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Ozone Theatres

Ozone Theatres Ltd,formerlyOzone Picture Companyand thenOzone Amusements Ltd,was acinemachain based inAdelaide,South Australia,from 1911 until 1951, when it sold its theatres toHoyts.It was founded by Hugh Waterman and friends, and was jointly run by him and seven sons, including Clyde Waterman and Sir Ewen McIntyre Waterman.S.A. Theatresand Ozone Theatres (Broken Hill) were subsidiary companies, and the chain was referred to as the Ozone circuit. It was one of two major film exhibitors in the state from after World War I until the late 1940s, the other beingD. Clifford Theatres Limited.After 1938, Ozone dominated the market.

History

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Hugh McIntyre Waterman, astationer,founded Ozone Picture Company, later renamed Ozone Amusements Ltd,[1]in the seaside suburb (formerly a separate town) ofSemaphore[2]in 1911, along with four other residents, Les and Horace Warn, Jim Woods, and Chris Flaherty.[1]They screened films inSemaphore Town Hallon two nights a week,[a]and later four nights a week atPort Adelaide Town Hall.Apart their first purpose-built indoor cinema inPort Adelaidein 1913, called the Ozone, until 1923 they showed films in existing available halls,[2]includingUnley Town Hall.[5]

There were a few competitors at that time, but as the era ofsilent filmscame to an end around 1929, Ozone and Dan Clifford's Star were the two surviving and dominating owners of cinemas in the suburbs of Adelaide.[2]The main competitor to Ozone wasD. Clifford Theatres,which began as Star in 1917[6]and continued to operate as the Clifford Circuit until a few years after Dan Clifford's death in 1942, whenGreater Unionbought his cinemas.[7]The two companies dominated the market in South Australia from after World War I until the late 1940s, but after 1938, Ozone was bigger.[1]

In 1924 Ozone built its second picture theatre in Fussell Place[8]inAlberton,next to Alberton Railway Station[9]and right next door to Waterman's own residence.[2]In 1927, the cinemas were showing matinee performances as well as in the evenings.[10]A theatre atEnfieldfollowed, and in 1929 Semaphore Town Hall was converted into a cinema.[5]

By 1928, Ozone Theatres Ltd had bought a number of cinemas from National Theatres (aka National Pictures[11]), in the Adelaide suburbs ofProspectandMarryatville,and theWonderviewandVictor Theatresand at the seaside town ofVictor Harbor.They also acquired leases of cinemas atNorth AdelaideandNorwood.[12][5][1]

Adelaide architectChris A. Smithdesigned nearly all of Ozone's cinemas during the 1920s. In the early 1930s, the company started using Adelaide designer and interior specialist E. Grant Walsh, but after appointingF. Kenneth Milneto rebuild the Victor Theatre at Victor Harbor after a fire in 1934, he was appointed to design all of their cinemas in the state. In about 1942, new construction was halted by World War II.[1]

Hugh Waterman's eldest son Ewen joined the family business in 1928.[12]Before November 1934, the family created the subsidiary company S.A. Theatres Ltd, for the purpose of taking on the lease of theTheatre Royalin the city, and for creating the Chinese Gardens open-air theatre at theExhibition GroundsonNorth Terrace[13](opened in November 1934,[14]Adelaide's first outdoortalkietheatre[15]). Both theatres would show the sameMGMfilms at both venues.[16]

In April 1936, 25 years after entering the cinema industry, Hugh Waterman was managing director of three companies: Ozone Theatres Ltd, S.A. Theatres, and Ozone Theatres (Broken Hill).[17]Ewen and his six brothers developed the companies over 20 years. Brother Clyde became joint managing director in 1938.[12]Ewen was managing director of S.A. Theatres in August 1939.[18]Keith Waterman managed the Ozone atPort Pirie[19](formerly the Alhambra; acquired in 1930).[5]Hugh had seven sons, the others being Donald, Laurie, Norman, and Douglas, all of whom had executive positions in the business.[5][b]The company became the major promoter ofBritish filmsin Australia.[12]

Ozone Glenelg, opened on 25 November 1937,[20]was considered the chain'sflagship.[2]In the same year, they acquired the Lyric Picture Palace inMurray Bridge,renaming it Ozone Theatre.[21]In November 1937, the Ozone Sport and Social Club first annual picnic was held inBelair National Park.[22]In 1938, the company employed over 300 people.[13]

The chain expanded interstate. In March 1938 it had suburban theatres atGlenelg,Port Adelaide, Semaphore, Alberton, Enfield, Prospect, and Marryatville; country cinemas at Port Pirie, Victor Harbor,Murray Bridge,andRenmark;and interstate atBroken Hill(Lenard's Theatre[17]),New South Wales,and atMildura, Victoria.In that month S.A. Theatres struck a deal with theGreater Wondergraph Companyworth £200,000, to purchase assets which included theCivicandYork Theatresin the city,[13]as well as the Wondergraph Unley and theWondergraph Goodwood(for some time called the Star, underD. Clifford Theatres). The purchase of the Wondergraph assets in 1939 made the group one of the principal cinema chains in the country.[19]

In August 1947, S.A. Theatres sold theCivic TheatreinHindley StreettoGreater Union,who were leasing the theatre at the time.[23][24]

By 1949, Ozone Theatres ran 34 cinemas in SA and interstate Adelaide suburban cinemas included Port Adelaide, Semaphore,Thebarton,Glenelg, and the Windsor Theatres atBrighton,Lockleys,Hilton,andSt Morris.[2]

In 1948 Ewen resigned his roles with Waterman Brothers Ltd and its associated companies.[12]

In 1951 the Waterman family sold most of their Ozone theatres toHoyts,[2]with the new company known as Hoyts-Ozone Theatres Ltd.[20]

Impact

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According to the South Australian Heritage Council (2022), Ozone Theatres "shaped public experiences and expectations of cinema-going during the interwar period, establishing high standards for film exhibition and introducing numerous innovations in architectural expression, technology and comfort, especially during the sound film era after 1929".[1]

Cinemas after sale

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Semaphore Cinema,originally in the town hall, was expanded and extensively refurbished in 1929 inArt Decostyle, eventually closing in May 1960.[25]Ozone Alberton was closed in 1961.[9]

The Hoyts Ozone Theatre in Murray Bridge closed in 1969.[21]

Ozone Glenelg becameGlenelg Cinema Centrewhen it was expanded and operated byWallis Cinemas,finally closing in 2009.[20]

The Ozone Marryatville has been fully restored and is now theRegal Theatre,within the suburb now namedKensington Park.

The Victor Harbor cinema had a seating capacity of 910 at the time of its takeover.[26]It was renamed as Ozone Theatre, with its vertical signage on the facade simply "Ozone".[1]After further changes of hands and renovations, it was renamedVicta Cinemain 1995 and converted into twin screens.[26]In 2005 it changed hands and underwent further renovations, while retaining the Art Deco fittings, and in 2020 was acquired by theCity of Victor Harbor.[27]It has beenheritage-listed.It was featured in a photographic exhibition calledNow Showing... Cinema Architecture in South Australiaheld at theHawke Centre's Kerry Packer Civic Gallery in April/May 2024.[28]

Ewen Waterman

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Sir Ewen McIntyre Waterman was secretary of the South Australian Theatrical Proprietors' Association in 1937; president of the South Australian Motion Picture Exhibitors' Association in 1944; and vice-president of the Federal Cinema Exhibitors' Council of Australia in 1947. After resigning from the companies associated with his brothers, he moved on to internationally-based posts relating to theAustralian wool industry,and was knighted for his services to the pastoral industry in 1963.[12]

Footnotes

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  1. ^This was afterWondergraph's outdoor cinema, the Picturedrome, was established in Semaphore in December 1910,[3]but before the newly-built indoor Wondergraph was opened in May 1920.[4]
  2. ^See 1934 advertisement for photos.[16]

References

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  1. ^abcdefgSouth Australian Heritage Council (25 November 2022)."Summary of state heritage place: Victa Cinema (former Ozone Theatre)"(PDF).
  2. ^abcdefg"Hugh Waterman and sons extend the Ozone cinema chain from Adelaide's Semaphore in 1911 to eastern states".AdelaideAZ.Retrieved17 December2022.
  3. ^"Wondergraph at Semaphore".The Register (Adelaide).Vol. LXXV, no. 20, 007. South Australia. 26 December 1910. p. 8.Retrieved20 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^"Semaphore Wondergraph: palatial new theatre opened".Daily Herald.Vol. XI, no. 3175. South Australia. 24 May 1920. p. 6.Retrieved21 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^abcde"First showed pictures 26 years ago".The Advertiser (Adelaide).South Australia. 15 April 1936. p. 23.Retrieved25 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^Wolfenden, Peter."South Australia: Capital City Adelaide".SA Cinemas.Cinema And Theatre Historical Society of Australia Inc.Retrieved18 December2022.
  7. ^"Dan Clifford, starting as newsboy/bookmaker, builds his classy Star circuit of Adelaide film theatres from 1917".AdelaideAZ.Retrieved5 December2022.
  8. ^"Ozone, Alberton".CAARP: Cinema and Audience Research Project.Retrieved17 December2022.
  9. ^ab"Ozone Alberton in Adelaide, AU".Cinema Treasures.Retrieved17 December2022.
  10. ^"Ozone Theatres: Port and Semaphore".The Advertiser (Adelaide).South Australia. 9 July 1927. p. 7.Retrieved17 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^"National Pictures".News (Adelaide).Vol. X, no. 1, 419. South Australia. 31 January 1928. p. 2 (Home edition).Retrieved29 April2024– via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^abcdefAndré, Roger (11 December 2012)."Waterman, Sir Ewen McIntyre (1901–1982)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.ANU.Retrieved17 December2022.This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 18, (Melbourne University Press), 2012
  13. ^abc"£200,000 deal in theatre properties".The Advertiser (Adelaide).South Australia. 31 March 1938. p. 20.Retrieved25 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^"Gala premiere of new theatre".News (Adelaide).Vol. XXIII, no. 3, 545. South Australia. 29 November 1934. p. 9.Retrieved25 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^"Adelaide to have outdoor talkie theatre".The Advertiser (Adelaide).South Australia. 27 October 1934. p. 14.Retrieved25 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ab"Advertising".The Advertiser (Adelaide).South Australia. 29 November 1934. p. 2.Retrieved26 December2022– via National Library of Australia.Includes photos of Hugh Waterman and all of his sons.
  17. ^ab"25 years in film business".The Recorder.No. 11, 555. South Australia. 18 April 1936. p. 2.Retrieved25 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^"Adolph Zukor in Adelaide".The Advertiser (Adelaide).South Australia. 15 August 1939. p. 18.Retrieved25 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ab"More Waterman theatres".The Recorder.No. 12, 160. South Australia. 31 March 1938. p. 1.Retrieved25 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^abc"Glenelg Cinema Centre in Adelaide, AU".Cinema Treasures.Retrieved17 December2022.
  21. ^ab"Rise and fall of the late Ozone Theatre".The Murray Valley Standard.1 July 2018.Retrieved17 December2022.Extracts from Cinema Record – Cinema and Theatre Historical Society Inc. Issue 55 Edition 2-2007 pages 11-13
  22. ^"Ozone Theatres annual picnic [B 68542]"(photo + text).State Library of South Australia.14 November 1937.Retrieved17 December2022.
  23. ^"S. A. Theatre deal".The Age.No. 28801. Victoria, Australia. 16 August 1947. p. 4.Retrieved24 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  24. ^"Civic Theatre sold to Greater Union".The Advertiser (Adelaide).Vol. 90, no. 27725. South Australia. 16 August 1947. p. 9.Retrieved24 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  25. ^"Semaphore Cinema in Adelaide, AU".Cinema Treasures.Retrieved17 December2022.
  26. ^abRoe, Ken."Victa Cinema in Victor Harbor, AU".Cinema Treasures.Retrieved28 April2024.
  27. ^"History".Victa Cinema.24 November 1923.Retrieved28 April2024.
  28. ^Meegan, Genevieve (19 April 2024)."'Now showing' – celebrating Adelaide's cinema heyday ".InReview.Retrieved28 April2024.

Further reading

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