About Ayr Drive In Movie Theatre
Frank and Suzzi have been running Ayr's Stardust Drive-In since 1988 and to them it's more than just a job. It's a lifestyle.
The
Stardust is one of only a handful of drive-ins left in Queensland and
Frank and Suzzi are determined to see that it stays open.
Frank
knows his drive-in lore. As a kid growing up in Mount Isa he worked at
the city's Tropic Air Drive-In. With 21 rows of speakers, it was the
largest drive-in in Australia and its screen the biggest in the
southern hemisphere.
Like so many of its kin around the
nation, the video revolution killed off the Tropic Air. Only the
strongest survived the video invasion, Frank said.
Frank and
Suzzi open the Stardust Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and tend to
show mostly PG and G films which draw families from as far away as
Bowen and Townsville. They hold special film nights, other nights for
groups and clubs which book ahead.
The couple have built a
roofed cinema in the drive-in complex which Frank says gives the
Stardust the distinction of being the only drive-in in Australia with a
hard top cinema.
"We mostly hire it out for birthday parties and functions," he said.
Family
groups and backpackers who come to the Stardust usually bring their ice
boxes and sit around in chairs and watch the movie.
"We've got FM stereo sound so they bring their boom boxes, set them up in the back of the ute and tune in," he said.