Amusu Theatre is a heritage-listed cinema and theatre at 17 Derowie Street, Manildra, Cabonne Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Allan Tom and built in 1936 by Jim Fullerton. It is also known as Amusu Cinema. The property is owned by Cabonne Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 26 November 1999.
History
Movies were first screened at Manildra around 1910. In 1914 they were shown in Fleeting's Hall, Derowie Street. Starting during the silent era, Allan Tom quickly adapted equipment for the "talkies". Known as a travelling picture show pioneer, Tom toured the central Western and goldfields areas of New South Wales from the early 1920s into the 1940s - to areas as far afield as Cobar, Bourke and Hillston. During the Great Depression he showed movies in a tent, providing desperately needed support and entertainment in remote areas.
He moved into Reid's Hall in 1923, then onto the Memorial Hall in Kiewa Street after its construction in 1925. He built the Amusu in 1936 in Derowie Street with seating for 300 on one level. The name Amusu was derived from contact with an equipment supplier in the early 1930s. Allan Tom collaborated with a local school teacher to draw up the plans. Tom's passion for sound meant he had to ensure the theatre would have good acoustics. For this reason he lined the theatre with Donaconna board, a material imported from USA. Tom employed a local Manildra resident to build the cinema Jim Fullerton. For two decades he also operated theatres in Millthorpe and Tullamore.
Allan Tom battled through drought, flood, depression, advent of clubs, television and video, finally reducing his screenings to Saturday nights only. Not withstanding his advancing years, he continued to operate the Amusu until his death in 1995, aged 93. The Tom family continues operating the theatre, despite a temporary closure to undertake safety repairs.
In addition, the Tom family has strong historic links to early squatter days and the first discovery of gold. Nationalism is commemorated in incorporation of "Australia" within the names of various members of the Tom family, including being Allan's middle name, and having links to the Australia Theatre in Orange.
The theatre and adjacent garage were acquired by the Cabonne Shire Council in 2003.
The theatre is now operated by a committee and conducts new release screenings every third Saturday night of the month and special screenings by arrangement. The neighbouring Tom's Garage has been converted into a movie poster museum with a collection of 30,000 posters, with the help of a $50,000 state government grant.