Page 20 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

The Ghost That Won't Lie Down by lan Williams

Such was the title of a centre page spread on the Regent Theatre in the Melbourne Sun News Pictorial in
December 1973. The way things have gone since then, perhaps I can also lay claim to that statement! A
couple of weeks beforehand, I was at the Sun office about to speak to well known columnist, Keith Dunstan,
when I was told that a photographer and reporter were about to go down to the theatre. This was at the time
when the authorities wanted everyone to think that the theatre was a wreck, !having been closed for over three
years, whilst their plans for a grand hotel and office block came crashing down. Of course, I wasn't allowed in, and
had to wait patiently for the article to appear in the paper.

After it was published, I went and ordered 8" by 1 0" copies of each of the 23 shots the photographer took. I
literally marched around to the office of a particular City Councillor that I knew, ( his office was next to the
theatre}, and as I placed the photos on his desk, I said, "Now try and tell me that the Regent is a wreck" Of course
he was amazed, having believed all the rumours which had been spread about the condition of the auditorium. I
had also taken another gentleman to task when he said in a pre-election letter "Unfortunately the whole inside of
the theatre is gutted and useless, so it's probably too late to save it". He lived to eat his words!

Just who did save the Regent? Let"s go back to Friday August 24th, 1973, when twenty one people gathered in
a Moorabbin home to hopefully organize themselves in some form to mount a proper campaign. From this
group, six people, including myself, formed an Interim Committee which was soon to blossom into a full
committee of approximately 15 people from various professions, called "Save The Regent Theatre Committee".

August 197 4 saw the National Trust belatedly classify the theatre, and April 1975 saw the breakthrough with a
State Government Inquiry. Sir Rupert (then Mr.) Hamer, the Premier, proposed the Inquiry and the result saw
a verdict that the theatre was a viable proposition, most importantly from the point of view that it could operate
at a profit. We should thank Sir Rupert for another reason. It was he who unwittingly was the catalyst for stirring
a lot of people into action to save the theatre. He said publicly some time before that he thought the theatre
should be saved, and he said it at a quarter day luncheon of the Melbourne City Council. That was certainly
putting the cat among the pidgeons!

The Council had previously commissioned a report from a consulting firm, Clarke Gazzard, which favored
retention of the building. This was subsequently tabled in Federal Parliament by Mr. David McKenzie, MHR,
. which gave it protected status. A principal from Clarke Gazzard also presented a submission at the Inquiry
based on the report made to the Council. Eventually, the result was announced- the theatre should be saved!

It was a case of winning the fight, but losing the battle. The occasional item appeared in the papers, such as the
one about the pigeon poo covering the stage due to holes in the ceiling, and the one saying it was a "rotting
hulk". The only two holes in the proscenium arch were caused by "someone" smashing the skylights on the
main roof in order to let the rain in. Fortunately the Committee found about about this and the Council were
obliged to fix them, and until the ceiling was restored in early 1995 they did not get any worse. I remember
putting occasional articles in "VOX" , the newsletter of TOSA (The Organ Society of Australia), and even a
catchline "Bring The Regent Alive In '75" . How was I to know I was twenty years early!

The "Save The Regent Theatre Committee" can justifiably claim the credit for saving the theatre, although it
was a black ban by the Builders Labourers Federation which prevented any demolition which may have been
attempted by legal means or otherwise. Now that we are in the "homestretch" of the restoration, quite a few
people who were remarkably silent during the fight to save the theatre, are now saying how glad they are that
the theatre is reopening! The tide really turned when the Cain Government proposed a type of casino in the
shell of the auditorium. "No Way" said the people. I felt like saying to some of this "new" 1987 committee,
"Where were you fifteen years ago?"

One hardworking TOSA member claimed to have begun the drive to save the theatre, and pushed towards the
forming of the STRTC. The people who had started stirring on their own came together at that now historic
meeting on August 24th, 1973, and all pushed towards the same goal. We now have the satisfaction that it is
finally happening. I could never claim that I personally saved the theatre. A team of people did.

We are all feeling excited at the installation of the ex-Granada San Francisco Wurlitzer. I recently saw "Sunset
Boulevard" in London and spectacular hardly describes it! Just think about it. We will have people coming
from all over Australia and New Zealand to see this show and "OUR REGENT". For forty-one years Hoyts
flagship theatre, and now Australia's best example of the era of the "cathedral of the motion picture" in· its
second re-incarnation, and undoubtedly in its "GREATEST" chapter.