NSW·BCW·003
Amusu Theatre & Manildra Movie Poster Museum
Also known as: AMUSU Theatre · Manildra Movie Poster Museum
Museum
About
Rare purpose-built Art Deco theatre in Manildra, continuously operated since 1936, with an adjoining Movie Museum in Tom's Garage displaying a large collection of vintage movie posters and film equipment. Volunteer-run, with monthly film screenings on the third weekend of each month.
The collection
The Movie Museum in Tom's Garage holds a large collection of movie posters dating back decades, donated from the life collection of Alan and Madeline Strahan, alongside film equipment of a bygone era and a school learning section. The theatre itself retains original carbon projectors, original seating including the 'Love Seat', original flooring and curtains, with vintage posters decorating the walls.
Objects of note
- Manildra Movie Poster Museum collectionNational significanceDocument / Manuscript
1930s-1990s · Manildra Movie Poster Museum
A collection of more than 30,000 vintage movie posters dating from the 1930s to the 1990s, housed in the former Tom's Garage next to the theatre. The core was the lifetime collection of projectionist Alan Strachan and his wife Madeline of Mittagong, donated in 2011 after decades in cinemas around NSW, with several thousand further items donated by Ron and Diane Bayley of Mount Vic Flicks in the Blue Mountains. The museum was created with a $50,000 NSW Government grant.
One of Australia's largest movie poster collections, saved from disposal and displayed in a purpose-converted garage beside a working 1936 cinema.
- Materials
- paper posters
- Provenance
- Donated principally by Alan and Madeline Strachan (2011) and Ron and Diane Bayley; housed in Tom's Garage, Manildra.
- Westrex carbon arc projectors (c. 1936)State significanceMachinery
c. 1936 · Westrex
Two circa-1936 Westrex projectors in the theatre's embossed tin-lined projection room, part of the Amusu's remarkably intact original fittings - including the ticket office, geometric light shades, flip-up sprung leather seats (with twin 'love' seats), sloping timber floor and the linked 'A' and 'T' stage symbols of founder Allan Tom. The theatre still screens new-release films monthly.
Original 1936 projection equipment in Australia's oldest continuously operating purpose-built picture theatre, State Heritage-listed as a rare educative resource.
- Materials
- steel, carbon arc components
- Provenance
- Original equipment of the Amusu Theatre, built by Allan Tom in 1936; retained in situ.
Amusu Theatre (All rights reserved) Amusu Theatre building and original fittingsState significanceBuilding / Structure1936 · Allan Tom
The 1936 Amusu Theatre itself - Australia's oldest operational picture theatre - built by travelling picture show pioneer Allan Tom OAM beside his family's garage. Behind its Art Deco stepped parapet with 'Amusu' in leadlight glass, the hall retains its original 1930s fixtures: ticket office, sprung leather seats including 'love' seats, sloping timber floor and plaster mouldings. Allan Tom screened films for 72 years, showing his last in 1995 a week before his death aged 93.
State Heritage-listed as a tangible link to the earliest days of the movie industry in rural Australia, with building and contents intact as a total package.
- Materials
- corrugated iron, fibro, timber, leadlight glass
- Provenance
- Built by Allan Tom in 1936; State Heritage Register listed 1999; operated by a volunteer committee.
What's on
- November Movie - Saturday screeningScreening
21 Nov 2026 · 6:30pm-7:30pm · Adults $15 / Children $5
Monthly movie night at the 1936 art deco theatre: feature film followed by supper, with the movie poster museum open. Film title TBA.
- November Movie - Sunday screeningScreening
22 Nov 2026 · 1:30pm-2:30pm · Adults $15 / Children $5
Monthly movie matinee at the 1936 art deco theatre with afternoon tea and the movie poster museum open. Film title TBA.
- December Movie - Saturday screeningScreening
19 Dec 2026 · 6:30pm-7:30pm · Adults $15 / Children $5
Monthly movie night at the 1936 art deco theatre: feature film followed by supper, with the movie poster museum open. Film title TBA.
- December Movie - Sunday screeningScreening
20 Dec 2026 · 1:30pm-2:30pm · Adults $15 / Children $5
Monthly movie matinee at the 1936 art deco theatre with afternoon tea and the movie poster museum open. Film title TBA.
More at the museum's what's-on page · checked 2026-11-01
Programs & courses
- Monthly movie screeningsOtherRuns regularly
All ages · Adults $15 / Children $5
Latest-release films screened once a month on the third weekend (Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon) in the 1936 art deco theatre, with supper or afternoon tea and access to the movie poster museum.
- Special and personalised event screeningsOtherBook on request
All ages · Schools
Special screenings for small buses, coaches, social and sporting clubs, school events and fundraisers, bookable any time of year with catering options.
Provenance
Record verified 2026-08-29 · Confidence: high · Coordinates: derived from OpenStreetMap
- Amusu Theatre & Movie Museum Manildra — accessed 2026-08-29
- Amusu Theatre and Manildra Movie Poster Museum - Central NSW arts and culture maps — accessed 2026-08-29