MAGIC OF MOVIES LIVES ON
Catching a flick at the Mermaid Beach cinema was a rite of passage for many of us growing up on the Coast Coast
EVERYONE remembers the first time they went to the cinema.
Getting that taste of silver screen magic can be a formative moment for many people in their lives.
And for many Gold Coasters, it happened for them at the Mermaid Beach cinema.
A landmark of the Gold Coast Highway, it opened in the early 1980s and was one of several new developments which came to the beachside suburb.
It sat just metres away from the Mermaid Beach McDonald’s, which was the first to open in Queensland in 1975
At the time there were just eight cinemas in the region including Sundale, Southport Drive-In, Paradise Theatres Surfers, Coolangatta’s Capitol and Regal theatres and the drive-ins at Beenleigh and Twin Towns.
The Tweed drive-in was particularly infamous, screening erotic films on Sunday nights from 7pm.
The newest theatre cost $1.9 million, featured just two theatres and was initially known simply as the Mermaid Twin Cinema.
But it soon proved enormously popular, especially on the back of such popular films as E.T., Annie and First Blood.
E.T. in particular was a major success and at one point was the sole film showing in one of the two theatres. The strong crowds led its owners to launch a $1 million expansion in late 1983 when a third theatre was added, seating an extra 336 people.
Bert Paull was the chief engineer for Birch Carroll and Coyle (BCC) who designed and supervised the installation of what was called “the world’s most advanced” quadraphonic sound system.
It officially opened on May 24, 1984, with the first film to screen being Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan.
The 1980s was the peak of the blockbuster era and cinema audiences continued to grow at a rapid pace.
BCC announced another significant expansion of the Mermaid Beach cinemas that began in early 1987.
Renamed the Mermaid Cinema Centre, the complex grew to five theatres with room for 1600 people.
Opening in December 1987, it was the largest cinema complex in Queensland at the time.
BCC board member and theatre controller WM Palmer told the Bulletin at the time the Mermaid complex was leading the way.
In addition to the McDonald’s and Putt-Putt golf course, a KFC and Sizzler restaurants both opened, turning the Gold Coast Highway area into a popular entertainment and dining area for the city’s families. Among the staff were manager Bill Gardner, Margaret Abbott at the “goodie” bar and Cheryl Gilchrist at the ticket office.
The expanded cinema had plenty to boast about.
It was serving Pandora’s popcorn and was screening some of the year’s biggest films.
It opened with showings of The Princess Bride, Dirty Dancing, Leonard Part 6, Revenge of the Nerds II, Spaceballs, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, InnerSpace, Jaws IV: The Revenge, Fatal Attraction, Planes Trains and Automobiles and Three Men and a Baby. But the success didn’t last.
In early 1997 BCC opened its 12-theatre Senstadium cinema at Pacific Fair, launching with the special edition release of Star Wars. It was the Gold Coast’s largest cinema and soon became its most popular.
Only a year earlier another movie palace had opened at the new Robina Town Centre
Mermaid Beach gradually became a second-run theatre, screening movies after the larger theatres.
It finally closed in 2002. But the building remains today, and was for many years a medical centre.