Saraton Theatre is a heritage-listed theatre at 95 Prince Street, Grafton, Clarence Valley Council, New South Wales, Australia. It now operates both as a cinema and a venue for live performances. The original 1926 building was designed by F. J. Board and built by J. Walters, while the 1940 interior was designed by George Rae and built by Goddard & Goddard. The property is owned by Notaras Bros Entertainment Pty Ltd. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 9 June 2000.
History Timeline of the theatre 1905: John (Ioannis) Notaras arrived from the island of Kythera (Greece) and joined his father who conducted a food retail shop. 1908: Tony (Anthony) Notaras arrived from Kythera and joined his brother and father. Unknown date: The brothers open a cafe in Grafton.Cork, 1998 1926: Saraton Theatre is opened by the Mayor, Ald. W. T. Robinson, on 17 July. He praises the Notaras brothers by saying that the occasion only went to show that there were at least some men in this district who appreciate its value and were prepared to put in all they could to make it a better place to live in. He hoped it would be an example to many others who were reluctant to spend their money on progressive ventures to make this part of the State more attractive from the point of view of up-to-date institutions.Grafton Examiner, 19 July 1926 1932: A fire on the stage on 20 August damaged the floor, roof of the stage, (loudspeaker?) baffle board, screen and curtains.Board of Fire Commissioners 1932: 18 November. T. J. Dorgan conducted the theatre, but it was not being used at the time. 1933: The theatre was still not used as a cinema, but dances and socials were being held in it. 1935: By 20 June a sound screen had been installed (following the fire of 1932), and the equipment in use was made by RCA (Radio Corporation of America). 1937: By 18 May the screen and projection/sound equipment had been removed. 1938/9: No films were believed to be shown, but the theatre was used for dances, concerts, and social functions. 1939: On 3 September, World War II was declared. 1940: The interior is completely remodelled to produce an ultra modern luxury theatre, on the lines of the metropolitan picture shows, with a glittering foyer laid down in rich pile carpets, and the decorative and lighting scheme blends harmoniously in cream and green, with a touch of blue and gold, while the stage is draped in gorgeous curtains, and fluted columns and frescoes give a finishing touch to a splendid interior.Grafton Examiner, 10 July 1940 A detailed description of the decorative colour scheme and lighting is given in the same newspaper for 6 July 1940. It notes also that the cost was almost £4000. The architect was George Rae, from Brisbane. The opening ceremony was performed by Sir Earle Page, MHR, who congratulated T.J. Dorgan Pty Ltd and Messrs Notaras Bros on their enterprise. He emphasised how important it was to provide entertainment during times of war. Although World War II had only been progressing for less than one year, Page gave three principles on how to win the war: The third and most important [principle]of all is to keep up the spirit of the people. Men and women are better able to work hard and continuously if they are entertained. At the front in the last war [World War I] we found the lighter side relieved the tension, kept the men's nerves from snapping. I am sure that in these times we will think clearly, work better, plan straighter if we mix work with amusement, and therefore I am glad to open this place of entertainmentGrafton Examiner, 10 July 1940 1944: On 10 May another fire occurred on the stage. The screen had to be replaced, as also was the curtains. 1951: New South Wales has 295 country towns containing 385 enclosed picture theatres 1955: A Brakelite plastic, wide screen, suitable for Cinemascope presentation, was installed on 27 April. 1963: The year by which television had arrived at most of the country areas. Around this time or just after, T. G. Dorgan closed the Saraton. 1982: 10 December. The Saraton is reopened after the auditorium has been repainted, and general refurbishment. 1989: On 13 January a fire, allegedly caused by an employee, destroyed the equipment in the projection box. Awaiting repairs and purchase of new equipment, films were temporarily shown in 16 mm from the front of the dress circle, commencing on 26 January. Since that fire projection of films (on a 35 mm projector with continuous platter system of feeding film) has continued. 1999: New South Wales country towns have only 13 picture theatres still operating in recognisable condition out of the 385 that were operating in 1951. The Saraton is one of those thirteen.
T. J. Dorgan
T. J. Dorgan conducted a small independent chain of picture theatres in the north-east towns of the state. It appears that he quite ruthlessly maintained his territory. One single-cinema operator who opened in opposition to Dorgan in Lismore explained how he had been squeezed out and closed down by, he claimed, T. J. Dorgan. Dorgan, he alleged, colluded with the film distributors to restrict product to the newcomer. Dorgan appeared to pursue similar business methods to those then conducted by the major exhibitors. They would arrange to lease an opposition theatre when the former operators were forced to close, either because of a price-war or of an inability to obtain films. They might then close it down, leaving it on hold for future use if demand, in their view, warranted its reopening.
This may be what happened to the Saraton. The timber building known as the Fitzroy Theatre opened as a skating rink (1889), was converted to a cinema in 1924 but the license was temporarily revoked in 1928 and it finally closed as a cinema late in the 1930s. Perhaps the Notaras Brothers attempted to beat Dorgan at his own game because, as well as building the Saraton, they gained control of the Fitzroy in the early 1930s. But both were leased to Dorgan who had also operated the Kinema (licensed in 1913). In a booklet on Grafton, published in 1931 (in possession of the Grafton Historical Society), Dorgan advertised that he controlled the Saraton, the Fitzroy, the Garden Theatre and the Prince Edward at South Grafton. It was only after the closure of the Fitzroy that Dorgan perhaps decided to reopen the Saraton, it also being the only well-built substantial theatre in town suitable for upgrading into a first class venue. It was Dorgan's architect who was selected to design the complete doing-over of the interior of the Saraton.
George Rae, architect
From personal communication with Mr. Les Tod, George Rae related that he had designed about 30 picture theatres in Queensland and ones at Murwillumbah, Casino, Cabramatta, Ballina, and Grafton. Amongst his other works he designed a number of Art Deco styled Commonwealth Bank branches in Queensland, and executed work for Myers stores at Tweed Heads, Cowra and Tamworth.
Summary of significance
In summary, Grafton and South Grafton possessed, at some period, at least seven theatres that were being individually used for the showing of movies. For a time four were operating simultaneously. Only the Saraton Theatre remains as representative and symbol of the time when attending a picture theatre was the principal passive recreational activity of the general population (with, on average, every Australian attending around 20 times per year).
The Saraton Theatre is representative of Greek immigrant interest in operating cinemas in NSW from 1911 to 1960 approximately.Source: K. Cork, 1998, Chapters 1 &2 The immigration of Greek nationals to NSW showed marked differences in economic sustainability for those who came before 1950 compared to those who arrived during the mass immigration period following World War II. Prior to World War II the numbers of Greek immigrants were small and followed a system of chain migration. That is, one or two members of a family arrived, worked for other Greeks, set themselves up in some form of business, then sponsored one or more members of the family or friends, to come out and work in that business. Businesses were not set up to service other Greeks but to serve the Anglo-Celtic population.
These immigrants frequently went to country towns to set themselves up in a small catering type of business - food shops or cafes that prepared Australian-style meals. A number then moved into motion picture presentation in the same towns, again providing fare for the Anglo-Celtic population. Becoming managers of picture theatres also provided Greek immigrants with greater standing in town communities and allowed them to be better integrated into those communities.
Greek immigrants of the 19th and early 20th centuries mainly came from islands, (particularly Kythera), coastal towns and inland villages with what is described as a peasant background, often with little, if any, formal education. Between 1911 and 1947 almost half of those who arrived in NSW settled in non-metropolitan areas.
From around 1915 to the early 1960s 116 country picture theatres in NSW were at some time operated by 66 Greek immigrants in 57 towns. Thirty-four new picture theatres were built by Greek exhibitors in these towns. It is known that at least 61 of these immigrants were proprietors of their own food businesses by the time they branched into the motion picture exhibition business.
The Notaras Brothers fitted this model of arrival, extending their original father's food retailing interest to the opening of a café, then building one theatre and taking control of another in the city (the Fitzroy, now demolished); and taking control of a third in Woolgoolga. Although the Notaras Brothers leased their Grafton theatres to a local independent exhibitor (from the early 1930s to early 1960s), a member of the family, Irene Notaras, resumed operation from 1982 to today. However, in the so-called golden age of the population's high attendance at picture theatres, most Greek proprietors managed their own theatres. They controlled their town's principal entertainment when the overall population attended the cinema on average from 20 to 31 times a year at a time when there were no registered clubs, no evening opening of hotels, no television, and virtually no professional sport. They had direct input into the moral and social values of the communities in which they operated. They brought national and international events to the rural areas in the form of feature films, newsreels and documentaries.
Heritage listing and redevelopment
By 1999, the theatre was in a deteriorating condition, and a development application was lodged by the owners, the Notaras family, to demolish the theatre to build a car park for the adjacent shopping centre. Hazel Hawke, then-chair of the Heritage Council of New South Wales, visited Grafton for Heritage Week, toured the city's heritage sites and learned of the theatre's possible demolition. Hawke acted to save the building, with an interim heritage order placed on the building the same day. Spiro Notaras told The Daily Examiner in 2013: "She’s the reason we couldn’t pull it down. We cursed her for a while, but now we realise it was meant to be. I do get a kick out of seeing the building today." It received a permanent heritage order in June 2000. The family then attempted to sell the building to the Grafton City Council for $1 in the hope that they would renovate it, but the council rejected the proposal.