Page 13 - CinemaRecord #11R.pdf

Numurkah: Numurkah has had four means of entertaining the public over the years. The Mechanics' Institute
Hall remains, despite being disguised as a shop-front from the street. Inside a neat and tidy variety store
operates but the original stage area is still visible at the rear. A timber plywood ceiling in the hall and pine lining-
boards in the ceiling above the stage remain in excellent condition - a tribute to the carpenter's craft.
A large metal shed in a side street contains a vast array of second-hand spare parts, several cars awaiting
restoration and projection port-holes high above one end. The Melba Pictures functioned for about five years
during'the fifties, presumably during a dispute over the Town Hall. Apparently, patrons didn't mind a dirt floor
and ventilation gaps in the walls.

The art-deco Numurkah Town Hall opened in 1938. Mr. Howard Lowe, our guide pointed out an interesting
feature. A duplicate set of projection port-holes were fitted into the rear wall. The projectors were reversed and
open-air pictures shown on the vacant block next door. The land has since been built over and the birds are the
only ones using the old port-holes. Air-conditioning has been added to the main auditorium which includes a
balcony and a good stage.

Cobram: After check-in at the Cobram Classic Motel, we proceeded to the Melba Twin Cinemas for an inspec-
tion between the 4.00pm and 7.00pm sessions. The Melba was originally constructed just after the war when
there was a great shortage of building materials. The bricks in the building were obtained in New South Wales.
The Melba was set back from street level and gardens lined the entrance. The arrival of television saw the
Melba converted to a Paddy's Market and shops were added where the gardens once stood. The theatre
entrance is via an arcade.

Robert and Sue Gemmill have enthusiastically re-opened this cinema by dividing the previous auditorium into
three spaces with a central projection room high above the middle. As you enter, the left-hand back stalls area
is the new foyer and candy bar, the right-hand back stalls area is the space for the smaller Cinema Two and
what was the centre and front stalls space is now the larger Cinema One. Outside, on the top of the building, the
original red Melba neon sign shines brightly into the night. We wish the Gemmill's every success in the future.

Gerry Kennedy presenting Robert Gemmill with the CATHS-V Certificate

Back at the Classic Motel, dinner was followed by our now almost traditional singing of the Hoyts Suburban
song. Mercifully, only veteran 3KZ listeners remember it! As an after-dinner bonus, Peter Wolfenden brought
along his 16mm equipment and screened Paramount's 1934 musical "We're Not Dressing" with an all-star cast
of Bing Crosby, Carole Lombard, Ethel Merman, Australian Leon Errol, Bums and Allen and a young Ray
Milland in a bit part. Vintage entertainment and who was the better crooner, Bing or Frankie?

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