CAARP
Cinema and Audience Research Project

Films have been exhibited under the auspices of the Narooma School of Arts since the early 1900s. The original hall, a basic wooden structure, was built in 1895. It was used for a range of community entertainments such as dances concerts and from at least the early 1900s regular visits from a variety of travelling show companies. By the early 1920s committee members were calling for a larger venue and in 1926 a new hall, renamed the Soldiers Memorial School of Arts in deference to the memory of those who fought in the Great War, opened on an adjoining block. The hall was remarkable for being the first brick building to be constructed in the township. In December 1927 the building was fitted with a projection box and a permanent cinema began operation. Films have been screened continuously since that date making it Australia’s 4th oldest cinema (Parkinson 2010; Latham 2010).

The School of Arts Committee were responsible for the management of the picture shows including the hiring of films and appointment of operating personnel until 1971. From this date forth the cinema has been leased to individual entrepreneurs and run as an independent business although remains the property of the School of Arts Committee, membership of which is open to all residents.

The Talkies were introduced in 1932 and cinemascope in the mid 1950s. The building was extensively renovated in 1956 with a subsequent increase in seating capacity from 289 to 371. The cinema underwent a further estensive refurbishment in 1986 and renamed Narooma Kinema. In October 2008 a second ‘boutique’ cinema was established in the area previously housing the library (Parkinson 2010, pp. 30-32). A 3D projection system was acquired in August 2010 (Latham 2010).

The Narooma Kinema has been recognised by the NSW Heritage Council for its social and aesthetic significance to the community and greater region, and placed on the National Heritage Register.

References:
Latham, Dayle, 25 aug, 2010 ‘Narooma Cinemas Goes Digital and 3D’, Narooma News Online, http://www.naroomanewsonline.com.au/news/local/news/general/narooma-cinemas-goes-digital-and-3d/1923356.aspx accessed 21 August 2010.

Office of Environment and Heritage, ‘Narooma Soldiers Memorial School of Arts’, Heritage Branch Website, NSW government, http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_01_2.cfm?itemid=1550169, accessed 21 August 2010

Parkinson, R 2010, Picture Shows on the Far South Coast of New South Wales, Robert Parkinson, Sydney.

Thorne, R, Tod, L & Cork, K 1996, Movie Theatre Heritage Register for New South Wales 1896 – 1996, Department of Architecture, University of Sydney, Sydney.