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(the business heart of Hoyts) and told the little theatres, both
secretary I would like to join the company as stadium designs. Then I
an assistant manager. She looked at me and got a call from “The
giggled, “You don’t just start as an assistant Great White You Know
manager, you have to be trained.” After a short Who” to tell me I was to
wait, “Mr Walker will see you now.” Joe go to the Southern in
Walker was the boss of the suburban circuit. A Hampton, “A very busy
difficult man; his boast was that he fired a theatre you know, and
manager a month. Either that or the threat, “If then you will go on
you don’t behave I’ll send you to the rotation.” The Southern
Alhambra” (the worst theatre in the circuit). was a smallish house,
Barely looking up from his desk, “What makes seating about 1,100 and
you think you’ve got any talent of use to us?” which did big business.
Next on my “rotation”
I burbled something out. “You can start at the were a few weeks at the
Broadway in Camberwell. Be there Monday Windsor which was a
week.” This was 1951. prestige house. Hoyts had
a zone system and you
After five or six weeks at the Broadway as a would phone your figures
trainee manager, I was sent to the Circle in through each night to
Preston, then on to the Canterbury Maling; nice your zone manager. Above: The Prince of Wales, Hobart
Rotation also meant
moving to the country, and my time was spent well-structured and well-run company. Their
at the Ballarat Regent, a typical and beautiful theatres were immaculate, the cleaners went
Regent, then on to Hoyts Albury, the Prince through hell to keep them that way, but this was
of Wales in Hobart, then to the Princess in the standard and they maintained it. All
Launceston. My rise was sudden, but I came decision making came from Collins Street. A
down with a clunk after I was back as manager theatre manager did the banking, on-the-job
of the Southern in Hampton . staff training and had to be seen front-of-house.
Some functions like
billboards and posters
were independent of the
manager. The
projectionist and his
assistant were also
somewhat independent.
Above: Hoyts Southern, Hampton.
The permanent staff of
a typical Hoyts
suburban theatre were
manager, two
projectionists, booking
clerk/ticket seller and
cleaner. The ushers were
casuals. A Hoyts
suburban manager
worked six days a week
and never got a Saturday
night off, ever! In the
Above: The Windsor, Windsor. heady days of advance
ticket sales, the booking
clerk was sometimes on
The Princess Theatre, Launceston duty all day. That
changed as audiences
A friend had been running Hoyts Centre dwindled and ticket selling started just before
Brighton (now a Palace cinema) and was the current session.
leaving, so a group of us gathered for a farewell
drink. A manager had to be on duty Below: Metro Bourke St. As the St. James, c. 1944
from 7 pm, but I was enjoying
myself, probably had one too
many beers, and returned to the
Southern a bit late. One of the
staff had snitched to the
Above: The Regent, Ballarat. supervisor, who told me to report
Below: Hoyts, Albury to Joe Walker first thing Monday.
I was fired. “No, we don’t want
unreliable people like you.” I was
devastated. I liked the job and sat
at home feeling sorry for myself
for 8-10 weeks.
Describe the role of a Hoyts
manager
Hoyts Suburban Theatres was a
marvellous training ground, a

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