Cinema revival will be a nostalgia trip for outback town

For the first time in decades, this western town will have their own big screen, thanks to volunteers who are building a cinema for their community.

A movie theatre is set to open in Cunnamulla for the first time in about three decades. The Paroo Progress Association is hoping to open it in September.

MOVIE magic is set to return to Cunnamulla, where local volunteers are working to build a cinema and give their community something it has missed for decades.

The Paroo Progress Association has added the new facility as part of their major tourism project Cunnamulla All Aboard, and Progress Association president Karen Ticehurst is hoping to give locals and visitors alike a nostalgia trip to years gone by, when a visit to the movie theatre was the highlight of every Cunnamulla kid’s week.

“(The cinema) was one of the things we loved as kids growing up here – I used to go three times a week,” she said.

“They used to have movies on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and I went every night, even if they played Trinity back-to-back.

“I loved it, everyone loved it, and it was the social outing of the week when you would catch up … it was good fun.”

Roughly 30 years since Cunnamulla’s former movie theatre closed, the new cinema’s opening is earmarked for September, when it is hoped to offer respite and entertainment as the summer season rolls in.

Ms Ticehurst said the Progress Association is looking forward to running the venue with everything movie goers love, including a roster of new releases, and the all-important snack bar.

“I want to get the locals involved in this whole project … make it a bit of a hub,” she said.

“In the summer we hope to have Saturday and Sunday matinees, especially when it is really hot and there’s nothing to do but people still want to go out.

“I think it’ll be great – we’ll have a popcorn machine and the chocolate ice creams, all the trimmings for a movie theatre.”

The cinema will have just 40 seats and is billed to run regular screenings from September to April, with the possibility of extra showings during the winter tourist season.

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