The Avalon Theatre is a historic former Temperance Hall, theatre and cinema in

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

History

A ceremony for the foundation stone of a Temperance Hall was held on 21 March 1889 by the Tasmanian Temperance Alliance, which included members of the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

. Opening 1 May 1890, the Temperance Hall was used for religious gatherings, tea drinking, live entertainment and family-focused activities. Notably, the Temperance Hall was used for meetings surrounding

Women's suffrage in Australia Women's suffrage in Australia was one of the early achievements of Australian democracy. Following the progressive establishment of male suffrage in the Australian colonies from the 1840s to the 1890s, an organised push for women's enfranchi ...

and visited by

Jessie Ackermann Jessie Ackermann (July 4, 1857 – March 31, 1951) was a social reformer, feminist, journalist, writer and traveller. She was the second round-the-world missionary appointed by the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WWCTU), becoming in ...

of the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

, who spoke at the hall in 1892. As influence of the

Temperance movement in Australia The temperance movement has been active in Australia. As with the movement internationally, in Australia it has sought to curb the drinking of alcohol. The temperance movement had some success in the early twentieth century, although from the Se ...

waned following

The Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the venue was increasingly used for dances, skating and as a cinema projecting

silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...

. The hall was eventually sold in 1922. Over the following decade, the venue operated as the Bijou Theatre showcasing pantomimes, boxing, travelling theatre productions and live music. Although the theatre was popular, the operators were allured by the larger profit margins found in cinema exhibition. Established by the Avalon Theatre Co Ltd, the independent theatre was remodelled and reopened as Hobart’s first talkie theatre, the Avalon Theatre on 11 March 1932. The venue changed operators to Tasmanian Amusements Pty Ltd in 1934. A

Western Electric The Western Electric Company was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company officially founded in 1869. A wholly owned subsidiary of American Telephone & Telegraph for most of its lifespan, it served as the primary equipment ma ...

Mirrophonic sound system was installed at the cinema in 1937. Commencing with ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'', it became the city's only

70mm 70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...

theatre in 1966. The Avalon was taken over by Village Cinemas in July 1969 and closed in November 1976, coinciding with the opening of their new West End Twin theatre on Collins Street. The Avalon operated as theatre for over 86 years, then as a Danny Bourke Electrical appliance store for over 30 years, closing in 2009.

Brunacci Avalon Market

Opening in February 2013, an indoor market called the ''Brunacci Avalon Market'' was held at the premises each Saturday and Sunday. The market permanently closed in September 2017.

Contemporary use

The Avalon Theatre featured in Open House Hobart programming in 2018. The same year, the venue was used for concerts by House of Vnholy, Chrysta Bell and

Rebekah Del Rio Rebekah Del Rio (born 10 July 1967) is an American singer/songwriter and actress from Chula Vista, California. The San Diego Union-Tribune voted Del Rio one of the "Top 10 Singers in San Diego", after which she moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to f ...

as part of

Dark Mofo Dark Mofo is the winter version of the MONA FOMA festival, also held in Tasmania. With many of its events taking place at night, it celebrates the darkness of the southern winter solstice and features many musical acts, large scale light insta ...

celebrations.

Hillsong Church Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a global Evangelical charismatic movement, charismatic Christian megachurch based in Australia. The original church was established in 1983 as Hills Christian Life Centre, in Baulkham Hills, New ...

purchased the heritage-listed theatre for $2.55 million in 2020. The theatre underwent renovations commencing in 2022.

References

{{Cinematic and theatrical buildings in Tasmania 1890 establishments in Australia Buildings and structures in Hobart Cinemas in Hobart Former cinemas Community centres in Australia Culture in Hobart History of Tasmania Theatres completed in 1890 Women's suffrage in Australia

History

Brunacci Avalon Market

Contemporary use

See also

References