Mechanics / Croydon Theatre
| Name | Mechanics / Croydon Theatre |
|---|---|
| Address | Mountain Highway, Croydon, Victoria 3136 |
| Operation Dates | 1923-01-01 - 1978-12-31 |
| Capacity | 450 |
| Suburban/Country | Suburb |
| Purpose | Mechanics Institute |
| Screens | 1 |
| Roles |
1923-01-01 - 1930-01-01 : Exhibitor : Taylor, F.
1931-01-01 - 1947-01-01 : Exhibitor : Edmeston, M.
1947-01-01 - 1959-01-01 : Exhibitor : Edmeston, G. O.
1960-01-01 - 1962-01-01 : Exhibitor : Croydon Cinema Pty. Ltd.
1963-01-01 - 1965-01-01 : Exhibitor : Mackenzie, J. A.
1966-01-01 - 1967-01-01 : Exhibitor : Voight, A.
1970-01-01 - 9999-12-31 : Exhibitor : Boulter, R.
|
"Silent film shows came to Croydon around about 1923 at the Mechanics Institute Hall on Mt Dandenong Road, Croydon, which had been built in 1910. The first film operator was a "Mr F. Taylor" who had only obtained a short term lease at first, apparently sceptical of the viability of a cinema in this isolated agricultural settlement of small farms and orchards. Sound came in July 1931 when the new operator, Mr Gray Edmeston, installed a sound-on-disc system. The opening talkie was The Trial of Mary Dugan, starring Norma Shearer. The talkies were very popular and regular "house-fulls" led to pressure to enlarge the hall. Architectural changes to the hall saw it finally emerge, much enlarged, in 1937 and renamed the Croydon Hall." (Seccombe, p. 9) Film Weekly records the following changes in capacity: Listed in Film Weekly motion picture directory 1946/47 as Mechanics Theatre, exhibitor as May Edmeston. References Cinema & Theatre Historical Society 1997, Cinema index : Melbourne cinemas, suburban cinemas, Victorian drive-ins. CATHS, Victoria. Film Weekly, Film Weekly: motion picture directory, Film Weekly, Sydney. 1946/7-1971 Seccombe, R. 1999 'Out in the sticks: early cinema in Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs' CinemaRecord no. 24, pp. 4-10 |
| Event Date | Name of Venue | Address | Latitude / Longitude |
Capacity | Suburban | Purpose | Screens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923-01-01 | Mechanics Theatre |
Mountain Highway Croydon Victoria 3136 |
-37.854271 145.313855 |
752 | Suburb | Mechanics Institute | 1 |
| 1931-01-01 | Croydon Hall |
|
|
490 | |||
| 1949-01-01 | Croydon Theatre |
|
|
499 | |||
| 1957-01-01 |
|
|
460 | ||||
| 1963-01-01 |
|
|
400 | ||||
| 1970-01-01 |
|
|
450 |
| Films | Distributor | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, The | 1972-02-13 - 1972-02-13 | |
| Adventurers, The | 1972-02-18 - 1972-02-18 | |
| Adventurers, The | 1972-02-19 - 1972-02-19 | |
| Adventurers, The | 1972-02-20 - 1972-02-20 | |
| Paint Your Wagon | 1972-02-25 - 1972-02-25 | |
| Paint Your Wagon | 1972-02-26 - 1972-02-26 | |
| Paint Your Wagon | 1972-02-27 - 1972-02-27 | |
| Anne Of A Thousand Days | 1972-03-03 - 1972-03-03 | |
| Anne Of A Thousand Days | 1972-03-04 - 1972-03-04 | |
| Anne Of A Thousand Days | 1972-03-05 - 1972-03-05 |