Peninsula's Past: Off to the movies

SOURCES: History Redcliffe, The Pictorial History of Redcliffe and the Moreton Bay Region, City of Moreton Bay.

CAPTIONS: Images Courtesy of City of Moreton Bay (ref: RLPC-000 000140, RMPC-100 100117, RMPC-100 100483, RLPC-000 000850, RLPC-001 001541)

Picture theatres have been hives of social activity since the first was built by two returned WWI servicemen for the summer of 1918.

Redcliffe Picture Palace on Redcliffe Pde, opposite the jetty was an open-air theatre and the vision of Mr Eckard and Mr Davies.

In 1921, they sold it to Harold Slight (Jack) Beedham and Eleanor Elizabeth Beedham (nee Corscadden) who became local identities.

The original open-air theatre was roofed in 1921-22.

In 1928, Mr and Mrs Beedham built a new Picture Pavilion, two allotments away from the original theatre. They closed the old theatre on October 27, 1928, opening the new Pier Theatre one week later.

It was used during WWII to host dances and concerts for soldiers stationed in the area.

The theatre narrowly escaped a fire, which destroyed three shops along Redcliffe Pde in June 1941 but was destroyed by another fire in March 1943. It was rebuilt and reopened in December 1943.

In 1950, the Beedham family sold the theatre to Messrs Kallos and Londy. It was a popular venue for 19 years before closing in 1969 and making way for a retail outlet.

Scarborough Picture Pavilion operated from 1928-35 and was built by Bob Morgan at Martins Estate, at the southern end of the Scarborough Camping ground near Jerry Klaassen's horse yard, at 42 Landsborough Ave.

Bob had previously used a shed at Woody Point as a ‘public picture theatre’ in 1916.

The new theatre at Scarborough was 90ft x35ft and seated up to 450 people. It was built by Messrs. M Tilley and J.W. Symons and was known as Morgan's Pictures, Scarborough Picture Pavilion or The Picture Hall. It operated for six years but fell into a state of disrepair after Bob died in 1935.

Margate Theatre opened in 1940 at the corner of Ernest and Albert streets and was built by Alex Smith. It was renamed the Renown Theatre in 1942 and was a popular venue for movies, balls and concerts, particularly during the war years after the old Pier Theatre was destroyed by fire.

It was sold in the mid-1960s and was demolished in the early 1970s to make way for a block of units after being used as a slot car track for several years.

For more than 30 years, it was a social centre which brought the community together.

The Bay Theatre was built at 69-71 Landsborough Ave, Scarborough, in 1954, by Messrs Londy and Kallos. It closed in 1961 and reopened for a short time in May 1969, but closed again in July the same year.

It was a Blue Light Disco venue in the 1970s, a church and the Scarborough Fair Art Gallery from 1994 to 2004.

A drive-in theatre opened at Elizabeth Ave, Kippa-Ring, in December 1965. It was operated by the Sourris Brothers and closed in 1986.

The 16-acre site, which cost 80,000 pounds to develop, could accommodate 350 cars, with capacity for a further 350. It had a restaurant, snack bar and shop.

When it opened, it was the largest and most modern in Australia. The site is now a retirement village.