March 2019 From Tim Read, National President, to all Members: Dear Member The society incorporates as a public company limited by guarantee In an historic change to the operating status of the Society, it has now incorporated as a public company limited by guarantee. Here is some background. From its foundation in 1933 to now,…
DetailsFriends and colleagues are mourning Bruce Leonard as a passionate and committed stalwart of the Australian cinema industry. Leonard, who died at his Sydney home last Wednesday, aged 75, dedicated a large part of his life to the Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers and the Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society (MPIBS) as national secretary/treasurer of…
DetailsTony Burke has retired from the position of Queensland State President after an outstanding 21 years’ service. His successor, Chris Pitcher, has now formally taken up the mantle, and we extend a warm welcome to her. Chris started with Birch, Carroll & Coyle as Assistant Manager of Maroochydore in 1991 when it was a single…
DetailsThe 85th Annual Dinner was held at the Swissotel in Sydney on Wednesday 14th November 2018. Amongst the proceedings, this wonderful night celebrated the successful feature film Ladies in Black, showed a news magazine story from South Australia about the early Australian/English movie, Bitter Springs, then a video of the unvieling of…
DetailsWhen I became National President in 2017, Bruce Leonard gave me a four and half page document, ‘Rules of the Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers’. Bruce first put those rules together in 1992 when he became National Secretary Treasurer – he wrote down the rules as he understood them to be. Before then no document…
DetailsJan entered the WA Cinema industry in 1965 as an usherette at the Metro Theatre, William Street, Perth. Her duties included showing patrons to their seats, checking there was no smoking and ensuring that everyone stood for the National Anthem. In 1971 she progressed to box office clerk. Working in the cinema in those times…
DetailsIn 1978 I began my employment with “Tasmanian Drive-In Theatre Holdings” later to become “Village Cinemas”. At the time the Hobart Cinema Complex consisted of only 2 cinemas. I started as an Usherette, working split shifts doing 4 hours in the day, having a break then coming back for 4 hours of an evening. I…
DetailsDavid Kilderry enjoyed attending cinemas as early as he can remember. His local cinema in Reservoir was Cinema North which included a crying room and some of his earliest cinema memories are from this private glassed in viewing room at the rear of the theatre thanks to his noisy younger brothers and sister. The family…
DetailsBrian Pearson was born on 25th May 1929 in Adelaide.When he was nine years old, because of his interest in films and picture theatres he was given a toy Japanese projector for Christmas. Following a visit to the Regent Theatre Adelaide, a lifetime of passion for theatres and in particular Hoyts Regent Theatres was formed. In…
DetailsMost Projectionists toil away out of the public gaze, but not our QLD Cinema Pioneer of the Year for 2018. Uniquely, Ben would go on to not only find himself the projectionist, but at the same time the Theatre owner and also appearing on screen in a film he was screening. And it all happened…
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