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Cochrane’s projectionist was Bill Hodgetts,
father of CATHS member, Ron Hodgetts. The
opening program was The Keys of the Kingdom.
However, competition between the Civic and
the Grand (see below) was becoming fierce,
and Cochrane decided to relinquish his lease of
the Civic to Bill Hodgetts in 1947. Because of
the long running arrangement of the Civic
running in conjunction with Point Pictures at
nearby Point Lonsdale, Hodgetts also acquired
the lease of the latter, continuing to operate both
cinemas, with rather hair-raising film switching
between the two venues until 28 July 1949,
when it was announced that Phillip Silvester of
the Grand had taken over the Civic and would
operate both Queenscliff cinemas. Bill
Hodgetts would continue his lease of Point
Pictures until around 1952, when he reportedly
sold out to a Mr. R.H. Browne who, in turn,
sold the business to a Mr. A.G. McVea in about
1956. The closing date of the Civic is unknown,
but the Grand continued operating until around
1974-1975, with the exception of 1942-1946,
when the building was used for the war effort.
Existing Town Hall in 2017

The next exhibitor was a Mr. A. Pollock in
1915 under the name of Paramount Pictures.
At that stage, the bio box was a rather flimsy
affair, attached to the inside of the rear wall of
the hall, and accessed by an equally flimsy
ladder from the hall floor level. After
Mr. Pollock died (date unknown), his widow,
Mrs. Ada Pollock, acquired his projection plant
and recommenced screening in July 1927 under
the name Town Hall Pictures. She had a new
bio box constructed on the outside of the rear
wall to replace the former interior box.
Mrs. Pollock’s tenure lasted until 1937, when
it appears that a Mr. Ernie Cochrane took over
as exhibitor.

In October 1946, a Mr. Bill Cochrane (possibly
Ernie’s son) became the new exhibitor. In the
same year, further upgrading took place which
included the introduction of a raked floor to the
back stalls. The hall reopened as the Civic
Theatre, screening films in conjunction with
Point Pictures in nearby Point Lonsdale. “Back Stalls” seating in current Town Hall

In the 1960’s, the original portico entrance was
replaced with a new, rather nondescript
structure. Internally, the hall is rather austere.
However, it was Queenscliff’s only public hall
for many years and, as a consequence, housed
many of the town’s institutions.

After film screenings ceased, the external
projection room was removed and the new
council chambers extended across the frontage.
In more recent years, that structure has
undergone further significant changes, now
forming a much larger entrance foyer to provide
common access to the hall as well as to council
offices. Although film is no longer shown in
the hall, the stage and raked back stalls still
remain in frequent use. The hall is also
currently used for council meetings, with
members of the public seated in the raked stalls
and councillors occupying the floor of the hall
immediately in front of the stalls seating.
Existing Town Hall from the stage, 2017

24 CINEMARECORD # 98