Sun Picture Gardens placed on heritage register

14/9/95

One of the oldest picture gardens built in Australia has been placed on the State Register of Heritage Places.

Heritage Minister Richard Lewis said the Sun Picture Gardens in Broome had played a very special role in the development of the town and would now be subject to the full protection of the Heritage of Western Australia Act.

"The place is a rare example of a purpose built picture garden which is still in operation," Mr Lewis said.

Broome's tropical climate dictated the design of the theatre built by local master pearler Ted Hunter in 1916.

Architect Claude Hawkes prepared plans for a three-sided, timber-framed structure with a high twin-peaked roof, leaving the fourth side open to the movie screen and the elements.

The half-open air theatre has a timber verandah, lattice screens, corrugated iron-clad walls and roof and is typical of the character of Carnarvon Street which is central to Broome's Chinatown.

Mr Lewis said the site once belonged to the Yamasaki family, who owned an emporium and imported Asian foodstuffs, clothing and household goods.

"When Ted Hunter purchased the site in 1916, Broome already had two picture show venues at the Continental Gardens Hotel and the Roebuck Bay Hotel," he said.

"However, both closed within two years and the Sun Picture Gardens became the town's sole theatre.

"As it was nearly 80 years ago, the Sun Picture Gardens remains an integral and distinctive part of that unique lifestyle which makes Broome so popular."

The Minister said the theatre's history was as interesting as some of the movies screened there.

"Until 1967, when anti-discrimination laws were introduced, seating at the Sun Picture Gardens had been allocated according to a person's race," he said.

"The theatre's patronage suffered after the introduction of videos in the 1970s and it was forced to close in 1981."

English entrepreneur Lord Alistair McAlpine bought the theatre in 1982 and its doors were opened again the following year.

Mr Lewis said the current owners, who had operated the business since 1987, had commenced a conservation and restoration program to guide future work on the building.

"The property contributes greatly to the community's identity and it is fitting that the theatre is again a popular venue amongst moviegoers in Broome," he said.

The Sun Picture Gardens is also identified by the National Trust of Australia as contributing to the Chinatown Conservation Area.

Media contact: Bronwyn Hillman 222 9595, 221 1377 or 480 5125 (pgr).