That’s all, folks!
IT’S hard to write these words, to attempt to speak on behalf of a whole lot of locals and visitors and it’s simply impossible to convey the joy, the laughter, the smiles and now the memories that was a visit to Westview Drive-in.
Westview Drive-in is a tale of three parts, a trilogy if you like and it’s a story worthy of its own book and mini-series.
The history books tell us that The Westview Drive-in opened on the 8th October 1970 at the corner of Mitchell Highway and Westview Street. The opening film was Clint Eastwood in Kelly’s Heroes and the drive-in could accommodate 550 cars.
Closing in 1987, it sat patiently with a for sale sign out front for many years, until 2017.
Many locals will tell of driving past over the years and answering their children’s questions as to what was there, with the biggest screen in the west drawing most of the questions.
I have been incredibly fortunate to have been ‘a bit player’ in what is dubbed ‘Westview Drive-in ...... The Sequel 2017 – 2022’.
Wandering around the drive-in with Jason Yelverton, amongst the infamous cat-heads and weeds and grabbing those first photos of our once legendary drive-in was a late afternoon that I will never forget. It had seen better days, but listening to Jason speak of the Youth Week plans, opened a floodgate of memories from many years before and an excitement that this was going to be something very special.
Special? It was certainly more than that. There are many stories to be told and perhaps one day they will.
One story that needs to be told is the very early days of Westview Drive-in and the vision and drive of Rex Bartel, who many knew, along with the many locals who worked with him over those early years.
Finally, credit must be given and the person, who deserves it, will put a long list of people in front of what he and his family, workers and volunteers have achieved. Who would have thought it possible?
The unlikely return of the Westview Drive-in re energised the city, with many visitors spending an extra night simply to go to the drivein and generations of locals finally understanding the esteem that previous generations had, when they spoke fondly of a visit to Westview Drive-in.