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Above: The foyer entry, the Melba “Tin Shed” Theatre, Numurkah.

35 Meiklejohn Street, and had the design In 1945 – 46, all the streets were lined with the ceilings and iron for the roof. The large
changed to incorporate a projection room and peppercorn trees, there were no made roads or plaster mouldings forming the proscenium
crying room. He called it The Melba, of gutters, and Cobram was still under the Shire were made in Cobram. The solid doors came
course. It opened on 31 December 1955. of Tungamah, which had very little interest in from Bonegilla.
Cobram. Dad bought a block of land from a
The structure was really only a tin shed, but it Mrs. Wadeson for the theatre. It was a disused
still stands today. It was later used as an tennis court between the “train house” (it was
engineering workshop with spare parts stored a very long house) and Ray Eaton’s bulk petrol
in the projection room; the crying room was depot. It was like a jungle, so it first had to be
used as an office. The owner of the workshop cleared. The building application was rejected
once said that he lived next door when he was by the Tungamah Shire, as they thought that
young and, on hot nights, the cinema would one day they might build a new hall (they did
have the sliding side doors open. He and his about thirty years later) and show pictures there.
friends would sit in their father’s car in the Dad went to every house in Cobram and
driveway and watch films. He joked that it was collected 500 signatures on a petition to submit
Australia’s first drive-in theatre. to the Shire. Eventually, permission to build a
theatre was granted. As always, he was short
Dad would pass through Cobram on the way of money so he drew up the plans for the
from Wodonga to Numurkah, and decided to Melba himself and, after many hassles, had
build a theatre in Cobram because of the the plans approved. After the war, all building
friendliness of the town's people. Then all the was to be done with a larger percentage of used
problems started. materials rather than new materials. As the
building was to be of new bricks, this took up
a large percentage of new materials in value.
Below: Melba Numurkah “tin shed” interior.
Projection room above the crying room.
Building started in
September 1947,
with plans to open
the following
S e p t e m b e r .
However, due to
delays, it finally
opened on
Wednesday 1 All the workers used during construction were
December 1948. The locals: Jack Smithers had the timber mill, Jack
materials from the Sharp had the plaster works, Vern Jones was
Bonegilla Area the electrician and “Bing” Crosby (as he was
Theatre consisted of known) was the plumber.
red-gum beams and
joists, oregon roof I can remember the local painter, Tom Bannon,
trusses, murray pine having a narrow escape while painting the roof.
floors that had been He was wearing sandshoes and stood on some
milled in Cobram, fresh paint, and away he went. On the way
cane-ite lining for down, he grabbed the guttering which slowed

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