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CATHS TOURS THE HIGH COUNTRY

Brian Miller and Ian Smith

The theatres of eastern Victoria and disillusioned by what he saw as Cinema Seats Sound
south-east New South Wales were the unreasonable hire conditions. Enter
One 208 Dolby
excuse to travel some of the most John Humphrey, who took a lease on
Two 180 DTS
picturesque country roads in Australia. the FCR Cinema to get to know the
Three 99 Optical SR
From 19th-25th October, 28 CATHS town and its tastes. Calling it Cinema
members inspected six operational World, John soon decided that the The Picture Show Man Cinema at
cinemas and many more defunct ones, location was ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Merimbula opened in 1997 replacing an
two of which may be due for a revival While hatching plans for a multiplex, earlier cinema of the same name.
of fortune. John moved his screenings back to the Demand at peak holiday times is met
Discussion with theatre operators is former BREC, enlarged in 1996 and re- by more sessions – seven to eight per
the way to learn the state of cinema in named Bairnsdale Aquatic and day, per screen - not by large auditoria:
country towns. The early achievers Recreation Centre. Cinema One seats 185 and Cinema Two
have found their niche markets, while John opened his three-screen seats 168.
in towns now lacking a cinema Cinema Centre at Easter 1994, one The projectors are re-conditioned
enthusiasts are planning a turn-around street south of the town centre. This Century heads with new Christie
for ailing buildings. No two situations attractive theatre offers first release Xenolite light sources and new Dolby
are identical, but experience offers features and has attracted a clientele Panastereo/Panalogic sound.
some guidelines. One view was that a from all age groups: teens, middle-brow
The cinema is in a prime location. It
population of 15,000 is the critical and art house. As with most
shares a car park with a supermarket
number for a viable cinema; and that by independent installations, much of the
opposite a popular Club and meals
keeping an ear to the ground, it is projection equipment has come from
venue.
possible to get a 90 percent solution for other locations. In this case, two of the
10 percent of the cost. Here then is a Century projectors were from a Drive-
sampling of issues and highlights from In in the Western District and the one in
a week on the road. Cinema 3 was ex- Merimbula. A
measure of John’s forward thinking is
LOCATION, LOCATION, that there is room on the site to build
LOCATION. another screen.
The story of films in Bairnsdale is a
good example of the way entrepreneurs,
from the mid-sixties, faced a trial and
error search for new ways to include
cinema in the life of a town. Bob
Latimer was one local who grew up on
films at the Prince Regent and
watched with regret when it closed.
When the Bairnsdale Recreation and
Education Centre (BREC) opened in
1982 he saw the opportunity to run
films there twice a week.
Confident that the town could
support a new cinema Bob joined a
syndicate to build a combined squash
court and cinema two km out of town
in a new estate. Bob was convinced that
the Forge Creek Road Cinema could
work as a single screen showing a
range of films at times chosen to suit
Top: The twin at Merimbula.
different age groups. He was right, until
Above: The simple but effective exterior of the Bairnsdale triple. The foyer continues
distributors began to link film access to
the angular theme and uses cool shades of blues and greens offset by yellow strip
exclusive screen use. Bob sold out,
lighting.
8 2005 CINEMARECORD