Melody Theatre

DavidZornig on January 18, 2022 at 3:39 pm

Description credit I Grew Up in Mortdale 2223 Facebook page.

“15 January 1947, the Herne Bay (Riverwood) Melody Picture Theatre opened on Belmore Road back in the days when all proceeds were donated to Legacy.

The Melody Theatre (right of pic in gallery) was built by Tom Virgona in a paddock on Belmore Road. The suburb was not served by local buses in the early days due to poor roads and there were very few trains which kept people away in wet weather. However, it was very popular because the manager was a passionate movie lover who was very tolerant of children. His theatre was his hobby. At Saturday matinees he encouraged children ‘to come on stage and sing, recite, play or generally raise cain to their own and the audience’s delight’. The picture theatre closed less than 20 years later on 30th January 1965 with the screening of “McHale’s Navy” and “Bullet for a Badman”. The building subsequently demolished and replaced with a supermarket."