WELCOME TO THE CATHS ARCHIVE PAGE
A little bit about our Archive.
Our archive, located at the PMI Victorian History Library in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran houses an extensive collection of material relating to cinemas and theatres of Australia. The collection has been built up over many years from donations, bequests, purchases, etc., the photographic collection now exceeds 10,000 images. Donations of material are always welcome.
As well as a physical file containg documents, pictures, etc., most of our collection has been digitised for easy searching.
The collection is spread across several dedicated databases, accessible from each of our six computer workstations.
VENUES DATABASE:
Our intention is to catalogue all venues which operated / are operating on a commercial basis across Australia and New Zealand.
Of necessity, this will always be a ‘work in progress’. At present there are in excess of 6000 venues listed. Check our Venues Listing for details.
THE LIBRARY:
Our library contains an extensive range of books, periodicals, magazines, etc on cinemas & theatres, architecture, technical matters and personalities involved in the Australian and New Zealand cinema and theatre industry. The library computer catalogue can be searched by title, author, subject matter, etc. The library is open to the public for on site research. See opening days / times below.
COMPANIES, PEOPLE & SUPPLIERS DATABASE:
This database houses information on the many people who worked in the industry, the companies who operated cinemas and the suppliers of services to the Cinema and Theatre Industry.
CINEMA & THEATRE PROGRAMS:
We are fortunate to have been donated a large number of cinema and theatre souvenir programs over time. Many of these go back to the early years of the last century. Our database catalogs them by program, venue, date, theatre, etc.
LOCATION:
The CATHS archive is located at the Prahran Mechanics Institute -
HOURS:
Wednesdays & Thursdays 9.30 -