Cinema By the Sea
Frank Clancy and the Iluka Picture Theatre
With the smell of buttery popcorn in the air and cold Passiona fizzing in eager hands, everyone got settled into their seats. Rows of sturdy, wooden folding chairs filled the Iluka Memorial Hall as Iluka’s own picture show man, Frank Clancy, prepared to project the latest film on the big screen.
Born in 1905, Frank was a pioneer of Australia’s early cinema industry. At thirteen, he left school to work in a hardware store, but soon the emerging world of motion pictures caught his eye. By his twenties, he was working at theatres in Lismore and Ballina. His expertise led him to a prestigious role installing sound equipment in theatres between Brisbane and Sydney, including the grand Prince Edward Theatre, where he became manager and projectionist.
But the physical demands of his career took their toll. In the 1940s, Frank and his wife Ella took a restorative vacation to Iluka, on Bunjalung country—and loved it so much they never left. The quiet, seaside town turned Frank’s health around, and soon, he was working as a fisherman, raising funds for his next big dream: owning a cinema.
By the mid-1940s, Frank had bought the Iluka Picture Theatre. He installed the latest projector, sound equipment, a bigger screen, and, most notably, these wooden folding chairs. They became iconic to the town, as locals no longer had to cross the Clarence River for a movie; now, they could settle into those chairs and enjoy the magic of the silver screen, right at home.
