winton

The Royal Theatre, Winton.

The original Royal Theatre was built in 1918 part of (at the back of) the Royal Mail Hotel.

In 1930, Jack Menzel, the theatre proprietor at the time, had RCA sound equipment installed. In 1937, the Winton Picture Theatre was sold to Mr John Thomas William Evert (Bill), owner of the Central Hotel.

At 10.30 pm on 1 October 1938, a fire originated in the projection room and quickly spread, causing movie-goers to flee the theatre through the adjacent lane. Many buildings including the Royal Talkies Theatre were reduced to rubble with a monstrous £15,000 damage bill (Vince Evert - born 1931- remembers fire and the fact that there was no pressure from water supply because of no holding tanks which is why fires did so much damage). His father said that he'd have it built again in 6 weeks (on former site of destroyed hotel) and this is the current theatre. It was rebuilt and opened on 30 December 1938.

A skating rink was installed in 1939. The theatre was used for some boxing events after WW2. It closed for 9 months in 1984. A part roof was added in 1955. The theatre became the venue for the 'Outback Film Festival' held in June/July each year since 2014.

In 2018 Peter Evert still owned the theatre but says the future is uncertain. In 2020, the theatre was taken over by Winton Movies Inc. (WMI), a not-for-profit entity established to promote film and cultural experiences for the Winton community and the Queensland Outback. In 2021, the group continues to run the theatre.

Text adapted from Royal website and CATHS holdings.

Picture credits: Mike Tickett.