The Theatre Royal c 1890s. Image courtesy of State Library of Sth Australia. https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+2909
19th October 1896. Moving Pictures screened for the first time in South Australia.
On Monday the 19th October, 1896, The Express and Telegraph, ran an article on page 2 under the amusements banner. It was advising it’s readers that on that very afternoon they would be able to see for the very first time in Adelaide, the wonder that is the Cinematograph at the Theatre Royal in Hindley Street, Adelaide. Mr Wybert Reeve, who had brought the Cinematograph to Adelaide, promised the public that the images reproduced on the Cinematograph would be the ‘most startling and sensational’. Mr Reeve was born in London, but had lived in Australia for many years, making a living as a ‘dramatist, actor and theatre manager’ (Walker 1995, p. 1). The Cinematograph was to be exhibited by Messrs St. Hill and Moodie under the direction of Reeve. It was only to be shown at the Theatre Royal for a matinee performance, only, in the evening of the same day it would be moved to the Beehive Building in a room that had been especially fitted out for the purpose.
The Express and Telegraph, 19th October 1896. (Image courtesy of Trove)
It seems lucky for Mr Reeve and Co. that the Cinematograph was to move to the Beehive Building on the first evening, it appears that the Theatre Royal was not able to darkened enough to allow the images to be clearly seen by it’s audience on it’s first and only showing.
The Express and Telegraph, 20th October, 1896. (Image courtesy of Trove)
On the following day, 20th October, 1896. On the front page of The Express and Telegraph appeared an advertisement for the wonder that was The Cinematograph, now established in the new Beehive Building which had been built in 1895/1896 on the corner of King William and Rundle Streets. Patrons were advised that from 1pm they would be able to see ‘The Marvellous Revelation’ themselves for the price of One Shilling each, children under 12 years of age, half price.
The Express and Telegraph, 20th October 1896. (Image Courtesy of Trove)
So whilst the first moving pictures were shown in The Theatre Royal in Hindley Street, which sadly no longer exists. The first home for silent pictures in Adelaide would in fact be in the Beehive Building, which does still stand.
King William Street, with the Beehive Building shown in the foreground on the left-hand side. Image c 1902. Image Courtesy of State Library of South Australia. https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+72777
References:
Advertising ‘The Marvellous Revelation’, The Express and Telegraph, 20 September 1896, p. 1 Retrieved 27 October 2020 from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page22921137
‘The Cinematograph’, The Express and Telegraph, 19 October, 1896, p. 2. Retrieved 27 September 2020 from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209075843
‘The Cinematograph’, The Express and Telegraph, 20 October 1896, p. 3. Retrieved 27 September 2020 from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209075887
Photo, King William Street, State Library of South Australia, https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+72777
Photo, Theatre Royal, State Library of South Australia, https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+2909
Walker, Dylan 1995, Adelaide’s silent nights: A pictorial history of Adelaide’s picture theatres during the silent era 1896-1929, National Film and Sound Archive
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