Information
In April 1957 the Hoyts Skyline Drive-In became the fourth such cinema to open in Brisbane, taking advantage of new projection technologies and increased car ownership. The 17 acres of land it was built on, bordered by Musgrave and Troughton roads, was formerly scrubland and was transformed into what was described in a Courier-Mail article as a ‘lavish playground’. At a cost of £200,000, it contained space for 650 cars and also had a children’s railway line, mini-golf, badminton facilities and a dance floor. The first film screened there was ‘Broken Lance’ along with ‘special cinemascope shorts and newsreels’. The Skyline Drive-In closed in 1985 as the suburban Cineplex theatres began to dominate the industry. The site was later used for a housing development.
Citations
Courier-Mail, 9 April 1957; Australian Drive-Ins, ‘Hoyts Skyline Drive-In, Coopers Plains’ (http://www.drive-insdownunder.com.au/australian/qld_coopersplains.htm), sighted 22 July 2017.
Image Citations
Hoyts Skyline Drive-In, circa 1957. ‘Australian Drive-ins’ (http://www.drive-insdownunder.com.au/australian/qld_coopersplains.htm)
Map References
Qimagery. Greater Brisbane 1960. Scale: 1:16,000.