Garfield Picture Theatre

The Garfield Picture Theatre opened with a Grand Ball on Monday, December 22 1924. An advertisement in the Pakenham Gazette advertised the ball (see left), which was free to all and it also advertised Pictures every Saturday night and dancing every Friday night. One of the first films shown was Where the North Begins, a Rin Tin Tin movie. (1)

The Argus of December 30, 1924 reported on the opening –
The Garfield Picture Theatre was opened on Monday night. lt is one of the finest theatres outside the suburban area, and cost Mr. M. O'Donohue more than £5,000 to erect. In addition an electric-lighting plant, costing £1,000, has been installed. Mr. Meagher, of Collins street, was the architect, and the builders were Messrs. Rose and Wales, of Melbourne. The opening ceremony was performed by Councillor Dowd, and short addresses were delivered by Messrs. H. Coombs, H. Gardner, R. James, and H. Hourigan. Councillor P. Walsh occupied the chair. Mr. O'Donohue afterwards entertained about 700 guests, who enjoyed dancing and supper. The theatre will seat about 800 people. (2)

The Garfield Picture Theatre was one of the many cinemas constructed during the Australia wide boom in cinema building in the 1920s. In December 1925, The Argus could report the following interesting statistics regarding cinemas in Victoria -
Including the new theatres there are now 87 picture theatres in the suburbs. In the country the number is 242 of which 45 are of modern construction. In addition there are 170 touring shows, this including public halls and small places where pictures are exhibited only occasionally. There is scarcely a village without some sort of picture entertainment and the number is constantly being added to. As far as the suburbs are concerned a warning note has become necessary. Many are already fully supplied; some suburbs already count three or four cinemas, and in such cases there should be strict investigation before adding to their number.....The cinema attendances on an ordinary Saturday in the city including those at the continuous shows number approximately 32,000 while the 87 suburban cinemas, whose holding capacity is approximately (including afternoon exhibitions) 120,000 are all generally crowded. At a conservative estimate the Saturday and holiday attendances, under favourable climatic conditions number 150,000. (3)

The Garfield Picture Theatre

Image: Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society 

The Garfield theatre was built by Martin O’Donohue. It had a power house at the rear and a 230 volt generator (4) and was thus the first source of electricity in Garfield. This was an interesting situation and in January 1925 the Shire of Berwick received a letter from Martin O’Donohue asking for particulars of size of poles required for street lighting. (5) The Theatre supplied Garfield with power until SEC power arrived in conjunction with the power supplied to the Tynong Quarry, towards the end of 1929. (6)

As recorded in the Shire of Berwick Rate Books of 1924/25, Martin O’Donohue, whose occupation was listed as Hotel keeper, jointly paid the rates on the Garfield Hotel with Margaret and Daniel O’Donohue. Thomas O’Donohue was listed as owning the Hotel. Martin also owned sale yards and the Picture Theatre. Martin and Margaret also owned two other Garfield lots. Eileen O’Donohue paid rates on a Garage, owned by Thomas. Thomas also owned a saddlers shop, a confectionary shop, two lots in the Tynong township and 155 acres. I am unsure how all these O’Donohues are related, however I believe Martin and Thomas were brothers. A later source connects Martin O’Donohue to the Club Hotel at Warragul, and by all accounts they were an entrepreneurial family. (7)

J.Taylor initially leased the theatre from Martin O’Donohue. In February, 1925 the magazine Everyones: the Motion Picture Authority reported that   

Mr. Taylor, the proprietor of the new show at Garfield, was also a visitor to see us last week. Mr. Taylor informed us  that business was fair. Fox and  Universal were screened. A Hahn-Goerz projector and two Universal sets were giving excellent results. (8) 

In 1929, Mr Tomlinson took over the lease, and this was also reported on in  Everyones, whose edition of August 21, 1929 had this colourful report -

Garfield, where it rains every second day in the winter, and potatoes grow in abundance in the spring, is now controlled by Mr. Tomlinson, of Lang Lang, as far as picture interests are concerned. For some years Mr. Tomlinson has run successfully at Lang Lang, and the Garfield proposition has only recently been acquired. Quite a number of exhibitors have had a lease of the cosy little Garfield Theatre, but none have come out very successfully. The theatre is a bit ahead of the town, where the population diminishes to a mere 300 souls in the winter and increases a bit in the potato season. However, with a careful showman like Mr. Tomlinson, income should exceed the expenses nicely. (9)

Garfield Picture Theatre, March 1932

Image: Museums Victoria https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/770388

The Shire of Berwick Rate Books indicate that in 1931 the theatre was sold to Walter Anderson Lawson and Roy Everard Ross of Warragul. They closed the theatre for two weeks in March 1932 to install new sound equipment, renovate and redecorate. In April 1932, Everyones magazine could report that R. E. Ross and W. E. Lawson opened up very successfully with their new enterprise at Garfield. Their theatre is equipped with Raycophone, and results are said to be very satisfactory. They sold it to James Murphy in 1953. Mr Murphy owned the theatre until it closed in the early 1960s. (10)

Theatre reopens after renovations.

Koo Wee Rup Sun, March 17, 1932, p.4.

An article by Gerry Kennedy in Cinema Record, Volume 1, January 1994 (the newsletter of CATHS, the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society www.caths.org .au) has some technical details about the theatre - the bio box was built above the entrance vestibule. To the left of the bio box was the rectifier room and, to the right, the winding room, both with ports to the auditorium. Apparently when the theatre was constructed there was no ceiling which interfered with sound quality and caneite panels were fitted to the walls in the 1950s to improve the sound. A 30 foot wide cinemascope screen was installed and the theatre was equipped with R.C.A Star Projectors. Kennedy also writes that the Garfield Theatre re-opened at weekends from 1970 to 1971 and was operated by Dennis Grigg. (11)

Garfield Picture Theatre, late 1970s/early 1980s.

Shire of Pakenham photographer

In the 1980s the Theatre was used as a second-hand furniture and antiques shop. In 2016, after many years of renovations, it was opened as an entertainment venue by the current owners, Fred and Susan Perez. The Theatre today, can honestly be described as the hub of entertainment for the area. (12)

Two other Picture Theatres were also built in the 1920s in the area. The Wattle Theatre at Koo Wee Rup opened with a grand ball in July 1927 and King’s Picture Theatre at Pakenham opened on September 7, 1927. However even earlier, local residents had been able to view movies at the Pakenham Mechanics’ Institute. Harrington’s Electra Pictures had been shown at the Garfield Hall and Colvin’s Pictures began weekly screenings in September 1922 at the Memorial Hall in Koo Wee Rup. (13)

Of the three purpose built theatres the Garfield Theatre was by far the most substantial building being constructed of brick. Koo Wee Rup has external walls of corrugated iron and Pakenham (which was located roughly opposite the Uniting Church in Main Street and demolished in the 1990s) was made of asbestos cement sheet. Apart from these venues, films were shown at Tynong - there is still a bio box or projection room, which is currently inaccessible, at the Hall. They were also shown at the Bunyip Hall and when the original 1906 Hall was burnt down in March 1940, a ‘picture plant’ was also destroyed. (14)

Garfield Picture Theatre was a great source of entertainment for not only Garfield locals but those further afield. As noted by David Mickle in his book More Mickle Memories of Koo-Wee-Rup the Garfield, Pakenham and Koo Wee Rup theatres were in keen competition to provide Saturday night entertainment (15) and issues of the Koo Wee Rup Sun in the late 1930s have advertisements for the three theatres. Mr Mickle also wrote that the ‘talkies’ had arrived at the Garfield Picture Theatre by May 1931, a few months earlier than Koo Wee Rup (16)

Koo Wee Rup Sun, July 6, 1939, p.1

My father, Frank Rouse (1933-2020), remembers that at its peak, the Garfield Picture Theatre had shows on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturday nights. Simcock’s Bedford bus used to travel out to Murray Road, Cora Lynn and surrounding areas on a Saturday night and pick up theatre goers and return them after the show. There was always a rush to get served at Simcock’s milk bar during the intermission. 

Footnotes

(1) First film shown was listed in Bill Parish's notes on the history of Garfield, held by the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.

(2) The Argus, December 30, 1924, see here.

(3) The Argus, December 17, 1925, see here.

(4) Bill Parish's notes on the history of Garfield, held by the Berwick Pakenham Historical Society.

(5) Pakenham Gazette, January 16, 1925, p. 3

(6) I have discussed this in my post on the history of Tynong - https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/02/tynong-short-history.html

(7) Martin O'Donohue - died in May 1941. His family had a long connection to Buckhurst Street in South Melbourne. A short obituary in the Emerald Hill Record, of May 31, 1941, here; His daughter Annie, married Bart Kavanagh of Garfield, her short obituary is in the Emerald Hill Record on November 7, 1942, here; Reference to the Club Hotel in Warragul, Gippsland Times, June 1, 1939, see here. I will do more research into the family one day.

(8) I don't have any other information about Mr J. Taylor. Everyones: the Motion Picture Authority, February 18, 1925, p. 10 on Trove http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-558649466

(9) Everyones: the Motion Picture Authority of August 21, 1929, p. 46 on Trove- http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-566229515

(10) Koo Wee Rup Sun, March 17, 1932, p.4; Everyones: The Motion Picture Authority,  April 6, 1932, p. 20 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-546318882; Cinema Record, Issue 1, January 1994, published by the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society. 

(11) Kennedy, Gerry The Garfield Picture Theatre in Cinema Record, Issue 1, January 1994, published by the Cinema and Theatre Historical Society. 

(12) https://www.garfieldpicturetheatre.com.au/

(13) Various advertisements in the Koo Wee Rup Sun; Cardinia Shire Heritage Study, volume 3: Heritage Places by Graeme Butler & Associates (Cardinia Shire, 1996), pp 229-231.

(14) Cardinia Shire Heritage Study, volume 3: Heritage Places by Graeme Butler & Associates (Cardinia Shire, 1996), pp 229-231; https://kooweerupswamphistory.blogspot.com/2023/02/tynong-mechanics-institute.html; Nest, Denise Bunyip Mechanics' Institute Hall 1906-2009 (The Author, 2006)

(15) Mickle, David More Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup (The Author, 1982), p. 159

(16) Ibid, p. 55 & 56

I first wrote this post in 2014, but substantially updated it in October 2024.