Australian Poetry Hall of Fame

Located in Guyra to the north of New South Wales. The 800-seat Arcadia Theatre was opened in 1929 and was used for balls, dancing, formal events, films and boxing. By 1946 it was operated by H.J. Hanna & A.T. Hanna. By 1951 it was operated by A. George and hosted some Australian country music greats such as Slim Dusty, Chad Morgan and Rick & Thel Cary as well as continued regular use for films, balls and formal events. It was still operating as the Arcadia Theatre in 1956, operated by Arcadia Theatre (Guyra) Pty. Ltd. who continued as operators through at least 1961.

It had been re-named Astor Theatre by 1969 and was operated by J.Wilson. It was closed as a cinema in 1970 and became a furniture emporium which closed in 2018.

The empty building was seen in February 2020 by Thundercloud Repairian (aka James Arthur Warren) who was passing through Guyra on his way home from attending the Banjo Paterson Australian Poetry Festival in Orange. The Australian Poetry Hall of Fame was opened on 24th March 2020 (the first day of the Covivid-19 pandemic lockdown).

It is now dedicated to preserving and nurturing Australian poetry and poets. The building contains a poet portrait gallery and the Australian Poetry Archive and Library. There is a monthly programme of events including ‘Wednesday Words’ - a weekly open mic poetry night, music events, plays, puppetry and films. Visitors are welcome to check out the projection room and grab a bite to eat from the quirky Seahorse Medicine Café.

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