Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex |
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| Location | 74 Maitland Street, Bingara, Gwydir Shire, New South Wales, Australia |
| Built | 1936–1936 |
| Architect | Mark Woodforde |
| Official name: Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex | |
| Type | state heritage (complex / group) |
| Designated | 25 August 2017 |
| Reference no. | 1990 |
| Type | Cinema |
| Category | Recreation and Entertainment |
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The Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex is a special old theatre and cafe in Bingara, Australia. It's a heritage-listed building, meaning it's important to history. It was designed by Mark Woodforde and built in 1935-1936. George Psaltis, a Greek businessman, helped supervise the building work. The complex was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 2017 because of its historical value.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
Early Days in Bingara
The land where Bingara is today was originally home to the Kamilaroi and Weraerai Aboriginal people. They hunted small animals and used fire to keep the forests open.
In 1827, a botanist named Allan Cunningham was the first European to explore this area. By the 1830s, European settlers, called squatters, started to claim land here. This led to conflicts between the Aboriginal people and the new settlers.
Gold and Growth
In 1851, gold was found near Bingara! This brought many people hoping to get rich. Soon, more gold was discovered, and the Bingara goldfield was officially declared in 1853.
To support the gold seekers, the town of Bingara was planned out. By 1853, the first hotel and general store opened. The town grew, getting a Post Office and a school by 1862.
Bingara really boomed after copper and diamonds were found in 1872-1873. In the 1880s, Bingara became Australia's biggest diamond producer. The town kept growing, adding a courthouse and churches. By 1889, Bingara became a municipality, and its population reached over 1600 by 1911.
Even during the Great Depression in the 1930s, Bingara continued to expand. Many new homes, shops, and businesses were built. This growth was partly due to Greek businessmen arriving and plans for the nearby Copeton Dam.
Greeks and Cinemas in NSW
Many Greek people came to Australia in the early 1900s to escape tough times in their homeland. Some of the first Greeks arrived as early as 1823. By the late 1800s, they had communities in all Australian colonies.
Greeks from the island of Kythera were very active in business. They often ran oyster saloons and refreshment rooms, which later became known as cafes. When movies became popular, these Greek cafe owners quickly saw a chance to invest in cinemas.
Many Greek business people helped set up and manage cinemas across New South Wales. From 1917 to 1984, about 66 Greek men and women were involved in the cinema business. Some, like Sir Nicholas Laurantus, owned many theatres in different towns.
By 1962, there were 351 cinemas in 289 rural towns in NSW. Greek business people operated 116 of these theatres in 57 towns between 1915 and 1960. They even built 34 new theatres! This shows how much Greek migrants contributed to the social life of NSW.
- Quote: "Where Greek immigrants had picture theatres they controlled their towns principal entertainment at a time when the overall population attended between 20-30 times a year." (R Thorne, 2003)
- Quote: "They had direct input into the moral and social values of the communities in which they operated. They brought national and international events to the rural areas in the form of feature films, newsreels and documentaries." (K. Cork, 1998)
The 1930s to the mid-1960s were the best years for cinemas. People loved going to the movies. Business owners built beautiful "picture palaces" with fancy designs like Art Deco. These grand buildings made going to the theatre feel like a special event.
The Roxy Theatre Story
The Roxy Theatre was built with this idea of glamour in mind. Three Greek businessmen from Kythera were key to its story: Emanuel Aroney, Peter Feros, and George Psaltis.
Peter Feros and George Psaltis came to Australia in the early 1920s. They started a business called Peters and Co. in Bingara, buying an existing cafe. Emanuel Aroney later joined them. Their business grew, even during the Great Depression.
In 1934, they bought a large piece of land and hired an architect, W. V. E. Woodforde, to design a new entertainment complex. This complex would include a modern theatre, a cafe, three shops, and even a guest house for visitors.
Construction began in 1935, with George Psaltis overseeing the work. The theatre was designed to be large, with a special dance floor that could be revealed by moving the seats. They even made the walls taller in case they wanted to add a "dress circle" (an upper seating area) later.
However, the Roxy's progress faced challenges. Another local cinema owner, Victor Reginald Peacocke, who was also the Mayor, tried to stop the Roxy from being built. He built his own new cinema, "The Regent," which opened nine months before the Roxy.
When the Roxy finally opened on Saturday, March 28, 1936, it was a huge event! The local newspaper said, "probably no event in the history of Bingara has caused more interest or excitement." About 700 people packed the theatre to see the movie 'Roberta', starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
The competition from Peacocke was tough. He lowered ticket prices, and the Roxy had to do the same. He also installed a better sound system, forcing the Roxy to upgrade theirs too. Despite efforts like a "Movie Ball," the delays and debt were too much.
Just months after opening, in August 1936, Peters & Co. lost ownership of the Roxy. The three partners went their separate ways. The Roxy Theatre continued as a cinema until 1958, then mostly sat empty for 40 years.
Many cinemas closed down from the 1960s onwards because television became popular. In 2003, only 31 of 351 rural NSW cinemas were still recognizable as cinemas. Many were turned into shops or apartments. The Roxy in Bingara is considered one of the best examples of an Art Deco cinema that still looks original.
The Roxy Cafe kept operating under different Greek owners until the mid-1960s. It was later a Chinese restaurant for 20 years. In 2008, the Gwydir Shire Council bought it.
In the early 1990s, local community members, like Nancy MacInnes, worked hard to save the Roxy. The Bingara Council bought the building in 1999 and, with government funding, restored it to its original beauty.
In 2006, a book called 'Katsehamos and the Great Idea' by Peter Prineas (grandson of Peter Feros) told the Roxy's hidden history. This sparked a lot of interest, especially among the Greek community. Donations and grants helped restore the Roxy Cafe and create the Roxy Greek Museum, which opened in 2014. The museum even won an award in 2015!
Today, the Roxy complex is a busy place. It has the local tourist office, the Greek museum, and the cafe. The theatre is popular for live shows, movies, weddings, and other events. There's even an extension for the local school's Theatre Studies and a kitchen for hospitality courses.
Unique Greek Cafes
Greek cafes have left a big mark on Australia's culture. Almost every rural town in NSW and Queensland used to have one. While many have closed, some, like The Paragon in Katoomba and the Niagara in Gundagai, have been open for over 100 years. The Roxy Bingara is special because it also had a guesthouse for customers, which is very rare for surviving Greek cafes.
- Quote: "The Greeks really transformed Australia's culinary and cultural landscape... Prior to the Greek cafes there wasn't anywhere families could go. You could only get meals at certain hours served in the pubs and inns. If you arrived in town and it was before or after the opening and closing times of the kitchens, you literally couldn't get anything to eat." (Mrs McNaughton)
Even during the Great Depression, people made an effort to visit these cafes.
What the Roxy Looks Like
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The Roxy Theatre is a fantastic example of Art Deco architecture. It still has its original features from 1936, like the fancy plasterwork, paint, and colored lights.
The building faces Maitland Street. It has three shops and a cafe, with the theatre entrance in the middle. The whole complex has a rectangular shape with Art Deco elements, like stepped designs and decorative columns.
The shopfronts have large chrome frames and a stepped Art Deco pattern above the windows. This stepped pattern is also on the theatre's entrance roof. The theatre entrance has two wooden-framed glass doors on either side of the ticket office.
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The cafe is on the corner of Maitland and Cunningham Street. It has beautiful glass folding doors. The "Peter's Cafe" sign above the door is framed by the same stepped chrome pattern. The front of the complex is covered in black tiles. The side of the cafe on Cunningham Street has elements of Spanish Mission style, with arched windows and a tiled roof.
Inside the theatre, you walk through a long hallway with a patterned floor. The ceiling has a large stepped design and a decorative grille with an Art Deco pattern. The back part of the theatre has fixed seating, but the front part is flat with a special cypress pine floor for dancing.
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The theatre's main room (auditorium) also uses the stepped design. The ceiling steps down to meet the walls, which have decorative panels. These panels have fan-like shapes and rectangles with diagonal lines. The lights on the walls are shaped like angular vases. Many of these panels and the ceiling grille were designed to help air circulate and keep the theatre cool in summer.
The auditorium has its original paint scheme and decorative plaster, which made going to the movies feel very special. The stage was originally low but has been removed.
The backstage area has been extended for modern performances. A new kitchen wing was added next to the cafe, allowing the theatre to host different events and offer hospitality training.
To the south of the theatre entrance is the original refreshment bar. One of the shops there is now a museum about Greeks in NSW. Another shop used to be a doctor's office. On the north side, the third shop is used as an extension of the entrance area. Peter's Cafe is further north and can now be entered from the theatre. The cafe floor has a geometric pattern, and it has original timber dining booths and wall panels. Some of the cafe furniture came from another old Greek cafe.
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The area above the cafe used to be living quarters for the owners. Now, it's a conference venue. It still has its original layout, including a large living room, a small kitchen, office, bedrooms, and bathrooms. A lift has been added. The staircase has a metal railing with a unique Art Deco pattern, which you can see throughout the complex.
The building was in good condition in 2016. Some parts, like the roof and dance floor, needed repairs due to water damage, but these can be fixed. The building's overall condition is excellent, and the restoration work was done carefully to keep its original look and feel.
Changes Over Time
- 2003: The theatre was restored.
- 2007: The backstage area was extended.
- 2012: A new industrial kitchen wing was added.
Why the Roxy is Special
The Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex is very important to New South Wales history for several reasons:
- Rare Example: It's a rare and well-preserved example of an Art Deco cinema from the 1930s in country NSW. It still looks luxurious inside and out, and it's still used as a theatre today!
- Cinema History: It shows how important "cinema going" was in NSW towns before TV became popular. It also shows how American pop culture, like Hollywood movies, first came to country NSW. The Roxy was even named after the famous Roxy Theatre in New York.
- Greek Migration Story: The complex tells the story of Greek immigrants who settled in country NSW in the early 1900s. Many Greeks owned cafes and cinemas during this time. The Roxy is a reminder of their journey and how they influenced Australian culture, especially with food and entertainment.
- Beautiful Design: The Roxy is a landmark building with its distinctive Art Deco style. The outside has stepped shapes and decorative columns. Inside, the detailed ceilings and wall panels create a feeling of luxury.
- Community Hub: It's a special place for the Greek Australian Kytherian community, becoming a place they visit to remember their history. It's also important to the local community, holding memories for those who grew up going to the cinema there and providing a place for performances, weddings, and other events today.
- Unique Survival: It's one of the few Art Deco theatres that still looks original and is still used as a cinema and community venue. It's the only known theatre in NSW that still has its original cafe and shops attached. Many other old cinemas have been changed into different businesses.
In 1951, there were 351 cinemas in country NSW. By 2003, only 31 were still recognizable as cinemas. Out of those, only about seven Art Deco cinemas in rural NSW still look original and operate as theatres. The Roxy is a fantastic example of this rare type of building.
Images for kids
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The Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex
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Entrance to the Roxy Theatre
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Inside the Roxy Cafe
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Auditorium seating inside the Roxy Theatre
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Detail of the Art Deco design
