Bingara Historical Museum to open Military Extension

How many Gwydir Shire residents are guilty of not exploring what’s in their own backyard? I suspect there are more than a few who have just raised a figurative arm. That leads me to my next question - how many locals have visited the Bingara Historical Museum?

As someone still relatively new to the Gwydir Shire, I have been bound and determined to explore all its wonderful features. As a lover of all things historical, I was somewhat childishly excited to be invited to the Bingara Museum by Judi Peterson, who is the Bingara District Historical Society’s (BDHS) Secretary.

The Museum did not disappoint. To the contrary, I was bowled-over by the range and number of artefacts on display. From communications gadgets to laundry items, kitchenwares to classroom displays. All lovingly assembled, categorised and maintained by a group of ardent volunteers.

Judi was a wealth of knowledge, imparting pearls of wisdom about the buildings and all their contents. Donated artefacts, items found at the tip, and those purchased from other museums have all contributed to displays rich in diversity and uniqueness.

Now, with gratitude to Gwydir Shire Council, BDHS have been able to expand to the adjoining property, previously owned by the Salvation Army. With the increased floorspace, the Society are opening a dedicated military museum, with the grand opening slated for Saturday 22 April. All residents and visitors are warmly invited to attend, with the day promising a little something for everyone. Even if you’re not a lover of all things historical, you’re bound to be awed by this gem in the Gwydir Shire’s backyard..

HISTORY OF THE ROXY, BINGARA

-Adapted from information supplied by Bingara Visitors Information Centre

The Roxy was built by three Greek partners from the island of Kythera, who arrived in Australia during the early 1920s. Today, the story begins in the village of Mitata on the island of Kythera in Greece, with the birth of a boy called Panagiotis Firos Katsehamos in 1890. At the age of 16 he sailEd for America arriving in New York with no capital, some elementary schooling and a few words of English.

How a 16 year old boy in the early 1900s found the resolve to leave his home and travel thousands of miles to a strange country we can only imagine, but he was not alone, as there were thousands of Greeks who migrated to America, like so many migrants throughout history, He changed his name and Panagiotis Firos Katsehamos became Peter Feros.

In 1912, at the age of 21, Peter returned to Greece to serve in the first Balkan War against the Turks, before serving in the second Balkan War against the Bulgarians. He married and the following year in 1918 he was called up to fight in the First World War, so by the time he was 27 he had fought in three wars.

The Roxy story is not just about the venue, the bricks and mortar, the striking art deco architecture or its historical significance. It’s s story of big ideas, big dreams and visions of determination against all odds. It’s a story of was and migration, of heartbreak and triumph - as today it has come back to life.

The first to arrive in Australia in 1920 was Emanuel Aroney from the village of Aroniadka, followed in 1921 by Peter Feros, then in 1923 by George Psaltis, from the village of Frilingianika.

In 1924 they arrived in Bingara to establish a café. They formed a partnership called Peters & Co., a generic business name chosen by Kytherian businessmen who adopted it as an informal franchise among Greek shopkeepers. After several years of trading, the partners decided to expand their business and set about building an entertainment complex that would remain unparalleled in comparable towns of the region.

In 1933 Peters & Co. purchased the building which housed their café, together with adjoining properties. Architectural plans were commissioned for a modern picture theatre, café, individual shop fronts as well as a guesthouse at the rear of the complex. The enterprise would include a modern café that would seat 140 patrons, four independent shps facing tha main street that could be leased to ensure the financial viability of the endeavour, and a guesthouse to accommodate Roxy patrons staying overnight, and at its heart, a cinema that would be hailed as “the most modern theatre outside the city.”

During 1934 Peters & Co., in order to continue trading during construction, relocated their café across the road in Maitland Street, adjoining Clifton’s Garage, which today is between the Regional Australia Bank and the Landcare office.

The size of the town would not impede the partners’ vision. Bingara, with a population of approximately 1,500 in the 1930s would be invited to share their aspirations which knew no bounds in terms of majestic beauty and modernism. Sydney architect. Mark Woodforde, was engaged by Peters & Co. to realise their dream.

When the Roxy officially opened on March 28 1936, the Bingara Advocate reported that “no event in the history of Bingara has caused more interest and excitement.” For the three partners however, the excitement would be short-lived, as in September of the same year, they filed for bankruptcy.

The Roxy continued to operate as a cinema until 1958 when it shut down. Apart from the occasional film screeneing, odd boxing tounament or roller disco, it would spend the next 40 years virtually lying dormant.

A new generation was growing up in the town never having stepped foot inside it.

In 1965 the Roxy Café and residence was annexed from the theatre and sold as a freehold title. The café ceased operation and became a memorabilia shop.

1989 saw the Roxy Café and residence sold to a Chinese proprietor who opened a Chinese restaurant - The Shun Kwong.

In 1998 the former Bingara Shire Council purchased the Roxy Theatre area and refurbished it to its original splendour, excluding the Roxy Café and residence which remained a freehold title and continued to operate as the Shun Kwong Chinese Restaurant until 2008.

Funding was then received from the Commonwealth and NSW State Government, along with a healthy injection of funds by the then Bingara Shire Council.

In 2004 the Roxy Theatre was re-opened to the public as a cinema, performing arts venue and multi-purpose function centre that included a variety of conferences, seminars, weddings and private functions. Following the closure of the Chinese restaurant, the Gwydir Shire Council purchased their premises.

With the café restoration completed in 2011, the Roxy became a place of national significance that would henceforth conserve and protect the important cultural associations between people and place.

The Roxy Museum was opened to the public on Saturday 5 April 2014. Its civic pride and confidence in its heritage, in its cultural facilities and collections, attracts people from all walks of life, all wanting to share the unique experience.

Finally, in 2018, the Roxy was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register. The complex, and its history, is a testament to the people who had the vision to build and create a place of beauty, interest, and function.