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during World War 2. thoroughfare during the 1954 royal visit. Former Westgarth
A dimmer was added to Westgarth Theatre on 22 Theatre employee, Mr Frank George, recalls viewing the royal
December 1935 by E A Webb of Carlton. In 1937, the spectacle from one of the Westgarth’s balconettes.
Metropolitan Gas Company modernised the heating and ven- In 1955, the Westgarth’s bio cabin was enlarged. The out-
tilation systems. An additional storey was added to the door toilets were roofed and the walkway leading to the toilets
machinery room at the rear of the building. In 1938, a section was covered.
of the women’s toilet adjoining the circle foyer was converted Then in 1956, CinemaScope necessitated further modifica-
into a men’s lavatory by the firm Cowper, Murphy and tions to the Westgarth Theatre. Former projectionist, Mr Les
Appleford. Murphy, confirmed the presence of Bauer
Australians had little time to savour projectors at this time. The dimensions of
these few short years of relative equanimity the new CinemaScope screen, as confirmed
before the maelstrom of war would again by Mr Murphy, were as follows: 35ft 7inch-
engulf so many. Paradoxically, World War 2 es wide x 16ft 2inches high. This compared
was not the most pernicious of times for with an earlier screen of the same height,
many cinemas as they catered to a voracious but only 21ft 3inches wide and a Vista
public seeking mass entertainment and war Vision screen of the same height, but only
news footage. The Westgarth undertook a 21ft 1inch wide.
major electrical overhaul in 1941 which To accommodate CinemaScope, a new
incorporated everything from aisle footlight- curtain track and a fibrous plaster pelmet
ing to the main switchboard. For fire safety designed by Mr James Lyall of Essendon were
reasons, an alternate exit door was added to added to the proscenium on 30 April 1956.
the bio cabin. Plans from July 1941 reveal Furthermore, an additional ten feet of staging
914 stall seats and 512 circle seats, down was introduced at a cost of less than $50!
slightly on the original design. In May 1956, the shop in the south-east-
ern corner of the building was converted
The Calm Before the Storm into male and female toilets. Above timber
In the years ensuing World War 2, the panelling on the auditorium walls, at stalls
Westgarth Picture Theatre upheld its tradi- level, there are eight light fixtures, each
tional status as an independent, repertory cinema. By the late with a diamond motif. These were probably installed in 1956.
1940s, popular Richmond footballer Mr Jack Baggott was the
Westgarth’s new Manager. Mr Yeomans continued in the role Television
of Secretary. Baggott needed no introduction to the Westgarth An ineluctable force would soon reek havoc upon the estab-
district as his father owned a nearby barber shop on High lished cinema industry. The cataclysmic arrival of television in
Street, above which his family had lived. Jack Baggott was 1956 saw cinemas closing their doors at an unprecedented
also an accomplished cricketer. Therefore, during most of the rate. It is difficult to quantify the impact of drive-in theatres
year, his Saturday duties at the Westgarth Theatre had to be during these years. However, the informal, group and family
promptly attended to in order that he could fulfil his afternoon appeal of drive-ins combined with their growing accessibility
sporting commitments! can only have been detrimental to in-house cinemas.
Australians were settling into an age of post-war prosperi- In 1959, Mr Baggott reported that in less than three years
ty. However, Northcote’s reputation was not entirely salubri- since the inception of television, Westgarth Theatre audiences
ous. Mr Ian Baggott, nephew of Jack, remembers that there had plummeted by two-thirds. After a bold attempt to revi-
was no shortage of SP Bookies in the area during those days. talise live entertainment, the Northcote Plaza Theatre closed in
According to legend, a billiard hall across High Street from the 1959. In June 1960, the landmark Northcote Theatre, perhaps
theatre might also have attracted its quota of scallywags. once considered to be ensured in perpetuity, sadly concluded
The pre-war vigilance of the Department of Public Health its tenure as a picture theatre.
does not appear to have Further north, the High
waned. On 3 March 1953, Mr Above and below: Dress circle foyer. Street cinemas of Thornbury
Baggott was reminded that a Photos: Adrian Maiolla. and Preston were faring little
fireman or fireguard must be better.
employed at every evening The last of these to close
session and at every day ses- its doors was the Thornbury
sion on Sundays and public Regent on 24 June 1967.
holidays. The combustibility From 27 May 1965, the
of picture theatres and their Thornbury Regent had scaled
capacious interiors still con- back its operations to three
figured a dangerous cocktail days per week, Thursdays,
with respect to fire. Fridays and Saturdays.
High Street underwent a Hence, only the southernmost
‘Brighten Up Campaign’ (Westgarth) and the northern-
when it was learned that Her most (Cinema North) of the
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II High Street theatres were
would be driven in an open able to withstand the
vehicle along the Northcote onslaught of television. In

16 Autumn 2001 CINEMARECORD