Prince of Wales Theatre

The Grand Empire Theatre opened as a cinema on January 2, 1911 on Macquarie Street, opposite where the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is today.

In 1925 the theatre was taken over by Edwin Herbert Webster who had the auditorium rebuilt, removing the dress circle and its supporting pillars and adding a new cantilever circle, all to the plans of architects Walker & Johnston. He changed the name to the Prince of Wales Theatre, presenting live theatre productions opening with “The Glad Eye” on 26th December 1925.

Associate Professor Stefan Petrow from the University of Tasmania said “Webster tried running it with live performances of high-class comedies to vaudeville. It wasn’t really a goer. In 1926 they started to move towards just being a cinema”.

Later in 1926 the ownership of the theatre changed again when Commonwealth Theatre Pty Ltd/ took over. It was then decided the focus should be solely on cinema.

Dr. Petro said “No expense was spared to make it thoroughly up to date”

More than 50 people were employed at the cinema in the 1920’s, including orchestra members to perform the musical accompaniment to the screening of silent films.

In 1938 the Prince of Wales Theatre was one of the most technologically advanced cinemas in Australia after yet another refit and upgrade.

But the Prince of Wales Theatre was at its most popular after World War II when it attracted the interest of Bertie Cowan and his wife Louise Lovely. Lovely was a star of the silent film era and the first Australian actress to find success in America in the early-1900’s. Dr. Petro said “She was described by the Americans as very French, very demure, petite with a halo of soft, blonde, bleached hair”. Lovely had starred in a number of films in America before deciding to return to Australia and try her hand at writing and directing. Dr. Petro said “Bert Cowan made the theatre a centre, a place to go — it was doing very well in the 1940’s and 1950’s”. Lovely was herself a drawcard, running the sweet shop and was said to have made the best milkshakes in Hobart.

The theatre was still attracting sell-out crowds in the 1970’s for blockbusters such as “Star Wars” and James Bond films, but by the 1980’s it had fallen into decline.

The Prince of Wales Theatre received a slight boost in 1984 when the Theatre Royal closed following a major fire.

It was once again used for live performances while the Theatre Royal was refurbished.

But the revival was short-lived, and the Prince of Wales Theatre building was demolished in 1987 to make way for a carpark and offices.

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