The Regent Theatre: A glimpse into the past
In the wake of the news that Myer Wollongong would be closing it’s doors permanently, I began developing a news story on the October long weekend closure of Myer. As I searched the Internet to uncover possible reasons for the closure of a store, which has been a giant in the Wollongong shopping scene, it began to dawn on me; many businesses in Wollongong have suffered a similar fate. The Wollongong area was once home to a used book store, an ice skating rink, a gaming arcade and a drive in movie theatre.
(Southland Drive-in, opening night, 1957)
(Southland Drive-In, date unknown)
(Interskate Dapto, 1998)
As my mind became flooded with fantastic images of a wholesome, storybook Wollongong where there was more for young people to do on a Thursday night than go to Retro Night at the Illawarra, images of the old Regent Theatre in it’s glory days began to pop up more and more frequently.
The building tells a story worthy of being featured on a projected screen on one of it’s own grand art decorated walls. The more I uncover, the more I found myself wishing for a time machine.
(The Regent Theatre, date unknown)
The history of the Regent Theatre dates back to before World War II, when Herbert Wyndham Jones bought the site in 1934 with plans to construct a grand theatre. Herbert Wyndham Jones was a local entertainment entrepreneur and was considered a pioneer for film exhibition in the 1930s. His grand plans for construction of the theatre were delayed due to World War II. Sadly, Herbert Wyndham Jones did not live to see the grand opening of the theatre in the late 1950s. Through trials and tribulations, Mr Jone’s wife, Emily Vaughn Jones, and son, Morry Jones, saw that the project was seen through to completion.
His wife and son took the theatre on as their own, running it as a movie picture theatre until Mr Jones’ daughter Rowena Milgrove took the project on. Theatre quickly became her passion.
(Rowena Milgrove)
Mrs Milgrove lived the life of a jet-setter, regularly travelling around the globe for movie premiers and was a frequent guest at Academy Award Ceremonies. Rowena Milgrove ran the theatre until her death in 2004, just twenty days before she had arranged to permanently close the theatre doors amid mounting financial pressure.
The last movie screened was Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and was shown on January 31, 2004. After the credits rolled on the film, the Regent’s staff stood up and took a final bow to heartfelt applause.
(The final days of the Regent Theatre, 2004)
(Regent Theatre lobby, designed by leading interior designer, Marion Hall Best)
Bought in 2009 by the Illawarra Gateway Church, the Regent Theatre is now used for religious purposes but has maintained much of it’s art decorated design and has been lovingly taken care of.
Excitingly and amidst rumours that The Regent Theatre was potentially being put up for sale, 2016 saw the re-opening of the Regent as a movie theatre for nostalgia sake, for a single day, hosted by Gateway City Church leader, Pastor Scott Hanzy.
(Scott Hanzy at the Regent Theatre, 2016)
Pastor Scott Hanzy spoke fondly of the theatre in the weeks leading up to the one-day-screening of movies; a charity event. “There’s memories going back to the mid-50’s all the way through to its close. We’ve heard of stories of people proposing here, first dates, anniversaries” he said.
Rumours continue to swirl that The Regent Theatre may once again become a movie theatre or potentially a permanent performance space. Taking the theatre in this direction would be an exciting move for Wollongong and could potentially give an extra boost of life to the Wollongong night-scene.
By Georgia Gribble
(Some excerpts courtesy of the WCC’s Town Hall Project Archive)
