bill Hayley in there. I also saw it at a theatre while travelling
action, that I stayed to watch the second

Papuan Theatre
c.1979

22 CINEMARECORD # 84