| Historical notes: | The Scone Civic Theatre was designed by Guy Crick & Bruce W. Furse, architects, Sydney, in 1937 for the Scone Theatres Pty Ltd. The original design by Crick & Furse was an 899 seat cinema. However, this was scrapped and the cinema redesigned after the company was unable to procure the original site on Kelly Street that they wanted, An emended scheme was submitted in November 1937 by Crick and Furse for license approval under the Public Halls and Cinemas Cinemas Act of 1908.
The theatre was designed to seat 583 in the stalls and 246 in the circle, but was scaled back to seat 568 in the stalls and 240 in the dress circle, making the total seating capacity of 808. The tender of Mr. A. F. Little was accepted in November 1937, and building commenced in December. By February 1938, the foundations had been laid and the brickwork of the outside walls commenced. By the 18th July 1938 the cinema was virtually complete, with just the seats to be put into position, just in time for the official opening of the cinema. (Scone Civic Theatre , Licence No. 544, State Records Ref. 17/3283)
The building cost approximately 14,000 pounds to erect. The building contractor was Mr A F. Little, of Sydney. Mr H. Knight, of Annandale, did the painting and decorating and the electrician was Mr. G. H. Marshall, of Scone. The fibrous plasterers were Messrs. Rich and Co., Newcastle: vestibule and floor tiling; Roof and Building Service, Sydney; carpets, Mr A. Frederick Gibbs, and curtains, Mr G. Brakell. Sound equipment was supplied by R.C.A.: bio machines, National Theatre Supplies; seating, Owen Knox and Co; heating and ventilating, Unit Air Conditioners, Sydney; doors, and also the complete fittings of the milk bar, Mr J, Hill, Scone. (Scone Advocate, 29th July 1938)
The Civic Theatre was proclaimed and gazetted on 17 June 1938, and its licence issued on 17th August 1938. (Scone Civic Theatre , Licence No. 544, State Records Ref. 17/3283)
The Civic Theatre was leased to Mr. C. R. N. Owen, and the Gala Opening was on Wednesday 27th July 1938. The opening night was a charity function, with proceeds in aid of the Scott Memorial Hospital, in Scone. The Mayor of Scone, Ald. W.J. O'Brien, officiated at the event, after Mr H. C. Carter, M.L.A. for Liverpool Plains, couldn't attend due to illness. There were two films on the program "Stolen Heaven" and "A Bride for Henry" - which wore supplemented by shorts. (Scone Advocate 26th July 1938; 29th July 1938)
Scone Theatres Pty Ltd was formed in 1937 to construct the cinema. The directors of the company and its shareholders comprised of farmers and residents from the district. Chairman of the company, A.C. Ingham, explained at the opening night, "the theatre..had been built by the citizens of the town and district, by whom the whole of the requisite capital had been subscribed". The Company had shown its determination to cater for the entertainment of the people, and looked forward to a continuance of their patronage, which was so much appreciated in the evening. The Scone Advocate praised the company for their "boldness and faith and confidence in the town and district." (Scone Advocate, 29th July 1938) The directors of the company in 1937 were Arthur Centennial Inham, a grazier from Parklands; Herbett Ernest Ell Garside, a store keeper in Scone; and the alternate director was Maxwell Osmond Pye, a medical practitioner in based in Scone. (Dead Companies Records - Scone Theatres Pty Ltd, file no: 18596. State Records ref 17/9481)
The Civic Theatre was seen as a sign of progress and enterprise for Scone, "imposing and resplendent to a degree", "an ornament to the district, of which it will also remain one of the architectural features for many years to come". The Scone Advocate reported the theatre opened "in a blaze of splendour and colour". The design and fittings of the cinema were admired for being modern, efficient and comfortable." In the magnificent building, seating accommodation has been provided for approximately 1000 persons in stalls and circle (a slight exaggeration, as the cinema actually seated 808), while spacious foyer room and vestibules have been incorporated in the scheme. The auditorium has been portioned and designed so as to permit of the maximum acoustic properties being obtained, and is ornamented by a restrained application of features that blend with the artistic ceiling to give full effect to the colour combination provided by the Neon and concealed lighting, the mellowness, yet sufficiently colourfulness, of which is most effective." (Scone Advocate, 29th July 1938)
In particular, the theatre's air-conditioning was celebrated as a modem innovation. The Civic Theatre, as the newspaper was quirk to point out, was amongst the first cinemas in the state to have full air-conditioning. (Scone Advocate, 29th July 1938) The design, plans and specifications for the air-conditioning are deposited at NSW State Records in the file for Scone Civic Theatre - Licence No; 554. (NSW State Records Ref 20/14972)
On Wednesday 22 September 1954, just before 5pm, a fire broke out in the Civic Theatre. Theatre employees discovered the fire when they returned to the cinema to prepare for the evening programme. Scone Volunteer Fire Brigade was called to the cinema to put out the blaze, which had originated in the pit below the stage. It was unclear how the fire started, it being blamed on children smoking tobacco in the pit under the stage. Damage to the theatre was contained around the stage section of the auditorium. The stage, screen, curtains, sound equipment, ceiling and roof were severely damaged by fire, with the remainder of the building's contents being slightly damaged by heat, smoke and water. The Northern Daily Leader reported that the fire caused an estimated 5000 pounds damage to the theatre. After cleaning up and making a temporary canvass sheet roof, the Civic Theatre re-opened to patrons two days later on the Friday. (Scone Civic Theatre - Licence No. 554, State Records Ref 17/3283: Northern Daily Leader, 23rd September 1954).
The lessee, Mr Theo Coroneo, took the opportunity to renovate the cinema while building new fittings following the fire, By December 1954 the roof and ceiling had been repaired, and the stage was in the course of reconstruction. The Theatre was also renovated and painted. Alterations were made to the observation ports in the bio-box and new apparatus was provided. Cream brocade curtains and a new wide screen were installed in February 1955. (Board of Fire Commissions: Inspections Theatres and Halls, File No. 434 - Scone. State Records Ref: 20/14972)
The Scone Civic Theatre hosted the Australian premiere of the film "The Shiralee", in 1957. This film starred Peter Finch and was filmed in the Scone district. (Thorn et. Al., p.310)
In June 1957 an engine room to house an auxiliary electricity generating plant was constructed at the rear southern side of the cinema. It was constructed of concrete foundations and floor with timber frame and galvanised corrugated iron sheet walls and roof. (Scone Civic Theatre - Licence No. 554, State Records Ref 17/3283)
As noted above, the original lessee of the Civic Theatre from Scone Theatre Pty Ltd was C. R. N. Owen. According to the Scone Advocate , Mr Owen, had 'quite a chain of theatres in the country districts of the State". In the early days of the theatre, the local manager was Mr Ron Sutton, who had previously worked with Mr Owen at one of his enterprises down at Nowra. (Scone Advocate, 28th July 1938) In 1944, Alex Coroneo was listed as the exhibitor at the Civic Theatre. (Film Weekly Motion Picture Directory, 1943-44) The lease was then taken over by Theo Mena Coroneo and Sam Coroneo, and together the brothers ran the theatre until 1953, after which time Theo Mena Coroneo took over the licence and lease for himself. In May 1963 Theo Mena Coroneo purchased the Civic Theatre from Scone Theatres Pty Ltd, and as a consequence the company was wound up. The Civic Theatre has remained in the hands of the Coroneo family since 1963. (Scone Civic Theatre - Licence No. 554, State Records ref. 17/3283; Dead Companies Records - Scone Theatres Pty Ltd file no; 18596. State Records ref 17/9481.)
According to Ross Thorne et. Al., the Civic Theatre "closed around 1983-84, but reopened in 1988 after minor renovations. It closed again in 1992, but reopened the same year." (Thorne et. Al., p.310)
The firm of Crick and Furse - history by Roy Lumby.
Guy Crick (1901 - 1964) was born in Hobart and was educated in Melbourne. He attended the Technical College in Melbourne part-time for four years, then returned to Hobart in the early 1920s where he subsequently married. In the middle of the decade he moved to Sydney and managed to gain employment in the office of Henry Eli White, one of the most prolific and influential cinema and theatre designers in Australia during the 1920s. Here he would have become familiar with the Union Theatres (later Greater Union) and established a relationship with the company that enabled him to design cinemas for it up until the early 1960s. White closed his office at the onset of the Great Depression and so Crick went into partnership with the cinema specialist architect Charles Bohringer (Bohringer Taylor and Crick) in 1930. This was relatively short lived, Crick leaving the firm to form Crick & Associated. One of these was Bruce W. Furse, who had also worked in the Bohringer office.
Bruce Furse (1906 - 1967) was born in Strathfield, Sydney, and completed his architectural education at the Sydney Technical College. It is not known who Furse worked for as a young man, but he did not complete the course at the Technical College, instead qualifying to practice as an architect in 1933 after sitting for the Board of Architects of NSW examination.
The firm of Crick and Furse reputedly designed thirty new cinema buildings in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, and remodelled about fifty existing cinemas. Crick was influenced by German Expressionist architecture and interested in the interior design of cinemas, that is the furnishings, acoustics, and lighting, while Furse provided the basic lines of decoration and lighting.
After the partnership split up in 1940 Furse went into practice by himself. He carried out war related design and supervision, then after WWII established a practice known as Bruce. W. Furse & Associates. An accident in 1954 resulted in his early retirement from professional life. Crick also continued to practice, keeping his office open while serving in New Guinea during the war. After the war he went into partnership with Servas Van Breda, then practiced as Guy Crick & Associates and finally formed the partnership of Guy Crick, Lewis and Williams. He practiced in Brisbane and in Sydney.
According to Ross Thorne, the Minerva/Metro and West Olympia in Adelaide - both designed by Crick & Furse - were the two finest 'Moderne' style theatres in Australia. (Cinemas of Australia Via USA. P366)
Thorne, along with Kevin Cork, wrote of Crick & Furse "their influence on cinema building in Australia is immeasurable. The theatres they created represented all that was considered to be modern and comfortable." (All the Kings Men, p. 20).
After years of research, plans, reports and meeting approvals, stage one conservation works began in February 2017 - restoration of its exterior. A $40,000 grant from the Office of Environment & Heritage in 2016 will contribute c4% of the overall cost of the initial phase. Stage 2 will be ground floor internal refurbishment, making it available for use as a community multifunction centre with concealed modern conveniences (Murphy, 2017, 1). |