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Dear Sirs,
Council enforcement officers were called to NATIONAL
investigate reports of skips of material being Issue #87 is another fine record. It contains a
removed from the building recently, but found Hoyts Founder’s 100 Anniversary nice item on the Regent Theatre at Islington,
th
insufficient evidence to seek entry to inspect 27 November 2015 marked the centenary of NSW by Les Tod.
the building. A council spokeswoman said the death of Arthur Francis Russell, the
changes to the internal features of a building founder of Hoyts. I recall that after World War II, both Hoyts and
do not require a planning permit. She said the Greater Union embarked on “dressing up”
council dropped their bid to pursue interim He and his wife, Agnes, are buried in the many of their country and suburban theatres.
heritage protection for the interior of the Williamstown, Victoria Cemetery. q One of these was the Regent at Islington, which
building after damage was inflicted by had recently been acquired from the Herbert
construction workers in November 2014. Circuit. Painting throughout was a feature and,
as can be seen in the photograph on page seven,
Preston the various decorative panels in the ceiling
The old Rivoli Theatre in Gilbert Road is for were enhanced in a deep green.
sale with a price tag in excess of $5 million.
The landmark building that was the social hub Thank you for another fine and varied issue.
of the area in the 1930s is earmarked for
multi-level development. The 1054 sq m Yours sincerely
property on three titles includes the picture William Gray
theatre, a car park, a shop and dwelling. q North Parramatta NSW.
Mike,

The Salvation Army article by Robert
Parkinson in CR#87 was interesting reading. I
have a magic lantern in my collection which
is clearly marked as once belonging to the
“Church Army” in London (see images below).
Fairfax Buys Openair Cinemas It seems that the Salvos had no hesitation in
Fairfax Media, publishers of The Sydney utilising the latest Audio Visual (AV)
Morning Herald, The Age, etc. has purchased equipment of the time to get their message
Australian Openair Cinemas for an across.
NEW ZEALAND undisclosed sum.
Michael Cant
Auckland The company, which started in 2003 as a Adelaide.
It was announced back in July that the single screen operation at Sydney’s Bondi
Hollywood Cinema in suburban Avondale Beach, has operations in Melbourne, Adelaide,
was to be sold. The Auckland WurliTzer Trust Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and the Gold Coast.
was given notice to remove the iconic
WurliTzer organ from the theatre by the end Village Roadshow Limited
of September. The organ, originally from the Village has continued upgrading a number of
Auckland Regent, has been removed and is sites, including Werribee and Jam Factory
currently in storage, awaiting a suitable home. (Victoria) and Miranda (NSW).
Existing cinemas earmarked for future
refurbishment include Sunshine and Century
City (Victoria), Hurstville, Castle Hill and
Liverpool (NSW), Browns Plains
(Queensland) and Morley (Western
Australia). New sites are also underway at
Plenty Valley (Victoria), Roselands (NSW),
North Lakes, Coomera and Springfield
(Queensland), Glenelg (South Australia) and
Palmerston (Northern Territory).
Village Roadshow has now withdrawn its
distribution division from New Zealand. All
There was local speculation that the distribution throughout New Zealand will now
Hollywood would be demolished to make be carried out through Village’s Sydney office.
way for a development on the site. However, Errata:
it was recently announced that it has been sold, Reporting: The Yallourn Theatre article, page 13, CR#87
and the new owner intends to continue to stated that the 70 mm installation in 1978, was
operate it as a cinema. This is great news for Ross King the only one in country Victoria. In fact the
the local community, who have expressed a Roderick Smith new Capri Cinema in Shepparton opened with
desire for the cinema to continue. Mike Trickett The Fall of the Roman Empire on the 11 March
Tom Vitale 1966 in 70 mm (CR#9). The first country
The Hollywood was visited in 2000 and again Colin Flint 70 mm installation in Australian was likely to
in 2010 during two of the three CATHS New Allan Webb have been at the Lithgow Royal in July 1964.
Zealand cinema tours.

CINEMARECORD # 88 5