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The Original But Not The Best???
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Unnecessary Travel Security Advisory Advice!!!
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Remember to remain alert but not alarmed whilst on this journey (at this point in time, we are unsure if this applies to Smoke Alarms under proposed new anti- terrifying legislation, which has frightened everyone). Do not leave any bags anywhere unattended for any length of time at all, unless one is keen on making the acquaintance of members of Australia’s Security Services, and definitely do not take pictures of people and buildings like those featured on this site, unless one wishes to be branded a terrorist by some and a complete nutter by others. Remember, absolute paranoia is now compulsory in Australia, so not doing anything AT ALL would probably be the safest way of proceeding. Or, better still, study this web site carefully, and ponder upon its wisdoms. One or the other…
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NB: This Travel Advisory was not brought to you by DFAT lady, as this is just the beginning of our travels…
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We begin our journey at the airport. We are keeping the identity of this airport a mystery. The reason we are keeping it a mystery is because of its interest to cinemaphiles.
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When the airport was built in the 1960s, a twin cinema was included. Unfortunately, it was not opened at the time, as it suffered from several defects:
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It had no population living within close reach of the airport and, thus, the cinemas had no potential customers other than the airport patrons;
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The cinemas were in a building some distance from anything else at the airport. For example, to reach the cinemas from the main terminal, one had to cross what were then two very busy roads, successfully negotiate the chaos that was the airport car park, and then cross another busy road. Then one had to find the cinemas themselves…;
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Which was quite an interesting experience, and required determination, fortitude, a swag of supplies, study shoes, and a lot of luck. One wandered around the outside of the building looking for the cinemas. At one point, in an alcove in the building, there was a sign saying “Cinemas”, with an arrow pointing right. This lead one to continue to wander around the building searching for the cinemas, which was unfortunate, as the entrance was under the sign. The sign was both misleading and unnecessary. As a result of this, one could circle the building for an infinite period of time trying to find the cinemas.
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Amazingly, an operator was found for the cinemas in 1971. The sign was replaced. However, in view of the other problems, it will probably be of no surprise to the reader that the cinemas closed in 1971, having operated for less than six months. The cinemas are still there, but don’t look for them. Besides the problems already listed above, they are now private screening rooms. It is rumoured that they are used to screen training films for pilots in Kamikaze, which I’m sure is not true. Although thinking of some of the take-offs and landings I've experienced there…no, I'm sure it's only a rumour. I think…
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Anyhow, it’s off into the wild blue yonder…
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To our first stop, the Williamtown Airport, which serves both the RAAF as an airbase, and the City of Newcastle as an airport. As it was built for the Air Force, and the public terminal came later, security is very tight here indeed, and it is suggested that you handcuff yourself to your bags and luggage to avoid nasty incidents. But don’t lose the key, otherwise you’ll have to fly in the overhead lockers in future.
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A twenty-five kilometer journey around some obscure back roads brings us to our first cinema, the Tower Cinemas in King Street, right in the heart of Newcastle. Built in the late 1970s for Greater Union, this is one of the few remaining examples of the GU multiplexes of that era. Inside the cinemas, one will find that the interior walls are made of brick, arranged in quite artistic patterns. Other items of interest about the Tower Cinemas are that the auditoriums are all very comfortable and roomy, with all screens able to show 70mm films in all their glory. The cinemas are built against a cliff. There is a path leading up the cliff beside the cinemas, but climbing this is not recommended at all, because not only is the gradient too steep for all but the excessively fit, but there are no cinemas up on top of the cliff, making it a complete waste of time and effort. A final point is that the cinemas are very strong indeed, having survived the 1989 earthquake with only very minor damage, when buildings on the other side of King Street (which is quite narrow) suffered quite extensive damage. Indeed, when visiting friends in Newcastle shortly after the ‘quake, I saw a film there, and was impressed at the lack of damage. They are, therefore, probably the strongest cinemas on the Eastern seaboard of Australia.
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From here we continue on our journey by a semi-luxury coach, built especially for this journey. Besides such features as a driver, a toilet, seat belts that seemed designed for someone else, a warm cold water dispenser, and all the other items found in such a coach, you will note that there are no video screens. This is a journey for those interested in cinemas, and watching films in cinemas, and such deviant things as videos, DVD’s, watching films via the Web and/or iPods and so forth are strictly prohibited, and anybody caught using such equipment will be cast into the fiery depths of hell, or the nearest equivalent we can find.
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Keeping this in mind, we will now speed down the freeway to Sydney, where our first stop is at the State Theatre in Market Street. This magnificent ornate cinema was one in a chain of State Theaters built by Greater Union in the ‘30s and ‘40s in each state capital. This is the only one that remains in its original splendor. The décor of the theatre is truly splendid in places, and utterly kitsch in other places. The sweeping staircase leading to the Dress Circle has been used in a number of Australian films. The proscenium arch is something to behold, and an excellent screen lies beneath the curtains. This cinema is truly a sight not to be missed. Unfortunately, it is rarely used, except for the Sydney Film Festival. Attempts to stage live performances in this cinema were not a success, thankfully. Even when not in use, the theatre is worth a visit just to see what the grand old cinemas were like in these days of multiplex shoeboxes masquerading as cinemas.
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Just around the corner from the State, we find another GU complex, the Pitt Cinemas. Like the Tower Cinemas in Newcastle, this 3 screen complex was built in the late ‘70s, but are larger, have more ornate (and interesting) internal brickwork, with other features that make a visit well worth while. They were used to screen quality and art-house films. Unfortunately, we can now only see the exterior, as GU closed the complex in 1999, and the foyer now houses cheap sales stands. If we can go any further, the cinemas are well worth a look.
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We will stop for lunch here at the Market City Haymarket, which also contains cinemas. The story behind the cinemas is of interest to cinema buffs. In the early ‘90s, the U.S. backed Readings chain announced plans to build a large number of multiplexes around Australia, having successfully operated some in North Queensland for a period. This lead to a mammoth battle in which the three major chains – Hoyts, Village, and Greater Union – tried to block every development Readings proposed. They did succeed in building a multiplex here, but had great difficulty for some years in getting first run films from distributors. After a period of screening re-runs and repertory double features, they finally did succeed in getting first run films for this complex. Readings subsequently abandoned their rather grandiose plans to build large numbers of multiplexes, but one suspects that this was due to the fact that Australia was getting close to having too many multiplexes than any other reason. The story about the Readings Haymarket Cinemas are far more interesting than the cinemas themselves, which are hard to find, and not really worth the effort to find them.
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So, after lunch, it’s back on the bus to our next stop. Whilst on our way…
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As we go though Stanmore, keep a look out on the left for the Globe 2000 cinemas. Besides being near one of Australia’s best movie memorabilia shops (‘Stars’), this excellent stand-alone complex is still lit up, but there is no one at home. It is claimed to have been closed in 2000, but the ticket box, which is still lit up, advertises films released in 1999. Whatever the true story is, the cinemas were excellent, and it would be a boon to cinema buffs if they were re-opened.
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Once we’ve cleared Sydney’s traffic, it’s a quick trip down the Hume Freeway, and a slightly slower trip down the Federal Highway to our Nation’s Capital. It will come as no surprise to anyone to learn that Canberra is well served by cinemas. The only problem is negotiating the spaghetti-like patterns of Canberra’s road system to get to them.
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The Manuka cinemas were originally built as one large cinema. When, inevitably, they were multiplexed, the original cinema was left largely intact, and two smaller cinemas were built above them. The large cinema downstairs is used for more commercial fare, with the upstairs cinemas used for more upmarket films. The upstairs cinemas can be accessed by either stairs or by a lift, the latter being a concept more multi-level cinemas should adopt. All three cinemas look, at first, to be typical multiplex cinemas, but they all have greater leg room and better screens than their newer counterparts.
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Manuka also has the widest range of restaurants catering to all tastes on a single block than anywhere else in Australia. We shall, therefore, have our evening meal here. However, there is always the danger of meeting politicians here, so be on your guard.
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From here, we shall be continuing our journey south overnight, passing through the towns of Cooma, Bega, and Cann River, among others. As none of these have cinemas worthy of note, we will help you sleep by a combination of mild perfumes using the system of “Glorious Smell-O-Vision” developed by Mike Todd, Jr. for his film The Scent Of Mystery (a.k.a. Holiday in Spain) installed in the coach specifically for your snoozing pleasure.
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We will wake you up in Orbost for breakfast.
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Unfortunately, there are no known cinemas in Orbost, but there are the remains of a drive-in just outside the town which, alas, are difficult to access. When I found them in 1996, they turned out not to be worth the trip, anyway. So, after you complete your breakfast, it’s back onto the coach to continue our journey.
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We drive into the town of Bairnsdale for our next stop. Opposite the Bairnsdale Hospital about two kilometers west of the Bairnsdale CBD is what appears to be a combined bowling alley and fitness centre, with other so-called ‘healthy’ activities offered. However, hunting around the side of the building, we find the Bairnsdale Cinema hiding in a corner of the building.
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Once we’ve found the cinema, we enter a foyer which is surprisingly roomy, considering the other occupants of the building. The foyer contains many artifacts of cinematic interest, including historic projectors, old posters, and many other things of note. The cinema itself, unfortunately, is little bigger than the foyer, and the films tend to be those that have come and gone in the major metropolitan centers. However, the museum pieces make the visit well worth while.
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We will now continue our journey towards Melbourne. Recent reports have indicated that an archaeological dig on Phillip Island have found the remains of a cinema. However, it is located in a place surrounded by ferocious fire-breathing fairy penguins, mad bull seals, and thousands of tourists equipped with the latest in 3 G miniature mobile ‘phones, complete with a camera, the full Windows XP professional suite, a tamagotchi, and a fold-out Swiss army knife, which may explain the outrage of the native fauna.
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No, we will bypass this and continue our journey west on the Princes Highway...
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As we enter the Melbourne outer suburb of Dandenong, we will stop at the Lunar Drive-In. These brilliant drive-ins were opened in 1998. The sound and projection quality is excellent, the films themselves carefully selected, and the menu at the cafe is both extensive and reasonably priced. You can get anything from popcorn (banned from the bus because the stink makes the tour guide ill) to a full gourmet meal. These drive-ins are also interesting for another reason - they were a major reason Village closed down a ten-plex in the Dandenong Plaza. We will now go there briefly, but will not enter. Here is why:
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This shopping center is famous for being confusing. For a start, there are two ground floors. The reason for this is that, when the complex was built, it was built on a slope, and the front section was sunk into the ground, and the rear raised up. The two are connected by elevator. To confuse matters further, the upper ground floor runs over the lower ground floor. Confused? Well, be warned…it gets worse. Inside, it is “L” shaped. To find the cinemas takes a lot of time, a heck of a lot of walking, and when/if you did find the cinemas, the steps down into the cinemas were so steep, you needed full climbing gear. Well, almost full. These cinemas were closed in 2008 for 'renovations': nobody expects them to reopen, certainly not where they were.
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From here, we will continue up the Princes Highway (a.k.a. Dandenong Road) to the Chadstone Shopping Centre. This is where the first of the modern suburban multiplexes was built in Australia, opening in 1986.
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It was originally an 8 screen complex, with a large bar with tables for relaxing at running above the foyer to the right, and a large Pancake Parlour running above the foyer to the left. The bar was far too big, and was quickly closed.
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The original plans were to expand the cinemas underground to 28 screens. This was abandoned in favour of an above-ground expansion to 16 screens, which opened in 1998.
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The modern Hoyts Chadstone incorporates a large candy bar, and a small bar next to the Candy Bar. The old bar is now the ticket box, and the seating areas behind the old bar are now the offices housing Hoyts Victorian H.Q. The Pancake Parlour remains in situ.
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The cinemas are very good examples of their type. However, the new cinemas (reached by walking through what was the old Cinema 5, then going up by lift, elevators or stairs) are stepped rather than sloped like the older cinemas, making the newer cinemas more difficult to get around. There are three other points of note:
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One of the cinemas is equipped with a 70mm screen. As it was built at the same time as the major distributors stopped importing 70mm prints into Australia (shame!), it has caused the odd problem or two. At least one film (Apocalypse Now Redux) was advertised as a coming attraction, only to be rejected and/or withdrawn when a 70mm print was not made available;
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Four cinemas are equipped with what is referred to as ‘La Premiere’ seating. This is obviously Hoyts’ response to Village’s ‘Gold Class’ cinemas, but involves a patron entering the back rows of one of the normal cinemas through a special entrance, and sitting in plastic seats with padded inserts. The seats resemble those in some suburban trains. It is cheaper than Gold Class, and rightly so. The jury remains out on this concept; and
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Two cinemas are accessed through a glass arrangement marked “Cinema Paris”. These were originally intended to screen art-house films, rather like Village’s Cinema Europa screens at some of their multiplexes. However, as far as these cinemas are concerned, the concept was a failure, and abandoned shortly after the cinemas reopened. The cinemas involved are now used for commercial fare, with the glass doorway left as a sign of a failed, but quite reasonable, idea. The likely reason for their failure was that the cinema interiors have very steep steps: not great for the older audience that goes to see art-house films.
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After dinner at the Pancake Parlour, it is on to our final destination for Day Two…
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No visit to Melbourne is complete without a visit to the justly famous Astor Theatre. This excellent art deco cinema has been restored lovingly to a state of pure splendor, complete with a piano player performing before the Saturday Evening sessions. It also features the best choc-tops of any cinema in Australia. These lovingly made treats contain ice-cream in whatever flavour you desire throughout the cone, with additional ice-cream piled up to quite a height, topped with a walnut, and coated in chocolate with a slight sprinkling of coconut on top. Although I totally oppose any form of consumption of food in a cinema, as it is incredibly distracting, I am prepared to make this one exception. The wide screen and excellent sound system enhances the viewing experience for the patrons. The films screened include a wide variety of repertory double features and special screenings. A visit to the Astor should be made compulsory for all visitors to Australia. It should certainly be on the World Heritage List. Indeed, I would support a move in the U.N. Security Council to make it compulsory for everyone on the planet to come to Australia just to attend the Astor. As you can tell, I’m somewhat fond of this cinema.
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We will stay overnight in the Rydges’ Hotel in Exhibition Street. This hotel is also of interest to movie buffs, having once housed the Bryson Cinema, which was one of the most comfortable cinemas ever built. This did mean that there was a chance of falling asleep, the seats were so comfortable, but the big screen – no, make that huge screen – prevented that from occurring. Alas, the Bryson closed in the late ‘80s, and was turned into a rather tacky nightclub, which itself has now closed. The auditorium was still there the last time that I visited it, but nobody is interested in trying to turn it back into a cinema, due to the high costs involved. A great pity.
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Our first stop the next day will be to view two closed cinemas just down Bourke Street. The Pokies house was the Bercy Cinema. GU built a number of these single-level cinemas around the State Capital Cities in the ‘40s. The Bercy was the last one to close, in 1982. In a fine example of strange behaviour, the National Truss (no, that’s not an error - you didn’t sit through a film here. I did) classified the exterior. It proved to be impossible to maintain the buildings’ façade intact, so the ground floor entrance was entirely rebuilt, and windows replaced the ornate exterior decorations on the first floor.
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Further down on the left, we have Australia’s first multiplex – the Hoyts Cinema Centre. Originally a plush 3 screen complex, with candy bars on each level, it became a four screen cinema in 1982 by converting the dress circle of Cinema Three into a separate cinema. A very short-lived bar was built outside this ‘new’ cinema.
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In 1991, the complex was refurbished, which meant that the screens were masked off so that they couldn’t screen 70mm films, Dolby Digital sound was installed (in Cinema One only, for no apparent reason), the Candy Bar/s were moved to the ground floor, and the seat cushions replaced by cloth over the seat frame, with a thin layer of foam to ‘insulate’ it. The result was very uncomfortable, and I was not surprised to be told in 1996 that Hoyts were considering closing it.
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The rate at which the cinemas were literally falling apart was alarming. On one occasion when I attended a film there, the film actually broke during the screening. It took some time to find someone to turn on the house lights for safety, and longer still for the screening to resume. Hoyts persisted with the cinemas until 2005, when they moved into a multiplex located in the shell of an old Department Store located over the Melbourne Central Railway Station. These cinemas have been restored, but there is a battle going on over their reopening (planned for 2010).
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The Midcity Cinemas about 200 meters further down Bourke Street was another Hoyts multiplex. These were built in the late ‘70s, and had a slight design flaw when they were first opened - you entered the cinemas to find a large staircase, with a small aisle down one side. Climbing the stairs was the obvious thing to do. It was also the wrong thing to do. The Ticket Booth was under the staircase. This was rectified in 1980. It started life as a twin, but quickly added a third screen. It boasted in Cinema Two the biggest screen in Australia at that time. All three cinemas were quite comfortable, and offered excellent viewing – except for the smaller Cinema 3, which had a screen that appeared at first glance to be two screens on top of one another, the top one being slightly transparent, which made for highly disconcerting viewing. Hoyts abandoned the Midcity after the ‘renovations’ to the Cinema Centre in 1991, but they continue to operate today as the Chinatown Cinemas.
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Around the corner from the Midcity in Little Collins Street is the ‘Moviola’ memorabilia shop. Although having a much smaller range of memorabilia than Stars, they compensate for this with a wide range of books. Unfortunately, time prevents us from stopping there, so we board our coach for the journey up the Calder Freeway to our next destination.
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The Bendigo multiplex is a fine example of the new style of Village multiplexes. A large foyer leads into a 7 screen complex, with the cinemas arranged around in a ‘S’ bend access route, rather than a straight line, as Village used originally. The cinemas are clean and reasonably comfortable, and the screens of a good size. Unfortunately, like most multiplexes, the projection is automatic, which can lead to annoyances like films going out-of-focus, or, worse, out-of-frame. However, that is true of all the multiplexes built in the last twenty years, no matter who the operator is. One point of note is that this multiplex replaced an independently operated two cinema complex, which were the oddest and most confusing cinemas to navigate around. These may be slightly boring, but they’re way better than what they replaced.
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We will lunch here in a pub, or something similar. Then it’s back on to the coach for a journey down the Midland Highway through the historic and scenic Goldfields region to our next stop in Ballarat.
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The Ballarat Regent multiplex is a Village supported complex, but privately operated. It is a fine example of an old single cinema having been converted tastefully into a multiplex. This 6 screen complex is an excellent place to view a film. A point of interest we have touched on in the past is that it contains a ‘Gold Class’ cinema. The idea for Gold Class cinemas apparently originated with the British producer David Puttnam (Chariots Of Fire, The Killing Fields, The Mission) who, when a Board Member of Village back in 1994 raved to Village executives about the experience he had watching a film in first class on a long-distance flight. This experience lead to the creation of the Gold Class cinemas. Although the cinemas are not big (indeed, quite the opposite), they are excessively plush. Before entering, one orders what one wants to eat during the screening from an upmarket menu of tit-bits and fine wines. You then go into the cinema, and sit in a very large comfortable armchair, complete with adjustable foot rests, and get served your food during the film at the time/s you requested it. Gold Class indeed, and it is very expensive to indulge in it. I do not recommend it for cinema buffs, mainly because the screen is like the cinema – small – but, as an anniversary gift or birthday surprise it would be quite a good way of introducing your more home-theatre based cretins friends to experience cinema in a social milieu, which is the best way of enjoying a film, anyway.
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We will be spending the night here in Ballarat, possibly in a tent at Sovereign Hill, or somewhere else. The next day, after breakfast in one of Historic Ballarat’s excellent assortment of fine restaurants (no, not the McDonald’s), we will continue down the Midland Highway, bypassing the Rural City of Geelong, which is attractive in all respects other than their rather dull multiplex cinemas. We will then continue west on the Princes Highway towards our next destination, Colac.
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The Colac Twin Cinemas are just off the main highway, near the Railway Station. These cinemas are interesting, as the foyer seems to lead to three cinemas. However, only two are actually cinemas. The third is a live theatre. The cinemas are very modern, comfortable and roomy. However, they are rarely used. Herein lies another tale of interest…
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For many years, the Anderson Family ran two multiplexes in outer suburban Melbourne, one for Hoyts, and one for Village. The Village multiplex are called the Werribee Cinemas for no apparent reason, as they are actually located in Hoppers Crossing, a suburb 10 kilometers away from Werribee. Anyway, in the late ‘90s the Andersons became ambitious, relinquished the Werribee/Hoppers Crossing multiplex to Village to raise funds, took control of the other complex as a base for the chain they were intending to develop, and went on a building spree.
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The result was not exactly what the Andersons had hoped. Within 18 months, they had built several multiplexes. They had also gone broke in the process. The administrator sold the cinemas (or the leases, as was the case in a couple of locations) to the larger chains.
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There is an important message here for the prospective cinema mogul – don’t take on exhibition unless one has LOTS of money. Many millions of dollars. And that may be insufficient.
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Returning to the Colac Twin, these cinemas are well worth a look, as they may be among the best we will see during our journey. After we leave this excellent complex, we will have lunch before boarding the coach for our next destination.
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The small town of Camperdown was one of the last of the Victorian Gold Rush centers, which means it contains many heritage monstrosities that look completely incongruous in such a small town, such as the Camperdown Picture Theatre. It very rarely operates as a cinema, and the interior is both cavernous and of no architectural interest whatsoever.
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I actually attended one of the last screenings here back in the early ‘90s, which was of note because the projectionist walked out. I’m serious. The film was David Lynch’s Wild At Heart, and, after about half-an-hour the projectionist stopped the film, told the handful of patrons wanting to know what was going on what he thought of the film, and left, bringing both the screening and the festival itself to an abrupt end.
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As we can not go inside, and there is nothing inside worth looking at anyway, we will simply take note of this historic monstrosity and continue our journey west.
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Just over the border in the South Australian town of Mt. Gambier, we find another old cinema. The cinema has been closed for several years. The exterior and the sign remain of the cinema, and, upstairs, we can find the original projection booth, if we’re really determined, and can get upstairs.
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The interior has been converted for other uses several times. Last time I was here, the old auditorium had been turned into a shopping arcade with a bowling alley at the end, which itself had closed. Some of the art deco interior remained on the walls, in a state of decay. There is no petition to return this to a cinema that I know of, so I suggest that we start one.
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We will eat our evening meal here in Mt. Gambier (look, if you go near that McDonalds again, I’ll have you horse-whipped.). After that, with the final rays of sunshine growing dark in the sky, we shall return to our coach to continue our journey westwards via the Princes Highway and the South-Eastern Freeway. As there is truly nothing of interest at all to see on this leg of our journey, once again we will turn on the “Glorious Smell-O-Vision” to help you to sleep in preparation for the final day of our tour.
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As the sky lights up, we will detour from the freeway to visit the historic town of Hahndorf.
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Although Hahndorf contains no cinemas amongst its many Heritage buildings, it does offer a wide range of haute cuisine. There are definitely NO McDonald’s outlets in Hahndorf. Indeed, there are no fast-food places anywhere here. Therefore, we shall breakfast well, before continuing on to our first stop of the day…
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The southern Adelaide suburb of Norlunga contains an excellent five cinema complex. There is, however, an odd note to these cinemas – they are not only not attached to nor near the shopping centre, but on the other side of the railway track in the middle of a factory lot. This makes them slightly difficult to find.
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However, the cinemas are so good that it’s worth the search.
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Further up the South Road, the Wallis Glenelg Cinema Complex is, like the Ballarat cinemas we visited earlier, a fine example of an old single cinema having been converted sensitively into a cinema complex.
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Indeed, it could be argued that the conversion of the cinemas here are better than those in Ballarat. (Discuss.)
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The Glenelg cinemas are near one of Adelaide’s most famous beaches. Unfortunately, it has had the odd shark nearby, both real and in things like the weird fun park on the foreshore. In any case, this is a cinema tour, so we will now head up Anzac Parade to the city.
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The coach will stop at the corner of East Parade and Rundle Street, where we will lunch before continuing our journey on foot. We are now in the historic East End precinct, which used to be the Adelaide Markets, and are now the excellent restaurants and apartments you see before you. This is an excellent example of sensitive restoration of a historic precinct. No, there are NO McDonalds, nor any other fast food shop near here, and I’m not going to return to the subject again on this tour.
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The Palace cinemas are a (very) short walk up Rundle Street. This art-house three screen multiplex contains three cinemas which are state-of-the-art circa 1999.
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However, it is not 1999, so they have become a bit run down. The films, however, are excellent. On the left hand side of this walkway is a closed IMAX cinema. Nobody really can understand why it was opened, and everybody expected it to close quickly, which it did.
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The Nova multiplex is almost directly opposite the Palace multiplex in Rundle Street. It screens an eclectic range of films. However, it has couple of drawbacks:
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Firstly, the entrance is hard to find. One can enter by lift or by stairs. However access to the cinemas themselves are via a steep bank of stairs, meaning a disabled person can get into the foyer, but no further; and
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The screens are huge, taking up almost all the available space at the front of the cinemas. This is good, except that the front row is within a meter of the screens. This makes for interesting viewing if one is unlucky enough to score a seat near the front of the cinema. However, these seats are often roped off for most sessions. Check this point before buying your ticket, as sitting that close to the screen would be injurious to one’s health.
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From here, we continue up Rundle Street. Note how it becomes somewhat less trendy as we climb the hill towards Pulteney Street. As we cross Pulteney Street, you will note that we are entering a mall. The Rundle Mall is famous for many things, not the least being the mall decorations. Note on the left as we enter the mall a large shop which contains an arcade, which splits into two. In each arm of this arcade is a memorabilia shop, which together make up the ‘Movie Maniacs’ shop. Why it is in two shops some distance apart is not relevant. Almost any movie memorabilia can be obtained here. However time prevents us from stopping at a memorabilia shop yet again, so we continue up the Mall to our next destination.
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Just off the Mall inside the historic Adelaide Arcade are three Hoyts Cinemas. One large cinema is near Rundle Mall, whilst the other two (which were one, but have been multiplexed) are further down the mall.
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As we enter Cinema One, you will notice the ticket box is closed, with curtains drawn. This does not mean the Cinema is closed, merely that they’ve moved the ticket box. Past the ticket box to the left, you will find what is, architecturally, a very boring marble staircase. Climb the stairs. On the left hand-side at the top you will find a candy bar and what looks like an old-fashioned bank teller’s windows. Both are used as the ticket booth, depending upon the time of your visit. You enter the cinema by opening what appears to be a red velvet curtain. Inside is a cinema that seems slightly out of place in the otherwise heritage surroundings. It is, however, part of the National Trust classification that covers the entire arcade. The cinema is an excellent place to view films.
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But, like any cinema anywhere, be careful where you leave your belongings. I had a camera stolen from me here whilst watching Malcolm X. It was eventually returned to me in a rather bizarre manner – I had reported the theft to both the cinema and the Police. Sometime later, at home in another State, I received a mystery ‘phone call. The female voice at the other end of the line asked me if I had ‘lost’ my camera in the cinema. I replied it had been stolen. After a pause, I was told I could collect it from the local YWCA after a certain time the next day. And I did. That is a true story, and all the photos that would have been on this blog if they hadn't taken so much memory were taken with that camera. I was one of the lucky ones. Very few people get items stolen from them in cinemas back. So keep your belongings with you in any cinema.
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A little further down Rundle Mall, we will detour into a side street. Up a set of stairs a few yards down, we will find an excellent place for lunch, “The Coffee Pot”. Here, you can enjoy their excellent real cream-topped coffee or whatever other drinks take your fancy, and enjoy their delicious fare for lunch. You can choose to sit near the front to see what it going on in the Mall, sit in the area provided to peruse a wide range of publications, or just sit in a booth and have a chat. This place is more than somewhat addictive. I come here as often as possible whenever I am in Adelaide, and you’ll see why for yourselves. Remember it for future visits here.
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We now re-enter Rundle Mall, and walk west to the end of the Mall. We will cross King William Street. On the other side of King William Street, Rundle Street becomes Hindley Street. This is a unique and slightly confusing feature of the Adelaide CBD – all the streets that cross King William Street have different names on each side of King William Street, even though they are straight and through roads.
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As we continue west down Hindley Street, we note a slight schizophrenic nature to the street. In the early ‘80s, this part of Hindley Street was the centre of Adelaide’s alternative scene, with bookshops, street theater, and the other type of things one would expect of such a scene. Unfortunately, the nature of the street changed in the late ‘80s and, in particular, in the early ‘90s. The alternative shops all closed, to be replaced by such things as $2 shops and sex shops. The bohemian pubs became dominated by pokie parlours. Despite the occasional attempt to stop the slide (such as allowing the building of the five-star hotel we will pass on your left which sticks out like a sore thumb), Hindley Street was clearly in trouble. Drug dealers moved in. More recently, there has been a concerted effort to clean up Hindley Street which has succeeded in pushing away the more unsavory types. However, it has resulted in a street which retains elements of both what it was, what it became, and what it is trying to become now (slightly upmarket and aimed at tourists).
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Towards the end of Hindley Street, we find an excellent GU twin that was opened in 1988, and closed in 1992. Confused?
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Well, don’t be. GU had operated a four screen multiplex a little further east on Hindley Street for many years. Unfortunately, these cinemas were both small and not well built – it was not unusual for the sound in the two underground cinemas to leak into each other, so you got the sound from both films while trying to watch one.
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GU had committed to a proposal by a private consortium to take up the lease of a five-screen complex in a building they were proposing slightly further down Hindley Street which was also intended to include shops, offices, apartments and a large car park. But this was still on the drawing board in the mid-‘80s, and looked like staying there. GU clearly needed new larger cinemas to compliment (and, to an extent, replace) the older multiplex. So they proceeded to build this excellent two-screen multiplex. The cinemas were large, expensively fitted out, and, overall, an excellent place to view films. So why did they close, and why does the building now contain a games parlour?
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The answer is that the developers, to everyone’s surprise, finally got both the money and the permits to build their complex, minus the apartments. To that complex, we will now go...
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The Cosmopolitan center contains a nightclub, an arcade of shops that seem to open, close and/or change hands at a rather quick rate, a thankfully small games parlour which is off in a very small corner of the complex (which is better still), and, of course, the GU multiplex. This five screen complex is on several levels, all of which can only be accessed by stairs. The cinemas are okay, but nothing to write home about, nor, indeed, anything to write on a web site about. This rather strange and enigmatic complex is probably an appropriate place to end our tour. So, it’s back on the coach to journey through suburban Adelaide, to the West Beach Airport.
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The West Beach Terminal was recently completely rebuilt, and is Australia’s newest airport terminal.
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This also makes it the most modernly equipped terminal, so be careful with your baggage and other items. Being a cinema buff is not an act of terrorism, at least not yet, so be careful as we board our modern jet for our journey…
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Which brings us back to the mystery airport where we began our voyage. Your final task, which you have no option but to accept, is to decide what to do next, and how to do it. You no longer fall within the purview of this web tour company. As for me, I’m going to catch a bus to find yet another cinema…
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For further e-based tours of items of unusual aspects of Australiana, or for a fact sheet on other cinemas of interest, leave a comment on this blog, and we will be only too glad to be of whatever assistance we can be.
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