In psychology, resilience is defined as the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences. An alternative definition which might be better suited to buildings, is an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
One of the best examples of building resilience in Noosa Shire is the Majestic Theatre in Pomona. For over one hundred years this structure has served the community through adversity and change. It claims to be the oldest operating theatre in Australia and the longest continuously running silent film theatre in the world, which would suggest an unbroken line of the same use in an unaltered building. However, this is far from the case.
The Majestic was built in 1921 as a hall approximately 11 metres wide by 18 metres long, with a small stage at one end and a sprung floor raised on stumps to avoid flooding. Shops were located either side of the entrance, one containing the Majestic Café and later a general store and rear residence, while the other side accommodated at various times, a dentist, radio shop and mechanic. A post-supported bullnose awning over the footpath ran the full width of the façade.
Around 1925 a supper room was added behind one shop and accessed from the hall through three sets of French doors. As the social centre of the town, the hall screened silent movies, and hosted vaudeville productions, dances, concerts, wedding functions, roller skating, boxing and church services. In 1923 the hall was leased to a proprietor who obtained a theatre licence to show silent films accompanied by a pianola, and in 1931, the first talking movies.
Around 1933 when the first lease expired, a second proprietor took over and upgraded the hall to a cinema by building a bio-box for projection equipment centrally above the awning, and a small balcony above the foyer. In the late 1930s the early canvas sling seats were replaced by seating from the Princess Theatre in South Brisbane. The theatre reached its peak of popularity during World War II when locally stationed troops and civilians attending performances. Projectors from the Tivoli Theatre in Brisbane replaced earlier equipment in 1956.
The advent of television in the 1960s seriously affected cinema attendances, with almost half the theatres in Queensland closed by 1971. The Majestic continued screening, but on a restricted basis. In 1973 Ron West was searching for a regional Sunshine Coast theatre to screen the Travelling Film Festival, and its initial screening at the Majestic was such a success that it continued until 1994. Ron and Mandy West purchased the theatre in 1974, and it remained Noosa Shire’s only cinema until1984 when a multi-screen cinema opened in Noosa Junction. The theatre continued screening movies and offset competition from television and the new cinema by operating a video hire outlet from one of the theatre’s shops in the 1980s. The stage was extended progressively from 1979, projection equipment was updated in 1980, and the theatre continued to host live plays, classical concerts and school plays.
In 1985 Ron West sourced a composite organ and had it installed in the theatre. The nucleus was from the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Concord, Sydney, with some pipes from the Empire Theatre in Dunedin, New Zealand, and other components from various churches and theatres. The Wurlitzer console was likely originally from the De Luxe Theatre in Melbourne, later transferred to the Paramount/Lyceum Theatre, also in Melbourne.
Two years later, a tour group of travel agents asked Ron West to screen a nostalgic film, and since he possessed a print of the 1926 classic The Son of the Sheik, he ran that film and accompanied it by playing on the newly installed Wurlitzer organ. Silent movies became so popular that they were shown on a regular basis to school groups and tourists.
In 2006 Pomona Arts Inc., a community group, assumed ownership of the Majestic Theatre and continued to manage the theatre as an all-purpose entertainment venue, screening silent movies every second Saturday, with Ron West as accompanying organist. A major upgrade took place under the new ownership – the building was restumped on steel supports, roof sheeting, interior lining and ceiling lining were replaced, the stage roof was raised, the Green Room floor raised to the height of the stage, sliding doors installed at the back of the stage, a commercial kitchen installed in one of the shops, a snack bar fitted in the foyer, and new moveable seating installed.
Unfortunately, in February 2012 floodwaters inundated the Majestic, destroying the Wurlitzer organ. A replacement 1937 Compton organ originally from the Regal Cinema in South Shields, England, was generously donated to the theatre by the family of the late Brisbane owner. It was painstakingly restored by two local organ enthusiasts and dedicated on 6 July 2019.
In 2020, approaching its centenary, a Conservation Management Plan was commissioned for the Majestic to document its history, assess its significance, and provide policies for its ongoing conservation and management. Around that time, further improvements to the building were installation of solar panels on the roof and air-conditioning to the theatre. Recent improvements have been installation of a bar in one of the former shops, and refurbishment and installation of early illuminated signage
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For over 100 years the Majestic Theatre has adapted to community, economic and technological change, while still providing a valuable community service. From a small community hall and shops, it developed into a silent film cinema with the addition of a projection room and balcony, saw the introduction of talking movies, entertained during the Second World War, had its equipment upgraded, survived the threats of television, multi-screen cinemas and video, had its stage and ancillary rooms extended, reverted to silent films, underwent a major refurbishment, overcame the disaster of flood and loss of an organ, had the organ replaced, now operates on solar energy, with air-conditioning for the comfort of patrons, and continues to thrive as a popular entertainment venue for live and screen performances. Despite those changes, its cultural heritage significance justifies its entry on the Queensland Heritage Register.
The Majestic Theatre is an exemplar for resilient buildings, demonstrating that maintenance and careful adaptation to changing circumstances can retain value for over a century. The principles of sustainability, adaptability, and embodied energy in the conservation of existing buildings show that the alternative of ‘knock down and rebuild’ is not always the best solution.
Pictured: The Majestic Theatre Plans: 1921-1925, 1925-1974, 1974-2006, 2006 – Now
Extracted from Conservation Management Plan – Majestic Theatre Pomona
Laurie Jones Dip Arch QIT FRAIA Heritage Architect
