Hoyts Regent Gardiner

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Uploaded on: May 10, 2019

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Photo – A view from the roof of The Regent Theatre, Gardiner, over looking Malvern Road – Somewhere in the 40’s?

A Rocky Beginning

Associated Theatres Property Ltd made application to build a theatre at 1601 Malvern Road Gardiner. Prior to the opening, a petition of nearly 100 signatures was presented to the Mayor of Malvern, stating that a theatre opposite a church was inappropriate (refer to the photo) and that the building should be amongst the shops in Burke Road. The church elders made their own separate submission to the council stating “We object to the usual types of posters being displayed opposite the Church and Sunday School. We fear that the congregation of persons about the entrance to the theatre will be a source of annoyance and disturbance to the young people who attend our Physical Culture Classes and other meetings during the week”. The petition was not successful. Associated Theatres opened The Regent theatre on Wed Sept 23 1925. It’s ironic that “The Church of Christ” held services at The Regent many times during the 20’s. On September 29, 1926, Hoyts and two other companies, Electric Theatres P/L, and Associated Theatres P/L, merged to become Hoyts Theatres Limited. The Regent Gardiner changed to the Hoyts banner almost immediately. Hoyts Theatres ran the theatre until 14 February 1959 when the advent of television forced it’s closure. It was demolished to make way for offices – Contributed by Greg Lynch –