CAARP
Cinema and Audience Research Project

"The Narrogin Town Hall was officially opened with a ball on 9 December 1908. It was built on the south-west corner of the junction of Federal and Fortune Streets, and was soon used for occasional film screenings by visiting companies, such as the Corricks who performed for two nights in December 1909. From 1910 to 1913 King's Pictures screened here intermittently on a Thursday. Alf Wheat (later of Geraldton) began his career in pictures operating a circuit which included Narrogin in 1913-14, before he went to the First World War. Empire Pictures screened in the hall briefly in late 1916, as did Repatriation Pictures (also known as Citizens Welfare Association Pictures) in 1918, in aid of the Returned Soldiers funds.

Then no films were advertised for several years (from the end of 1918 to the middle of 1923), which means either that none were being screened, or that there was only one exhibitor and local people were so familiar with the cinema routine that no advertising was necessary.

After the Amusu opened in 1923, competition between the Amusu and the Town Hall was sometimes fierce, but both venues managed to remain in business for the twenties and early thirties, both under the same management from at least December 1929. Then Frank Buxton bought both leases and from August 1930 closed the screenings at the Town Hall. In 1952/3, Goldfields Pictures moved from the Amusu to the Town Hall, intending to upgrade the facilities there, but when this proved impossible they bought out Smith and Jeffries who had taken over from them at the Amusu and returned to the Amusu." (Bertrand 2001)

References
Cinemaweb: http://www.ammpt.asn.au/CinemaWEB/SITE/view.php?rec_id=0000000151