The Star Theatre, Gloucester
George O’Gorman Boustead was a Gloucester mechanic who had a passion for moving pictures. He is credited with bringing the ‘talkies’ to Gloucester…
Library and Visitor Information Centre, Gloucester
In 1937 George Harold Matthewson, a well-known stock and station auctioneer in Gloucester, built new premises for his next venture – a car and farm machinery sales centre…
Arthur William Mackenzie Mowle – Architect and Dairy Cattle Enthusiast
Arthur was born at Bondi on 27 October 1894, the eldest son of William Stewart Mowle and grandson of Mr A K Mackenzie of “Boonara”, Bondi…
William Robert Hill Franks
William Robert Hill Franks came to Australia with his mother in 1876. Soon afterwards his mother died leaving 12 year old William alone in Sydney…
Prickly Pear Cough Syrup – a local speciality?
Until the mid nineteenth century cochineal was highly sought after as the pre-eminent agent to produce a rich, vibrant red dye. It was the substance used to colour the British army ‘Red Coat’ uniforms…
When Hollywood came to Gloucester
In the 1930s visiting the cinema was a favourite pastime. Most films shown in Australia at that time were Hollywood productions and, in 1935, the NSW government took steps to promote the Australian film industry…
Anne Baxter – Hollywood Actress
On 12 December 1985 the Los Angeles Times reported the death of Anne Baxter aged 62. This followed a stroke suffered some eight days earlier. Anne Baxter was a grand-daughter of the influential architect Frank Lloyd Wright. More importantly she was a very successful American actress with a career spanning her Broadway debut aged 13…
Albert Augustus Smith
Albert Augustus Smith was a baker who owned ‘The Old Bakery’ in Comboyne, and a bakery and the ‘Majestic Theatre’ in Church Street, Gloucester. After his wife’s disappearance…
Missing: Edith Margaret Smith
On 20 July 1930, Edith Margaret Smith, her Pomeranian dog, jewellery and clothes went missing from her Gloucester home never to be seen again. It was not her husband Albert Augustus Smith who reported her missing but her mother who lived in Sydney…
Majestic Theatre Gloucester
The history of the Majestic Theatre is as dramatic as the movies that played there for over half a century. In 1926 Albert Augustus Smith, baker, bought the property and built a bakery and a picture show. The theatre, with seating for 400, opened on 21 August 1926 with Charlie Chaplin’s “Gold Rush” being one…