Australia's first American style drive-in cinema opened at Burwood in Victoria on 17 February, 1954 with a capacity for 660 cars. It would be the first of 330 drive-ins across Australia. By 1956, drive-in cinemas were opening in suburban Sydney. Drive-ins were a big hit with families and young people.
Matraville Star - 1958
The Matraville Drive-in Cinema was opened in August 1958 by the Star Drive-In Property Ltd, named Matraville Star Drive-in. In 1971 it was re-named
Skyline Matraville Drive-In. At the time, it was the closest drive-in to the Sydney CBD.
You could park outside along the chain-link fence, which as teenagers we tried doing, and watch whatever movie was on the screen. But it was not very satisfying, not just because you lacked sound, but you lacked the whole atmosphere of the drive-in experience including the snack bar and wandering around the grounds with other cool movie-goers. So eventually, you paid the admission price and drove onto your ramped parking spot and hooked you car up to the bloody great metal speaker that hung inside on the partly open passenger side window.
An urban myth had it that many people entered free-of-charge hidden in the boot of the car. The management, however, had pretty good security systems and a guy with a pencil torch gave your vehicle a good going over before your entered. If anyone got ripped off, it was some of the customers. In those days of 1960s low youth wages, being denied a family, an under-18, or student discount was a big deal and it seemed ticket sellers were always questioning their discount bona-fides.
Exciting Night Out
With not a lot of entertainment available to youth in Sydney in the 1960s, a night out at the drive-in was an exciting experience where you could be entertained
without alcohol. A major part of the attraction was the drive-in's connection to American style and fashion. The movies tended to be from Hollywood and not likely to
be art-house or foreign language productions. The kiosk sold American style fast food - hot dogs and Coca Cola, for instance. Before the film started and during
intermission, rock and pop music played over loud speakers and you could enjoy socialising and flirting with other film-goers and show off your latest fashions
especially Levi or Lee denim jeans.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the drive-in was showing theF latest release, big budget movies. I remember the last movie I saw there was the American gold rush/western musical Paint Your Wagon. As the 1970s progressed the standard of films declined to generally include low-budget, sex-ploitation, horror and B-grade fare.
1984 Closure
According to the Randwick City Council's website, it closed with "no fanfare" on 8th August, 1984 to a small audience sitting in only nine cars. The
last movie shown was The Exterminator starring Robert Ginty; an American vigilante action film.
Dead End Drive-in
In 1985, the drive-site was used to film a movie called Dead End Drive-In. It is an futuristic Australian dystopian-themed action film about a teenage couple
trapped in a drive-in theater that has become a concentration camp for outcast youths by their authoritarian government.
They are placated with new wave music, junk food, drugs, exploitation movies, and racism. Ned Manning and Natalie McCurry star as the captive couple, and Peter
Whitford as the manager of the drive-in. Brian Trenchard-Smith, an Aussie adventure specialist, was the director.
Waste, fires are spread throughout the grounds, bizarre graffiti, and partially wheeled wrecked cars, give the site an end of world look.
The tag line of the film's promo says:
'Getting in was easy ... Getting out is hell on wheels.' It's got gratuitous nudity, sex, violence and smashed cars.
It is a cross between a 1980s teen flick and a dark, sinister and transgressive R-rated work. Opinion on its quality is divided. Some say it is an
under-rated Australian cinematic classic, others say it is schlock.
The full version of Dead End Drive-In is still available on YouTube and you can see the full movie by searching for it, the link below will take you the official trailer for the movie:
Once filming had been completed, the drive-in buildings were demolished and the site levelled, intended for housing development. Maybe my memory is wrong, but to me the site remains vacant and overgrown. It is a pity the drive-in is still not operating because Dead End Drive-In would be the ultimate drive-in movie to watch there.
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