The construction of the View-Way Drive in theatre in three months and one day has set an Australian time record and beaten the previous record by 8 days. The managing direction of Drive In Pty Ltd and Ace Group of companies Mr John Pye said in Kalgoorlie yesterday.
Mr Pye made a flying visit to Kalgoorlie/Boulder to inspect the work and make arrangements for the opening night. Now definitely set for September 24th. He said the previous construction record was the three months and nine days taken to complete the Lakeway Drive-in in Perth. Work commenced on the View-Way site in Oswald Street on June 23. “Despite one of the wettest Goldfields winters on record, local tradesmen and workers have a marvellous job, combining quality and speed” Mr Pye said.
A total of 25,000 square yards of bitumen car ramps have been laid. Finishing touches remaining to be carried out include the surfacing of the huge screen. The screen is presented so that its back is presented to the last rays of the setting sun
The Viewway Drive-In opened on 24th September 1958 with “Magnificent Matador”, and “Don’t Trust Your Husband”. Opening night was invitation only ,the following night was for the general public(same programme). The Viewway Drive-In closed on 1st August 1999.
From Mr Pye – I can well remember one of my chaps ringing from Kalgoorlie: ´Mr Pye, there’s been a cloudburst up here. All the roads are awash, there’s four feet of water on all the corners. Don’t you think I could close the drive-in down tonight? No-one could possibly get here. If they did their cars would be swept away.’
I said: ´So, that’s the way it is? If anyone turns up, even yourself, put your own car up on the ramps and the car of any staff who turn up, and turn all the lights on if there’s town lighting, turn on the auxiliary plant and light the place up, and even if no-one else comes, put the whole show on.’
´Why?’ he said, ´It’ll be a waste of time and it will cost us $300 quite apart from the staff wages.’
´Put it on,’ I said, ´And tomorrow morning the whole town will be talking about those silly idiots who put on a show on in the middle of a cloud-burst. And from then on they’ll never have to worry whether the show will go on or not: from then on they’ll know it’s on. They only have to get there, no matter what the elements are like. But put the show on and let me know how you get on.’
At half past ten he rang me to say he didn’t know how they got there, but 37 cars turned up, paid for admission and thought it was marvellous in the drenching, tearing rain, with the wind blowing all over the place and the whole area saturated. I suppose the young bloods decided that they could boast about it the next morning – how they went to the stupid drive-in in the middle of a cloud-burst!
On 5 October 1983, a hardtop cinema, seating 344, was opened on the same site, sharing the bio-box, the concession and the toilets, but screening different programmes from the drive-in: often a film would be shown first in the hard-top, then in the drive-in. The drive-in closed in 1986, but opened again quite soon, and till 1999 both continued, the hard-top screening two sessions each day, and the drive-in screening one session each day.
Photo Arthur Renton
Moya Sharp
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What a wonderful blast from the past! I worked for Ace Theatres in Perth from 1979 until 1990 and I knew John Pye and his family, I paid Accounts for the group including the Viewway. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Moya
I remember the drive in well. My family lived in Frank st. on the corner of Oswald St. and we always had a crowd watching the screen,even though we couldn’t hear anything. That was before they grew trees and stopped all that. I did go as a paying customer eventually.
Thanks for the memories Moya.
my father built the vieway and I remember going to the first opening nite Dads name Tiny timewell
Hello, I have a story for all. The Population Health building was not there when I lived there. It was a brick house and we could sit in my parents bedroom to see the movie that we could not hear. I still have a picture of that place. But I have to say that this town has grown so much that I feel lost. The town I lived was very small, and if you heard the siren go you knew there was a cave in. My father and brothers worked in the mine. There use to be a little general store not to far from the house as I use to go there many times with the empty bottles..My memory is not what it use to be. But there are times I feel that I am back there and miss those days so much. I was a child then and saw the black and white movie with Vincent Price. That was the 1st movie that scared my pants. I remember Mr. Timewell who build the Drive-in as this was a small town after all. Not sure if any of the kids are on here, but we was the Dutch family living in the brick house.
Hi Dinny I would love to see a copy of your photograph. The town has indeed grown a lot even in the time I have been here.