CAARP
Cinema and Audience Research Project

"Rowville was originally known as one of two Dandenong drive-ins, the other being the Panoramic / Lunar Drive-in, Dandenong on South Gippsland Hwy. It opened only 18 months after the first Village drive-in at Croydon. Although a little closer to the city, it was still in an isolated position in 1956...When Rowville opened it advertised: - 4 miles from Dandenong, 5 miles from Ferntree Gully, 6 miles from Bayswater and 8 miles from Oakleigh. The following week, Skyline Oakleigh advertised: - 7 miles from Burwood, 22 miles from Preston, 93 miles from Ballarat, 200 miles from Wodonga, 2330 miles from Darwin and 12325 miles from London!" (Kilderry 1999)

Stewart Finn managed the Drive-in for the first six years (Power 2010)

"In 1963 Village Drive-in Theatres bought out the Panoramic / Lunar Drive-in, Dandenong from Kevin Donnelly and his partners. This resulted in a name change for the Village Dandenong Drive-in on Stud Road to Village Dande North, and finally Village Rowville to more correctly reflect its location." (Kilderry 1999)

Listed in Film Weekly motion picture directory as Village, Dandenong from 1956/7-1966/7 then as Village, Rowville from1968/9-1971.

Listed in the Herald as North Village Dandenong from 1962-1964.

References
1956 'VILLAGE DRIVE-IN, DANDENONG.', The Argus , 12 July, p. 13, viewed 25 November, 2011, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71645507

1956 'DANDENONG.', The Argus, 12 July, p. 12, viewed 25 November, 2011, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71645505

Film Weekly, Film Weekly: motion picture directory, Film Weekly, Sydney. 1956/7-1971.

Kilderry, D. 1999 'Australian drive-ins', Drive-ins Downunder, Available at: http://www.drive-insdownunder.com.au/australian/vic_rowville.htm

Power, B. 2010 ' Rowville', Cinema record, no. 67, pp.10-15