Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Question for Perth based projectionists

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Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 09-22-2002, 04:28 AM:

Hi Sandgropers

I came across the following newsgroup post today that talked about a drive-in having been established at the Midland Military Markets a couple of years ago.
Clik Here

Does anyone know anything about this operation or what became of it?

cheers Peter

Posted by Brad Haven (Member # 954) on 09-22-2002, 10:16 AM:

I'm not sure if it's still open.
This guy runs his cinemas on an extremely ultra thin budget (one week working for him was enough for me!), so i couldn't imagine it lasting too long.

Phew...that was really hard NOT to write a full page rant on the owner

Posted by Lindsay Morris (Member # 1430) on 09-22-2002, 07:25 PM:

All that remains is the screen standing there all lonely like.
Was not a good location for a drive-in, cars could flash their lights on the screen, was in the approach path to the Perth airport, the eastbound freight trains rumbled past only meteres away and the huge stock sale yards were across the road.
Great spot.. I think not.
As previously said, was done on a shoestring with very poor screen illumination the car standing areas were flat.. no ramps.
It lasted about 12 months and then died and I breathed a sigh of relief as when it opened our attendances at Kookaburra Outdoor plummetted and slowly picked up again... the public are not very loyal.
That was in our early days and if it fired up again now I don't think it would worry us much at all however competition keeps us all on our toes looking for better ways to market and present films.

Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 09-22-2002, 10:04 PM:

Hmmm

Sounds like another Drive-in for Buddy's site.

Was the Military Markets the site of a former drive-in or was this an entirely new operation? I do recall vaguelly that there was Drive-in at Midland many years ago. (The Midway?)

The failure of the above drive-in is interesting give current developments. Here in Melbourne the Dandenong drive-in has just re-opened as a twin. Also Coburg is about to be refurbished and Dromana is about to have a second screen added. Some other drive-ins around Australia are also adding extra screens.

It seems that drive-in is back in vogue but Perth, which at one time had 20+ drive-ins, has only the Galaxy at Kingsley still operating which is in Perth's far northern suburbs.

Needless to say, there exists in Perth's southern suburbs an entire generation of youngsters who have yet to go to a drive-in.

How long before someone seizes the opportunity I wonder?

I don't seriously think that you can capitalise a drive-in on a shoestring. Undercapitalisation is a major cause of problems with small business because you need the capital to overcome losses made in the establishment phase of the business. Midland could still work methinks but it probably needs proper facilities and maybe a couple of extra screens not to mention some promotion to let people know that it exists.

cheers Peter

Posted by Lindsay Morris (Member # 1430) on 09-23-2002, 08:01 AM:

Yeah Peter,

The old drive in was Swanway and went the ways of most in Perth as the VCR bug bit deeply and land prices started to take off.
The old Swanway site is now the playing field of La Salle College and in its days was an excellent drive-in. Well ramped up, good sound (speakers only no radio sound and good picture.
I doubt that Midland will ever see another DI develop as both the 3 screen Regent in town proper and the 7 screen Midland Cineplex are under threat of both folding IF the developers of the Midland gate shopping centre get their way and go absolutely nuts and stick in a 10 screen complex in the centre.
There is more than enuff screens in Midland and most times I have a sticky beak or preview a film we may want to run I wonder how they make it pay as I have often been the only patron for a 8pm session on a week day.
It would be great to have another DI south of Perth to balance things up a bit as we only have the Galaxy in the north and it gets quite busy most nights so the demand is there. Even the Galaxy was under threat some time back when many of the houses that now surround the DI took a petition to the local council to have it closed. It was there first and they built new homes slap alongside and then had the gall to whinge about cars coming and going, lights, noise etc etc.
The council did the sensible thing and squashed the move and Galaxy still screens on.
The Dromana DI over your way is actually about to open its THIRD screen and for a little Indie that is great news... shows some of the bigger fish that small shows can be profitable.
Perth lost most of last DI's to the "hard top only" mentality of the eastern states take-over merchants who bought into the Perth cinema scene and then started closing down all the DI's they had acquired and flogging off the land.
Perth with its very warm dry summers and very mild winters is a
drive-in paradise but nobody seems interested in getting any going again.
If I had bigger pockets I would have established a DI rather than just a seasonal outdoor cinema... but I still have my fun for 5 months of the year at the outdoor and that keeps me busy enough.

Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 09-23-2002, 10:03 PM:

Thanks Lindsay

Your reply makes me wonder...

Are any of the former drive-in theatres south of the Swan River still intact? I mean, if a budding entrepreneur such as our own Matthew Kilderry wanted to set up a drive-in south of Perth are any of the old drive-in theatres sites still intact with screen, snack bar etc? Armadale? Bentley? What's left of the great drive-in empire that once was Perth?

The drive-in would have to be south of the river though as the Galaxy would service the northern suburbs.

cheers Peter

Posted by Lindsay Morris (Member # 1430) on 09-24-2002, 12:04 AM:

Nope Peter,

Not a thing left!!! As I said the Perth scene was invaded by the hardtop moguls from the eastern seaboard, bought up almost all the cinema chains we had in the west and then one by one killed off the DI's and flogged the land for housing developments.
I have a friend who was manager/projectionist at one DI quite close to where I am now who was "told" by the head bean counter of his organisation that his DI was headed for the chop.
The reason was that it was not making any money??? ha ha.
The place was one of the last few DI's south of the river and most nights it was flat chat with a staff of 6 in the kiosk selling hot food like it was going out of fashion.
Most nights you actaully had to queue in the street to get in it was that busy.
But the bean counter said it was not profitable so it had to go... makes one wonder how they do their sums.. if they did them at all.
There are a couple of country DI's left still going and a few others that just are shells with the odd screen here and there and nothing much else so not much chance of getting one up and going again.
All old sites in the metro area are now covered by houses so no potential at all I am afraid.
It will be a case of starting all over again from scratch and with land prices like they are now it would have to be well out of town otherwise you could not afford to buy a piece to play with.

Posted by Brad Haven (Member # 954) on 09-24-2002, 06:53 AM:

My local drive in was the MELODY DRIVE IN in Kwinana, when we arrived from england in 1981 we went a few times but it closed down a few years later, all they left was the screen which stood for many years before being pulled down just a few years ago to re- develop into an industrial estate.
I dont feel that a new drive in would work in perth due to the over abundance of outdoor cinemas, i just heard that they have opened one in Kwinana, NO MORE...PLEASE, we have too many!