Australian Open Drive-in Theatres

Drive-in theatres (also known as drive-in cinemas or drive-ins) were once very popular in Australia. Although considered an American invention there is evidence of outdoor cinemas in Western Australia where some patrons attended in their cars as far back as 1938, and it is possible that these facilities may even predate the first American-style drive-in theatre.

The first American-style drive-in theatre to open in Australia was the Skyline in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood on 18 February 1954. It was the first of 330 drive-in theatres that would open across Australia.

Many have since closed with the large amounts of land taken up by drive-ins being sold off to build houses or shopping centres, although in recent years a number of drive-in theatres have reopened or expanded the number of screens available.

In the 1990s, the Coburg Drive-in Theatre in Melbourne was expanded to three screens, as was the Dromana Drive-in Theatre. In more recent times the former Dandenong Panoramic Drive-in, in Victoria, has been reopened as the Lunar Drive-in Theatre and now has four screens making it Australia's largest drive-in theatre with the most screen choice.

In 2002 the Rodeo Drive-in at Mareeba, near Cairns, re-opened, with the Tivoli Drive-in near Ipswich re-opening in 2008.

The longest running Drive In Theatres in Western Australia that is still open today is located in Dongara. This opened in 1967 and still operates every summer, the projector has been upgraded to digital to show the latest movies.

Along with a few metropolitan operations, there are a number of drive-in theatres serving remote communities such as Jericho in Queensland.

The remaining drive-ins provide a glimpse of what was a very popular pastime in the 1950s and 1960s. The following is a listing of Australia's remaining open drive-in theatres. It includes portable operations in which patrons can either drive or sit down to see a movie outdoors.

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Wikipedia