Diwundrin
Well-known Member
- Location
- Nth Coast NSW Australia
I've just watched a clip about the battle to save the icon of a small country town in Central Queensland.
It has a population of around 300 in an area of 87 sq kms. It has about 8 short streets, and a couple of shops and a pub or two. It's at the crossroads of what passes for highways out there which is why it exists at all.
The only thing Jericho has going for it is the smallest, still operating drive-in theatre in the Southern Hemisphere.
It has 36 car spaces.
I missed the deal that was done but when the proprietor wanted to retire, and who would buy that?... the town got together to keep it running. They've upgraded the equipment to digital, and rigged it up to show TV feeds on the big screen. Big deal you say? Well yes, to them it sure is.
It is the central meeting point that welds the community together. They aren't big enough to entice a club, and a pub isn't big enough or kid friendly enough to support what the drive-in can.
They run movies, and put on 'special' nights. Like the footy finals on live, so that the whole community can gather as a crowd instead of watching it alone in their loungerooms. They put on barbecues as fund raisers to keep it going and get town improvements paid for. They bring all their kids and a few picnic chairs and sit along the rows between the cars so they can have a yarn and laugh together. Hardly anyone sits in their car.
They hook the speakers over the chairs, put their feet up on the esky, drink beer, eat sausage sangas and have a ball hooting at the movies.
No dress code, no joining fee, just a great place for a community to gather and have a night out with their families.
Most grew up with that old drive-in as the centre of their World. It was the only entertainment on for many, no cinema, and no TV back in the 50s nor probably into the 70s way out there. It was their 'window on the World' as kids ... and they still just love it.
All there was of it until recently was a square shed with holes in one wall to project the movies, a screen, and some poles for the speakers in a flat dusty paddock. No food, no cold drinks, no catering at all. A couple of port-a-loos was the 'amenities wing.' It was byo or go without.
Jericho has no scenery to speak of, just their quirky old drive-in, and now they are selling that to tour companies to lure tourist dollars. Good for them! They are saving their town from going the way of many.
They've built a couple of rows of seats on raised platforms at each end of the freshly repainted projection room to hold the contents of a tour coach. The townies provide the barbie, the popcorn, and the atmosphere and the tourists love it.
It's the Australia of the 1950s. Hell yes, I would go to see that.
It has a population of around 300 in an area of 87 sq kms. It has about 8 short streets, and a couple of shops and a pub or two. It's at the crossroads of what passes for highways out there which is why it exists at all.
The only thing Jericho has going for it is the smallest, still operating drive-in theatre in the Southern Hemisphere.
It has 36 car spaces.
I missed the deal that was done but when the proprietor wanted to retire, and who would buy that?... the town got together to keep it running. They've upgraded the equipment to digital, and rigged it up to show TV feeds on the big screen. Big deal you say? Well yes, to them it sure is.
It is the central meeting point that welds the community together. They aren't big enough to entice a club, and a pub isn't big enough or kid friendly enough to support what the drive-in can.
They run movies, and put on 'special' nights. Like the footy finals on live, so that the whole community can gather as a crowd instead of watching it alone in their loungerooms. They put on barbecues as fund raisers to keep it going and get town improvements paid for. They bring all their kids and a few picnic chairs and sit along the rows between the cars so they can have a yarn and laugh together. Hardly anyone sits in their car.
They hook the speakers over the chairs, put their feet up on the esky, drink beer, eat sausage sangas and have a ball hooting at the movies.
No dress code, no joining fee, just a great place for a community to gather and have a night out with their families.
Most grew up with that old drive-in as the centre of their World. It was the only entertainment on for many, no cinema, and no TV back in the 50s nor probably into the 70s way out there. It was their 'window on the World' as kids ... and they still just love it.
All there was of it until recently was a square shed with holes in one wall to project the movies, a screen, and some poles for the speakers in a flat dusty paddock. No food, no cold drinks, no catering at all. A couple of port-a-loos was the 'amenities wing.' It was byo or go without.
Jericho has no scenery to speak of, just their quirky old drive-in, and now they are selling that to tour companies to lure tourist dollars. Good for them! They are saving their town from going the way of many.
They've built a couple of rows of seats on raised platforms at each end of the freshly repainted projection room to hold the contents of a tour coach. The townies provide the barbie, the popcorn, and the atmosphere and the tourists love it.
It's the Australia of the 1950s. Hell yes, I would go to see that.
) But I love the concept and hope it works out well for Jerico and all those who would enjoy a nice & inexpensive family outing.
