Page 12 - CR
P. 12

Surprisingly,  the  theatre  remained  unheated
              until  1946.  A  plaintive  letter  to  the  Health
              Department summed up the stoicism of patrons:
              ‘At  our  local  theatre,  the  Regent  Thornbury
              we  enjoy  our  weekly  entertainment,  but  the
              pleasure is not as good when one has to sit and
              shiver in a cold theatre.’         Photographs above & below: As it is today!
                              (2)
              When heating was finally installed it was a   The drawn-out finale demonstrated the affection
              gas-fired plenum system, rather than ‘foot-  that this large theatre retained on local habits. Its
              warmers’  as  in  other  Regents.  Architects   closure left Hoyts with eight suburban theatres
              Cowper, Murphy and Associates supervised   from  a  circuit  which  ten  years  earlier  had
              this  installation  and  other  minor  changes,   numbered 36. Its sister, the Regent at Gardiner
              including new footlights and borders for the   was long gone. The South Yarra Regent held on
              stage,  new  plaster  lights  and  enlargement   for another three years.
              of the bio-room. This work coincided with
              Hoyts’ purchase of the freehold.   Today  Thornbury  is  the  sole  survivor  of
                                                 Thring’s suburban dream, albeit in a different
                                                 guise. It was ‘twinned’ when it became Catania
                Below: New lights and altered proscenium.  Ballroom  and  Midas  Receptions,  and  is  now
                                                 the Thornbury Theatre, which hosts parties,
                                                 weddings,  live  music  concerts,  vaudeville,  a
                                                 literary salon and cabaret entertainments. The
                                                 stalls  are  changed  beyond  recognition,  but
                                                 upstairs is another matter…

                                                 Walk up those stairs and step into the past H

                                                 Acknowledgments:
                                                 I  thank  Mrs Annie  Millsom  who  replied  to  my
                                                 initial ‘search’ letter and who directed me to the
                                                 appropriate family members. I am indebted to Mr
                                                 Ren Millsom who has helped me to make sense
                                                 of the early years. Mr Robert Tichener, provided
                                                 some important photos. His wife, the former Marie
                                                 Millsom, is the grand-daughter of Sam Senior.
                                                 Additional photos: K. Adams and B. Pearson.
                                                  References:
                                                 1    The Herald 25 April 1925.
                                                   Ad - Regent Sth Yarra
                                                 2    Public Records Office.
                                                   File 7882P1 Unit 216
                                                 3    Northcote Leader, 14 August 1925
                                                 4    Hoyts document. CATHS archive
                                                 5    For this and similar comments see Northcote
                                                   Leader, various issues
              The later history of the Thornbury Regent was   6   Frank Van Stratten.
              similar to that of all Hoyts’ theatres: a decline   Personal communication.
              in patronage in the early fifties, a temporary   7    Reserve Bank Inflation Calculator
              revival  of  business  with  CinemaScope  -   8    Northcote Leader, 1 May 1931.
              (Thornbury was the fourth installation, after
              South  Yarra,  the  Padua  at  Brunswick  and
              Broadway  at  Camberwell)  -  then  a  slow
              decline to fadeout.
              A  restricted  screening  policy  (Thursday  to
              Saturday)  was  introduced  in  May  1965.
                                             th
              Hoyts  closed  the  theatre  on  Saturday  24
              June 1967, five years after they had closed
              its neighbor, the delightful and much smaller
              Circle Theatre at Preston.


              12   2012  CINEM AREC ORD
   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17