Page 11 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

In December, 1958 0 Spehr advised the Health Department that a Messrs. G Stranzio (of Hamilton) and D
Steward of Ararat had taken over the business and shortly afterwards, in February 1959, Kirby Theatres Pty.
ltd. (of Sunshine - Melbourne) advised the Health Department that they were running the business trading as
Ararat Pictures Pty. Ltd.

Ararat Pictures Pty. Ltd. was in fact a partnership between R. Kirby (the founder of the Village Theatre international
cinema chain) and J Anderson; they had operated the 700 seat Ararat Town Hall since 1954. Upon taking over
the Mitlland, Ararat Pictures refurbished the theatre and renamed it the Astor. The seating capacity was recorded
as 966. The Astor name is still sand blasted on the glass entrance doors. Ararat Pictures Pty. Ltd. operated the
Astor up to the late 1960's ( 1) A Mr. G. Turner was also recorded as an exhibitor at the Astor ( 1).

With the advent of local television in the 1960's and competition from the Stawell Drive-In (to the West) and the
cinemas of Ballarat (to the east) the fortunes of the Astor declined. The theatre continued to be operated by
various companies including Village Theatres, Kenric Theatres and John Mann. The Astor finally closed on
Saturday 1 September, 1984
The theatre remained dark until the building was purchased (July 1986) and refurbished by companies associated
with Ron Jensen (a builder) of Ararat, and Paul Thompson (a retailer of Horsham). The Astor re-opened in
August 1986 as the Ararat Entertainment Centre.

Ararat Entertainment Centre Interior- 1996

The new owners are reported to have spent about $500.000 on the project which included repainting, re-
seating, the installation of a large top hinged screen 12m (48') x 5.4m (18') sited forward of the proscenium,
improvements to the sound system, full curtaining of the side walls and improvements to the toilets. The colour
scheme now was mainly salmon pink with black trim. A gas fired heating system was installed. The theatre now
seats 691 ( circle 317 and stalls 37 4}

The proscenium, with its gold and red trimmed velvet curtains and the old Cinemascope screen are still located
behind the new screen.

The bio box equipment (in 1996) included two C & W projectors (model M} with Raycophone Sound heads. The
projectors are fitted with Xebex Xenon lamps. An Eprad Starlet amplifier powers the Surround Sound audio
system. The film was carried on an Eprad Mutt system. The bio box has direct access by means of a staircase
from the ground floor foyer as well as from the back of the circle. The rewind room is on the left hand side of the
bio box.

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