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Ideal Theatre, Kadina
The Ideal Theatre under construction
Photo: State Library of South Australia
Kadina is a town on the Yorke Peninsula, some 150km (95 miles) from Adelaide. Peninsula Entertainment Ltd. opened the Ideal Theatre there in Graves Street on 20 July, 1921. The theatre was reported to have cost £17,000 and music "will be supplied by a Duplex Organ-Piano-Player, the only one of its kind in South Australia.and will be operated by electricity. There is a possibility of it being in time for the opening night. "[Kadina and Wallaroo Times, 16 July, 1921, p. 2]
D Clifford Theatres took out a 21-year lease on the theatre in July, 1923, and announced that an orchestra would be introduced for Saturday night shows [Thiele, John and Lange, Ross, "Thanks for the Memory", TOSA, Adelaide, 1991, p. 53].
There is no record of whether the instrument was actually installed, and if it were, who played it or what happened to it. Reports of the opening night describe it as "memorable", with all 1045 seats taken ["Kadina & Wallaroo Times", 23 July, 1921, p. 2], but make no mention of the photoplayer or of the music in general.