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Jaffas in the Suburbs – the Cinemas of Sydney's Eastern Fringe

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Jaffas in the Suburbs – the Cinemas of Sydney's Eastern Fringe Jaffas in the suburbs – the cinemas of Sydney’s eastern fringe John Walter Ross “The showing of cinematograph pictures has now developed into a permanent business of extensive proportions, and temporary structures which were erected in the suburban areas during the speculative period of the business and which are of a more or less make-shift character have served their purpose. The time has arrived when these temporary structures in the interests of the public should be replaced with permanent up-to-date buildings…for the safety, health and comfort of the public”. Under Secretary, Chief Secretary’s Department, 15 September 1920. Cover photograph: Premier Theatre, Surry Hills, 1942 (State Library of NSW). Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Between vaudeville and television - cinema in Sydney .......................................................................... 9 Darlinghurst .......................................................................................................................................... 17 Australian Picture Palace/Tatler/Park/Paris, 203-207 Liverpool Street ........................................... 17 Burlington Picture Theatre, 276 Liverpool Street ............................................................................. 22 Empire/Australian/Emu/Trudamite/Gaiety, 17a Oxford Street ....................................................... 24 Filmmakers’ Cinema, St Peter’s Lane ................................................................................................ 29 Govinda’s Cinema and Restaurant, 112 Darlinghurst Road .............................................................. 32 Imperial Picture Theatre, 1-19 Yurong Street ................................................................................... 33 Thripelodeon Amusement Parlour, 72 Oxford Street ....................................................................... 35 King’s Cross ........................................................................................................................................... 37 King’s Cross Theatre, corner Darlinghurst Road & Victoria Street ................................................... 37 King’s Cross Newsreel Theatrette, 85 Darlinghurst Road ................................................................. 40 Minerva/Metro Theatre, 20 Orwell Street ....................................................................................... 48 Paddington ............................................................................................................................................ 55 Chauvel Cinema, Paddington Town Hall, 249 Oxford Street ............................................................ 55 Crystal Palace Theatre, 202 Jersey Road .......................................................................................... 58 Empire Picture Palace, 166 Hargrave Street ..................................................................................... 59 Five Ways/Odeon Theatre, 220-222 Glenmore Road ....................................................................... 61 Olympia/Odeon/Mandala/Academy Twin Theatre, 11 Oxford Street ............................................. 64 Oxford Theatre, 383-385 Oxford Street ............................................................................................ 69 Palace Verona Cinema, 17 Oxford Street ......................................................................................... 73 The nameless cinemas of Paddington .............................................................................................. 75 Wiseman Cinema, Glenmore Road and Brown Streets ................................................................ 75 Open-air Cinema, Sutherland and Gurner Streets ........................................................................ 75 Moody’s Pictures, Hampden Street and Glenmore Road ............................................................. 75 Redfern.................................................................................................................................................. 77 Coronation Picture Theatre, Crown and Cleveland Streets .............................................................. 77 Empire Picture Theatre, 303 Cleveland Street .................................................................................. 78 Lawson Picture Theatre, Lawson Square, south side........................................................................ 82 Redfern Picture Palace Cinema, Lawson Square, north side ............................................................ 84 Regent Music Hall, 26 Regent Street ................................................................................................ 87 Royal Star Picture Theatre, 155-157 George Street.......................................................................... 88 Surry Hills .............................................................................................................................................. 91 Crown Star No. 1 Picture Theatre, 460 Crown Street ....................................................................... 91 Crown Star No. 2 Picture Theatre, 496-512 Crown Street ................................................................ 93 Encore/Third Eye Cinema, 64 Devonshire Street.............................................................................. 95 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 20-28 Chalmers Street ............................................................................... 98 Paramount Pictures/Golden Age Theatre, 53-55 Brisbane Street .................................................. 102 Premier Theatre, 525 Crown Street ................................................................................................ 109 Surry Picture Palace, 455-459 Bourke Street .................................................................................. 114 Twentieth Century Fox Building, 43-51 Brisbane Street ................................................................. 115 Proposed picture theatres .................................................................................................................. 119 McNeill’s Picture Theatre, 86 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills ........................................................ 119 Picture Theatre, 175 Campbell Street, Surry Hills........................................................................... 120 Picture Theatre, 405-411 Crown Street, Surry Hills ........................................................................ 120 Notes ................................................................................................................................................... 123 Appendix 1 – Summary of picture theatres ........................................................................................ 133 Appendix 2 – State Records of NSW Licensing Files ........................................................................... 135 Table of Figures ................................................................................................................................... 137 References .......................................................................................................................................... 139 Index.................................................................................................................................................... 143 Foreword Vaudeville and other forms of live theatre dominated popular entertainment throughout the nineteenth century. After the invention of the Cinematographe by the Lumiere brothers to capture moving images, the first films were shown in Sydney at the Tivoli Theatre in 1895, and the first film made in Australia depicted the Melbourne Cup in 1896. But the initial excitement faded, and the last Sydney picture house closed in 1899. Interest was renewed by the arrival of two British entrepreneurs, Charles Spencer and T. J. West. They both established production companies and permanent picture theatres by 1908 and proceeded to rejuvenate the fledgling industry. Initially, it was expected that motion pictures would just be brief recordings of everyday events, but before long their narrative and dramatic potential was realised, and within a decade multi-reel stories of an hour or more were being produced, including The Story of the Kelly Gang in 1906. By 1911, cinema was the most popular form of entertainment in Sydney, and several picture theatres were operating in the eastern fringe of the city. The suburbs considered for this history run from the south to the north of the CBD: Redfern, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Paddington and King’s Cross. Going out to see live theatre was always a special occasion, and the new picture theatres often tried to maintain this feeling with glamorous decorations and velvet curtains, showing the latest releases from the big American studios. But in the poorer parts of Sydney such as those described here, proprietors could initially only afford basic facilities such as open-air enclosures with simple bench seating, showing second and third release films. Despite this, cinema-going became so popular that half the population attended regularly. Almost half the picture theatres in this history began operation in the first decade from 1906 to 1916. They ranged from the very short-lived: the Thripelodeon (1906-1907), Crown Star No. 1 (1912- 1914) and
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