Suspicious fire causes massive damage at the Mainline Drive-in cinema with bill estimated to be $400,000
THE owner of the Mainline Gepps Cross cinema, which was destroyed during a ram-raid and fire overnight, has vowed not to close Adelaide’s last remaining drive-in.
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THE owner of the Mainline Gepps Cross cinema, which was destroyed during a ram-raid and fire overnight, has vowed not to close Adelaide’s last remaining drive-in.
Wallis Cinema’s emotional matriarch Lorna Wallis said despite the suspicious fire causing about $400,000 damage to the outdoor cinema, “we won’t close”.
But she said that the drive-in would need support from the South Australian community to remain open.
The Mainline cinema is the last remaining drive-in in Adelaide, and the second-to-last one in South Australia. Coober Pedy also has a community-run drive-in.
History of Adelaide drive-ins
Firefighters were called to the drive-in just after 1.30am on Wednesday after a large fire engulfed the main building at the cinema.
Eight fire crews brought the flames under control within 30 minutes.
Crime scene investigators have since established a vehicle was used to smash entry into the building and police are investigating whether accelerant was used.
It is alleged an ATM from the cinema was loaded onto the back of a stolen ute.
About an hour later, police patrols were called to a car fire on railway tracks in Ottoway where a burnt-out ute was discovered with a now-empty ATM in the tray.
The stolen car was completely destroyed.
Wallis Cinemas operations manager Jim Filipovic said that while the drive-in screen and projector room were not damaged in the blaze, the complex is without power.
He said the drive-in would need clearance from its insurance assessor before it could trade again.
But he was confident the weekly Sunday market would run as usual this weekend.
“We don’t need power to run the market but we need to get the clearance from the insurance assessor because, obviously, we can’t have any risk to our customers,” he said.
The freestanding $300,000 projector room was not damaged but power has been cut.
Holden Hill and Western Adelaide Police are investigating the incidents and ask anyone with information on either the Gepps Cross fire or the dumping on the stolen car at Ottoway to please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
