Town Hall and Gardens 48 Old Perth Road, Bassendean, WA

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Silent movies were first shown in 1913 in the Road Board hall. These proved so popular, that a permanent bio box and theatre seating were installed in the lesser hall in 1917.

The lure of the movies was considered pernicious by some and in 1916 the West Guildford Mothers’ Union sought to have cinema sessions restricted and called for greater State supervision of the films that were shown to young people, to little effect.

An outdoor theatre, the ‘Wonderview’ opened next door to the hall in 1925 and was heavily patronised on summer evenings despite the nuisance of the suburb’s mosquitoes - Notes by Jennie Carter.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -