Majestic Picture Theatre, Malanda
| Majestic Picture Theatre | |
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Majestic Picture Theatre, 2006
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| Location | 1 Eacham Place, Malanda, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 17°21′12″S 145°35′34″E / 17.3534°S 145.5929°ECoordinates: 17°21′12″S 145°35′34″E / 17.3534°S 145.5929°E |
| Design period | 1919 – 1930s (interwar period) |
| Built | 1929 |
| Architect | Bob Hassall |
| Official name: Majestic Picture Theatre, Majestic Theatre | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 5 February 2010 |
| Reference no. | 601743 |
| Significant period | 1929 – ongoing |
| Significant components | cinema screen |
| Builders | Albie Halfpapp |
 Location of Majestic Picture Theatre in Queensland
Location of Majestic Picture Theatre in Queensland
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Majestic Picture Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre at 1 Eacham Place, Malanda, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Bob Hassall and built in 1929 by Albie Halfpapp. It is also known as Majestic Theatre. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2010.
In 2016, the theatre is still in use for films and claims to be Australia's longest running commercial cinema.
The Majestic Picture Theatre was built in 1929 and is associated with one of Malanda's prominent settler families, the English family.
James English, widely acknowledged as the "founder of Malanda", migrated to North Queensland from the Lismore district of New South Wales in 1907 in search of cedar. Although the abundance of timber on the Atherton Tablelands made the move profitable, it was the Queensland Government's 1907 Group Settlement Act that enabled English to take full advantage of the surrounding resources and establish himself and his family in the region. This Act permitted groups of selectors (including family groups or acquaintances) to apply for adjoining blocks prior to an area being opened for selection. The rainforest around Malanda was opened up under this scheme, and the English family was one of the first groups to take up land. James English established the Princes Sawmill near Malanda Falls to process timber cut in the area as farms were cleared. This mill supplied timber for many buildings in the Malanda township such as commercial shops in English Street, the Malanda Hotel and, in 1929, the Majestic Picture Theatre. English also established "The Jungle" an important tourist attraction in Malanda during the 1920s.
Malanda expanded rapidly during the interwar period. Local dairy farmers successfully agitated for their own branch of the Atherton Tablelands Cooperative Butter and Bacon Company in 1919.
Patrick "Paddy" English decided to look beyond the family's sawmilling, dairying, farming and hotel activities and pursue an emerging sensation in public entertainment: the "Cinematographe" (moving pictures). English opened Malanda's first permanent picture theatre on 16 May 1925, variously known as the Malanda Theatre, the Malanda Hall and English's Hall.
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