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Photo courtesy of CATHS.

The Melba Theatre in Bourke Street opened on 8 June, 1911. [Thorne, Ross, Cinemas of Australia via USA, p. 220].

It was J D Williams' first picture theatre outside Sydney. [Brand, Simon, Picture Palaces and Flea-Pits, Dreamweaver Books, Sydney, 1983, p. 47] Williams had rebuilt it from an a former building which had opened in 1868 as The Colosseum, renamed Victoria Hall in 1882, and again as The Queen’s Hall around the turn of the century. [Thorne, Ross, Cinemas of Australia via USA, p. 221] According to The Argus:

The scheme of colour is pale buff, yellow and blue, picked out with gold, and the walls are pic-torially in panels, which will, no doubt, hit the popular taste. It is the intention of the manage-ment to run a continuous picture exhibition here at the very minimum price - 6d. and 3d.

Every patron will have a nice red-leather cushioned chair. … An interesting selection of pictures was shown, accompanied by a full stringed orchestra.

The Argus, 9 June, 1911, p. 8.

It was claimed that the theatre was"a splendid structure which cost more than any other photo-play palace in the world".

Jeffries, C A, “The Greater J D Williams Banyan Tree”, The Lone Band, 1 July, 1911, pp. 275-284 (quoted by Thorne, Ross, op. cit., p. 222)

Possibly inspired by the success of the photoplayer at the De Luxe Theatre, the management decided to install a small pipe organ. This was a Style 1 Wurlitzer, with just four ranks of pipes, which must have sounded somewhat subdued in the 1200-seat auditorium. The organ was Opus 150, and was despatched from Wurlitzer’s factory on 30 September, 1917. No definite date is known for its installation, which would probably have been in early 1918.

The Melba was rebuilt as the Liberty Theatre, with 898 seats, in April, 1939, and was renamed the Odeon in 1951 when redecorated after fire damage. [Thorne, Ross, Cinemas of Australia via USA, p. 223]

Presumably, the organ was removed in 1939. - Information Theatre organ home page.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -