Couple recognised for love of movies
WHEN Bruce Gibson-wilde received his OAM on Monday, his wife Dorothy was overjoyed.
Mrs Gibson-wilde received the same honour herself five years ago, putting the couple in rarefied air with both on the Queen’s Birthday honours list.
“It didn’t seem what I’d done was all that special,” Mr Gibson-wilde said of his OAM.
Mr Gibson-wilde founded the Townsville Cinema Group in 1961, with a passion for film fuelling his decision.
“It was a hobby as much as anything else,” he said.
“When I first came to Townsville to work at James Cook University they were looking for someone who knew about 16mm film and it all started from there.
“But now looking at it it’s quite an achievement to have gone that length of time and still be surviving. We’ve had our ups and downs.”
Mr Gibson-wilde was one of the first staff members at JCU, forming part of the physics department.
He said changes in technology were the biggest influence on the club over the years.
“We started on 16mm and in the ’70s we went to 35mm and for a lot of the years we were at the Warrina Cinemas. We only recently switched to the Event Cinemas on Sturt St where now it’s all digital.
“We have a cinema every fortnight and show two films that aren’t showing commercially so we aren’t competing with the commercial cinemas.
“We show foreign films and a lot of recent movies that aren’t shown by the commercial cinemas in Townsville.”
Mr Gibson-wilde is also one of the oldest volunteers for the Townsville Eisteddfod, having done it for 27 years.
Bruce and Dorothy are National Trust of Australia members, having joined in 1974.
“My wife and I were some of the first people on the committee and have been with it ever since,” Mr Gibson-wilde said.