Athenaeum Hall

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Athenaeum Hall 790-806 Doncaster Road, Doncaster, VIC – 1914

Photo – The Doncaster Historical Society

The Doncaster Athenaeum The Athenaeum began in 1871 as a little one room hall 20 feet by 30 feet. Since then there have been almost continuous additions and improvements.

Building a Bio-box

When the Athenaeum Hall was enlarged in 1914, the committee had the foresight to build a Bio-box over the Doncaster Road Entrance. The charge for hiring the hall and Bio-box was one pound. In September 1922, the first regular Saturday Night Film Shows started. A big feature of these silent films was the background music by a skilled pianist. The music matched the mood of the film – soft and romantic for the love scenes and fast and dramatic for the chase that came at the end.

Lollies and soft-drinks

At interval During the first year Laurie Larsen, 3 hair-dresser from Box Hill was the pianist. He would come by cab. While he was playing the piano, the cab driver would spend the evening playing cards at the Doncaster Hotel. Laurie Larsen made many friends while playing the piano. There were boys who went to Box Hill for haircuts and girls who gave him lollies and soft-drinks during the interval. Many of these friendships have lasted to the present time. After Laurie Larsen left, Connie Tully was often the pianist and sometimes Cliff Tully played the cornet or violin.

Riding to the pictures

Boys and young men often rode to the pictures on horseback leaving the horses in the stables at the rear. At first, the audience sat on wooden forms and in winter wrapped themselves in blankets to keep warm. Later, old theatre seats were put in.

Magic Lantern Magic

Soon after the Athenaeum Hall was built in 1870, people of Doncaster saw, for the first time, the marvel of big pictures projected onto a screen by a magic lantern. In 1898, just three years after the invention of moving pictures, Mr Gunn gave a cinematograph entertainment at the Athenaeum Hall. It is interesting to note that the first full length film was made at Box Hill…Irvine Green A.I.A.P.

Contributed by Greg Lynch –