Page 18 - CR

The Sun never
Sets on
By Jeffrey Wheare
Memories of an Adelaide Entertainment Institution!
y respect and
Madmiration for
Thomas James West
commenced when I started
my first full-time work at
Wests Theatre in Adelaide
in 1965.
Greater Union Theatres’ (GU) secretary was
Mrs Tarr and I was her office boy - riding a
blue bike all over Adelaide to pay accounts.
While The News and Sunday Mail were
directly opposite Wests and behind the
Metro at the end of Victoria Street, located
on North Terrace, The Advertiser was in
King William Street. There were always
advertising accounts to pay.
My most treasured moments as office boy
were first thing in the mornings. I had to read
the papers – all of them and cut out anything
to do with GU and sometimes Hoyts if it
was relevant - but never the Clifford Theatre
Circuit (surprising because it was a wholly
owned subsidiary of GU).
I pasted the paper clippings into a tabloid size
publicity book which Mrs Tarr referred to as
the ‘Dot Books’. There were several earlier
ones on the shelf. It was my introduction
to the motion picture industry. Reading
through the old dot books, I was intrigued
by the evolution of Wests Theatre.
There were so many changes since it first
opened as Adelaide’s first picture-theatre
in 1908 and having been built even earlier
as the Cyclorama in 1890. It was rebuilt
regularly to keep up with the latest cinema
presentation and technology and in 1965 it
was GU’s only 70mm cinema in Adelaide.
I recall the upstairs circle being closed off
and the seating removed, so I sat up there
on the carpeted floor to watch the epic film
The Fall of the Roman Empire on the giant
screen in 70mm and six-track sound.
But let’s take a step back in time…
18 2012 CINEM AREC ORD
It is generally known that motion-pictures
were experimented with in the early days
of photography and many gauges from
9mm to 70mm were tried, but it is seldom
mentioned that the motion-picture camera
was established well before the cinema film
projector was invented.
The early movie camera established
35mm negative and four sprocket holes
on both edges as standard, together with
a hand cranked movement at 16 frames
per second. The negatives once developed
were processed onto cards, sometimes with
registration points. Other times there were
just simple guides in the machine for the
cards. The short moving cards and pictures
could be seen at the “Penny Parlours”
and every city in the world had a “Penny
Parlour”. Individuals could spend a penny
and turn a handle to see in motion the troops
This came from this!
disembarking for war in a foreign country,
or witness Queen Victoria in a London
procession! All in all, they were remarkable
moments of moving-pictures that captured
the minds and hearts of everyday people.
Also popular at the time were static graphic
exhibitions and great presentations were
given to cyclorama and panorama displays,
which were often accompanied by orchestras
and choirs. Some displays were painted onto
canvas and backlit by kerosene and gas,
while others were projected on a screen by
a magic lantern; the glass slides were 3¼
inches square. Every capital city in Australia
had a Cyclorama Building and Adelaide was
no exception.
SEPT
1893