Page 4 - CR31R.pdf
P. 4

NEWSREEL                                                               by Martin Powell

             Hoyts Plaster C handeliea·s:  Do you  have some  knowl-  The addresses are as follows:
             edge about the Hoyts plaster chandeliers c. 1940? Her Maj-
             esty's Theatre in  Ballarat have six  of them  and  want to   www.sorrentocinemas.com.au
             repaint them. If you can help them witl1 some advice please   www.rosebudcinemas.com.au
             contact  Peter  Freund, Publicist,  Her  Majesty's Theatre,   ww. warragulcinemas.com.au
             Ballarat, Victoria.  5333-5800
                                                               Victoria's  Mechanics' Institutes  were in  almost every
             T he  Melbourne Capitol  T heatre  have announced  that   hamlet in Victoria. If not there was a School of Arts or an
             they  will  be  screening The Sound  of Music.  The re-re-  Athenaeum. These halls hosted Saturday night dances, film
             leased  film  will  be a special edition, featuring  the words   screenings, concerts, plays, weddings, wakes, elections and
             to the songs on the bottom of the screen. From June, The   land sales. In many cases they provided libraries for their
             Sound of Music screens regularly Friday and Saturday eve-  community. Victoria had about II 00, or more than a quar-
             nings.                                            ter, of the world's Mechanics' Institutes.

             Mamma Mia!, the musical based on the songs of ABBA,   The Mechanics' movement started  in  1800  in  Glasgow,
             is coming to  Melboume. It starts its Australian season at   Scotland,  by Dr.  George Birbeck, and  it spread  through-
             the Melboume Princess Theatre from  June 9th.     out the British Empire and  into the USA during the  19th
                                                               Century.
             T he  Frankston C ultural Centre  has changed  its  name.
             As from February 200 I it will  be known as the Frankston   Historian  Pam  Baragwanath  bas  spent  the past  15  years
             Arts Centre.                                      researching the history ofVictoria's Mechanic's Institutes.
                                                               Her book "If The Walls Could Speak: A Social History of
             T he Agora  Cinema  at La Trobe  University  now  has  a   the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria" was launched at the
             website at www.latrobe.edu.au/campus/agora The Agora   recent National Mechanics' lnstitutes Conference.
             screens a selection of mainstream Hollywood and Arthouse
             movies. The cinema is equipped  with  the state-of-the art   The handsome 360 page, hardbound book has 600 photos
             technology in cinema sound with Dolby processor and DTS   ofMechanics' buildings and documents.
             digital  sound systems.  Open  daily except  Mondays.  La
             Trobe  University,  Bundoora  3083  Tel:  03  9471  1241   The book was funded  by a Centenary of Federation Fed-
             agoracinema200 I @yahoo.com                      eral  grant  recognising  that the  Father of Federation.  Sir
                                                              Henry Parkes, was self-educated at the Birmingham Me-
             Americans  and the  Birth of Oz Television Star Span-  chanics'  Institute  in.  England and chose the  Tenterfield
             gled Manner: Americans and the Birth of Australian Tel-  School of Arts to  launch his Australian Federation Move-
             evision  1955-65  is a  new  exhibition  on  at the Victorian   ment in  1889.
             Arts CentTe. The exhibition looks at the first ten years of
             Australian  television and  examines  the  impact visiting   'If the Walls Could Speak' ($62 posted), is available from
             Americans had on our black and wbite screens. Includes   the Mechanics' Institute ofVictoria Inc, Box 1080, Wind-
             Tommy Hanlon Jr ..  Bob Dyer, Jack Little. Delo and Daly.   sor 3181.
             Don Lane and others, connecting the worlds of radio, thea-
             tre,  cabaret and  TV.  At the  George Adams Gallery until   Symbols  of Australia  by  Mimmo  Cozzolino  is  a  book
             April  29.                                       which charts the visual history of h·ademarks in Australia
                                                              -over I 00 years of consumer heritage preserved. A major
             Dive-In Movies: Bendigo member Fred Page reports that   work  of commercial  archaeology,  it contains over  1710
             over summer, the Bendigo area is host to some interesting   trademarks - including over 100 in  full  colour, symbols,
             cinema  and  theatre  venues.  Near Castlemaine  there's   shields and  logos,  many  with  detailed  historical  design
             "Dive-In"  Movies at Harcourt  Swimming Pool, Pictures   development along with  brief corporate histories.
             In  The  Park in  Bendigo,  and  the  travelling  production
             "CATS under the Big Top".
                                                              Koroit Theatre Re-opens.  Edward McKinnon  from  the
                                                              Koroit Film Society reports that the Koroit Theatre will be
             Mornington  Cinema, originally a  single screen cinema.
                                                              officially  re-opened  on  Saturday  night March  17th.  after
             was  twinned  in  the mid  1990's, and  later a  tJ1ird  screen
                                                              being closed for 20 years.
             added. A building to house two more screens is currently
             under construction, adjoining  the  existing cinema com-  T he old  Garfield Cinema in  West Gippsland is cun·ently
             plex.                                            undergoing renovations to  re-open as a  theatre restaurant.

             Kirby family  cinemas (Village)  on  the  Mornington  Pe-  Castlemaine T heatre Royal is up for sale. Enquiries can
             ninsula and  in West Gippsland bave recently established   be directed to estate agent Joe Cappy on (03) 5472-1133.
             websites for their cinemas.


                                                           - 4-
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9