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Lawrence (Laurie) Ernest Rossiter (1905 - 1985)

and the SURREY THEATRE, Surrey Hills, Vic.

by Paul Rossiter

awrence (Laurie) Ernest Rossiter, my The theatre was opened by the
Lfather, was born in London in 1905 and local Federal MP, and then Prime
emigrated to Australia with his parents, Rosalia Minister, Robert Menzies on
and Alfred, in 1922. He subsequently became Saturday 26 August, 1939.
a builder, putting up many domestic dwellings However, things did not go quite
around the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. as planned. Since the finishing
touches were being done right up
However, one of his main passions was film to the opening ceremony, while the
and he acquired various 16 mm cameras in the curtains were being hung it was
pre-war years and also experimented with his not noticed that some of the
own developing facilities. Just before the electric radiators had been left with
Second World War, he combined both interests their switches in the “on” position.
and built the Surrey Theatre at 142-146 When the main power switch was
Union Road, Surrey Hills, Victoria. thrown, the radiators set fire to
some of the curtains. Everyone
He owned the theatre along with R. Mitchell pitched in to make emergency
and Messrs Dimmick & Long who had a real repairs, the paint still being wet
estate agency next door as part of the complex. when the ceremony started.
The site was an old creek bed and the
foundations had to be dug to a great depth to As the war broke out, Laurie was
secure a solid footing. During construction advised to keep the theatre
these continually filled with water and needed operating rather than enlist in the
constant bailing, the task being done manually forces, this being thought more
with ropes, kerosene tins and improvised beneficial to the morale of the
drainage. The concrete was mixed on site and people during that harrowing time.
distributed into the foundations with During that period he served as a
wheelbarrows along improvised plank warden. However, those dark days Laurie Rossiter Image: Paul Rossiter
pathways. The roof girders were raised using didn’t curb his enthusiasm and he
a manual winch. These and other aspects of the made more home movies during the war years, His wife, Shirley Rossiter, helped out as an
construction can be seen in the home movie he documenting the effects of the terrible fires usher and in the box office. One night when
made during construction. that swept through Lorne on the Great Ocean Laurie was returning home with the night’s
Road in 1939. takings, he was held up by an armed robber as
he arrived home and the was money stolen.
He also documented some of the naval vessels One of his young sons apparently saw the
visiting Melbourne (probably illegal at the robber lying in wait, hiding in the bushes
time) and family holidays at various seaside
locations. One of these was done with colour
film, not an easy achievement during war time
when such stock was very difficult to obtain
and process.
Laurie extended his holdings by purchasing
the Plaza Theatre in Reservoir, this did not
turn out to be a very good financial proposition
and it was sold some time later.

He loved putting on a show. When a horror
movie was shown, he would sometimes have
the ushers dress in black and walk in pairs
down opposite aisles holding a taut string
between them with pieces of wet black crepe
paper attached and dangling down, so that it
brushed the faces of the patrons as the ushers
walked along. The resulting mayhem was a
sight to behold (the is practice probably not
recommended in today's litigious society!). He
was particularly proud of the sound system,
which was a high quality amplifier (a pair of
2A3s in push-pull) driving the loudspeakers
which included a huge exponential bass horn.
At Left:
Top: Improvised drainage system.
Centre: The facade takes shape.
Bottom: Roof girders in place.
Frames from 16 mm film referred to in the text. The (Melbourne) Argus Monday, 28 Aug 1939.

28 CINEMARECORD # 95