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North Sydney
Heritage Leaflet 21
PICTURE THEATRES
Before 1910, North Sydney did not have a permanent indoor picture theatre. The local population
attended the ‘Flicks' at North Sydney Oval shown weekly by Mr Jerdan. This was a primitive
arrangement consisting of a sheet, erected a short distance from the grandstand which housed the
projector, whilst the audience sat on the grass to watch the film.
After 1910, more solid and permanent picture theatres were constructed. These early cinemas were still primitive
and uncomfortable, and indeed, the earliest-McIntyre's Picture Theatre, Rialto Pictures and Waddington's Picture
Show-were only tents. Other cinemas were converted halls and large sheds such as the North Sydney Coliseum,
Cremorne Junction Pictures, Southern Cross Pictures, Queens Picture Theatre and North Sydney Orpheum.
The 1920s was the golden era of the motion picture. The local cinema operators rebuilt and renovated to
increase seating capacity and the levels of patron comforts and services. The end of the 1920s saw the invention
of the `Talkies'. The local suburban theatres again upgraded their equipment and announced the presentation of
the new sound movies. The Crows Nest Theatre (which opened on November 14 1929) was the first cinema
designed and built for the new sound movies, and at the time was billed as ‘The Wonder Show of Sydney's
Suburbs'. However, no sooner had the ‘Talkies' arrived, than so too did the Depression. The local cinemas
struggled through the early years of the 1930s, offering to patrons not only the sound movies, but also alternative
forms of entertainment such as vaudeville acts, boxing matches and concerts.
After the deprivations of the Depression, some of the local cinemas undertook remodelling and refurbishments in
order to woo the public back to the pictures. The only new cinema built during the 1930s was the Cremorne
Orpheum Theatre, designed by theatrical architect George Kenworthy and built in 1935 for the Virgona family in
the jazz art-deco style.
Memories 1910 – 1940
Residents of North Sydney recalling their experiences at the `flicks' in the 1920s and 1930s emphasize the
enjoyment of a night spent at the local cinema. Going to the pictures was a special occasion - an event.
In the first decades of the movie industry, films were short. A single night's program may have included up to 12
separate items. In the early 1920s vaudeville acts were often combined with a program of silent films. Facilities
and comfort were often basic. By the 1930s film technology had improved, and comfortable ordered theatres
attracted a regular audience. Tastefully decorated lounges and foyers emphasized the social aspect of a visit to
the cinema. The evening session was the most formal and a full program was always provided. Patrons attended
the theatre suitably attired, as one informant recalled
you'd get your best togs, you know, your best togs, and off you'd go.
Different prices were charged according to where you sat-the dress circle being the most expensive. People
reserved seats and often kept a permanent seat at their local theatre while others had permanent bookings-on a
Friday and a Saturday and even during the week operators had a book full of people who had the same seat week
in and week out... ‘And there were hundreds and hundreds of them’.
Saturday nights at the pictures became a tradition. One interviewee recalled Saturdays spent at the North Sydney
Orpheum:
Of course, Saturday night was the most important night and everybody dressed up. There was a fellow
named Mr Clark, he was the manager and he always had, you know, a black suit on and a bow tie and done
up like the King.
The Saturday matinee was traditionally for children. Special competitions, free gifts and heart stopping serials all
aimed to keep the cinema's youngest patrons coming back week after week.
The suburban theatre manager was a public figure. Robert Virgona, general manager of the Orpheum Theatres
became well known in the North Sydney area. His wife, Eleanor, recalled "he always had to be at the front to greet
the people coming in and going out”.
Suburban theatres provided a surprising range of services for their local patrons. Free delivery of tickets,
permanent seat reservations, hearing aids, child minding services, cloakrooms, crying rooms, lounges, snack bars,
tray sellers and even transportation were available. A uniformed usherette holding a flashlight and programs
added to the drama of a visit to the theatre.
But perhaps the fondest memory associated with going to the pictures is the food and snacks served at
intermission. Fantails, minties, caramels, chocolates, peanuts in their shells, and ice cream served in buckets are
part of everyone's recollection of visits to the cinema.
North Sydney Cinemas
Cremorne Junction Pictures (1912) Military Road, Cremorne Junction. Designed by Blacket and Son. Operated
a short time then converted to the Palais de Danse.
Cremorne Orpheum (1935) Military Road, Cremorne Junction. Designed for the Virgona family by theatrical
architect George Kenworthy. Officially opened on 3 October 1935. Fine example of an Art-Deco cinema.
Cremorne Pictures/Southern Cross (c1912) Military Road, Neutral Bay. Became New Southern Cross Pictures
in 1921. Taken over in 1930 by Hoyts. Renovated 1930 and again 1935.
Crows Nest Hoyts, (1929) Lane Cove Road, Crows Nest. First cinema to be built specifically for ‘Talkies', movies
with sound. Opened 14 November 1929. Renovated 1937.
McIntrye's Pictures/Roxy Theatre Moderne (c1912), Mount Street, North Sydney. Initially a tent theatre. Rebuilt
in 1934 by architect N.J. Clemlow and renamed the Roxy Theatre Moderne. Destroyed by fire in c.1935.
North Sydney Coliseum/Union de Luxe/Union (1911), Miller Street, North Sydney. 2 auditoriums, the smaller
was a vaudeville theatre that later became the Independent Theatre. Theatre taken over by Union Theatres in
1921 underwent a £20,000 remodeling in 1921 and renamed the Union De Luxe. In the mid-1930s the cinema
was taken over by Hoyts and renamed the Union.
North Sydney Orpheum (1913), Alfred Street, North Sydney. Managed by Virgona family. Rebuilt 1923 & 1937
and demolished to make way for Warringah Expressway 1962.
Rialto Pictures/Queens/Sesqui, (c1910) Lane Cove Road, Crows Nest
Rialto Pictures, a tent theatre, opened c.1910. Queens Picture Theatre built 1914 and designed by Rupert V.
Minnett. Extensively rebuilt in 1938, designed by Emil Sodersteen and renamed Sesqui for Sesqui Centenary
commemorative panels which had previously decorated Queen Victoria Building in Sydney.
Waddington's (c1910) Lane Cove Road, North Sydney. Tent theatre-operated for only a short time.
North Sydney Heritage Centre
1st Floor
Stanton Library
234 Miller Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
Phone:
Fax:
02 99368400
02 99368440
Email: [email protected]
www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au