The Wonderful Waratah of Ascot Vale
Once upon a time, in Ascot Vale, there was a cinema called "The Waratah". It was at the corner of Mt Alexander and Ormond Roads, and it first opened on June 25th 1925. Image of the Waratah in 1944, from the State Library of Victoria . The Waratah struggled. According to Grant Aldous' the Stop-over that Stayed , the Waratah suffered from competition with the nearby Moonee Ponds and New Ascot theatres, and soon the theatre was bought out by Hoyts. Even worse than their financial troubles though, the Waratah also suffered from banditry. In November 1921 , in Flemington, William Longley, a 21 year old employee, was hit over the head and robbed of the days takings (200 pounds) from the Waratah. Then in August 1937 , shots were fired when the managers of the Waratah and the Ascot Vale Bank were attacked. Cinema goers "ducked and ran for shelter" and the bandits made a get-away with the days takings from the Waratah (down to 21 pounds this time) in a stolen ca...
