1968 Sydney Region Outline Plan · 1973 New Cities Campbelltown Camden Appin Structure Plan · 20th century · Advertising · Business · Cafes · Camden · Camden Story · Cultural Heritage · Cultural icon · Drive-In Movies · Entertainment · Families · Family history · Film · Food · Heritage · History · Leisure · Lifestyle · Local History · Local Studies · Lost Camden · Lost Sydney · Memory · Modernism · Movies · Narellan · Narellan Gayline Drive-In Cinema · Narellan Story · Place making · Sense of place · Storytelling · Uncategorized · Urban Planning · urban sprawl

Narellan ‘Gayline’ Drive-In Movie Theatre, a touch of modernism

 A Narellan attraction

The Drive-In movie theatre is a notable part of Camden’s modernism that has disappeared. The Narellan Gayline Drive-in Movie Theatre, located on Morshead Road, Narellan (now Narellan Vale), was one of the famous attractions in the local area between the 1960s and 1980s.

Along with rock’ n roll, transistor radios, the bikini, and the mini-skirt, it marked the lifestyle of the baby boomers. Always popular with teenagers and young families, the drive-in movie theatre was a defining moment in the Camden District for a 20th-century culture based around the icons of the period: cars and movies.

The drive-in arrives in NSW

Robert Freestone writes that the drive-in theatre arrived in New South Wales in 1956, and by the 1970s, there were 14 drive-ins in the Sydney area, including the Gayline. The drive-in was a ‘signifier of modernity with its twin imperatives of consumption and comfort in the motor car’s private space.

The drive-in reflected the US’s growing influence in the 1950s, the force of suburbanisation and the democracy of car ownership. The first Drive-In theatre in Australia was the Burwood Drive-In in Melbourne in 1954. The first Sydney Drive-In was the MGM Chullora Twin Drive-In, which opened in 1956 by Premier Cahill. In the 1970s, there were more than 300 drive-ins across Australia.

In New South Wales, drive-ins came under the control of the Theatres and Public Halls Act 1908-1946 and were heavily regulated compared to Victoria under the Theatres and Films Commission. Freestone argues that New South Wales planning restrictions drive-ins could not be closer than 4 miles to each other; they had to be accessed by a side road, away from airports, and positioned so as not to distract passing traffic.

During its heyday, the drive-in was very popular. It was democratic, where an FJ Holden could be parked next to a Mercedes Benz. The Drive-In was a relaxed, laid-back way to see the movies. The whole family went to the movies, including the kids. Parents could have a night off without cleaning up, dressing up, or hiring a babysitter. Families took blankets, quilts, and pillows, and when the kids faded out, they slept in the car’s back seat. A young mother could walk around with her new baby without disturbing other patrons.

Narellan Gayline Drive-In with caravan next to the projection room. Ted Frazer would stop overnight in the caravan in the 1970s. (T Frazer)

The Narellan Gayline Drive-In Movie Theatre

The Operators

Ted Frazer, the owner/operator of the Gayline Drive-In, was a picture showman. The Frazers had cinemas on the South Coast, at Scarborough and Lake Illawarra. At Scarborough, they operated the Gala Movie Theatre.  It was established in 1950 and had sessions on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday nights and Saturday matinees.  The family ran movies in the local progress hall at Lake Illawarra.

Terry Frazer said,’ ‘We were the only family-operated drive-in. Greater Union or Hoyts ran all the others in the Sydney area’.

Terry Frazer considered the business successful over the years it operated at Narellan. He said, ‘It was a family business, and my son did some projection work. The kids worked in the shop, as did our wives.

The high point of the Drive-In’s success was in the early 1970s. Terry’s brother, Kevin Frazer, and his wife, Lorraine Frazer, have been in the business since the early 1970s. He says:

The Gayline showed a mixture of movies. When patrons rolled in, they put the hook-on-window-speaker and occasionally drove off with it still attached after the movie finished.

Some Drive-Ins closed down in the 1970s, yet the Gayline survived. When daylight saving was introduced, it moved to later starts. Like other Drive-Ins, during the 1980s, it dished up a diet of soft porn and horror movies to compete with videos and colour TV.  In 1975, colour TV had an effect, but a more significant impact was the introduction of video in 1983-84. It contributed to killing off the Drive-Ins. Terry thinks that apart from videos, Random Breath Testing, which became law in NSW in 1985, also had an effect.

Terry Frazer said

Signage from the Gayline Drive-In Movie Theatre at Narellan (I Willis)

The foundation

Ted Frazer located the Drive-In at Narellan because it was to be within the ‘Three Cities Growth Area’ (1973) of the 1968 Sydney Region Outline Plan (1968), and the land was reasonably priced.

The opening night was in November 1967, and the first movie was Lt Robin Crusoe USN [Walt Disney, 1966, Technicolor, starring Dick Van Dyke, Nancy Kwan]

Size

Terry Frazer recalls

Screen

According to Terry Frazer, the screen was made from zinc anneal sheeting. Mr Frazer recalls

NTS speakers still mount the junction boxes Narellan Gayline Drive-in (I Willis)

Sound

The speakers had a volume control and were small speakers. The family brought in Radio Cinema Sound in the mid to late 1970s. The customers had a choice of old-style speakers or radios, as not all cars had radios.  Terry Frazer would go around all the speakers on Fridays and check for sound quality. There were redback spiders under the concrete blocks that had the speaker post. Terry recalls:

Sessions

Mr Frazer stated

Narellan Gayline Drive-In Movie Theatre on Narellan Road was behind the screen. It was a two-lane road from Narellan to Campbelltown.  There are poultry farms in the background. c1970s (T Frazer)

Terry Frazer recalls:

Movies and Slides

The feature films could be long, for example, Sound of Music or Great Escape. They had an intermission cut into the movie.

Terry Frazer remembers:

Terry Frazer observed that

Projection

Terry Frazer was the projectionist and recalled:.

Promotion for Narellan Gayline Drive-In Movie Theatre in the 1970s (The Crier)

Advertising

Terry Frazer remembers:

The Experience

The drive-in experience is the strongest memory for regular moviegoers. People rarely talk about the movie they saw, but they can remember the whole experience of Drive-In in great detail. 

Memories flood back for baby boomers of the rainy night when they tried to watch a movie with the windscreen wipers going. Or the car windscreen was fogging up. Or the winter’s night when the fog rolled in from Narellan Creek. Or the relaxed ambience of a balmy moonlit summer’s night.

The smell of the food, the sound of the cars, the queues to get in, the walk for hotdogs and drinks. The night out with the girlfriend and the passionate night’s entertainment. Orr the night out as a youngster with the family dressed as you were in pyjamas and slippers.

The Gayline Drive-In was not only attractive to young families; it offered local teenagers freedom from the restrictions of home. Many local teenagers had access to cars and found the Drive-In an ideal place for a date and some canoodling and smooching. Getting Dad’s car and showing off to your mates or the girlfriend was quite a coupe. The Drive-In was a place to see and be seen. It was a big deal. 

 One of the favourite lurks of teenagers was to fill the car boot with people so they did not have to pay. Once inside, they were let out. If you drove a station wagon, you reversed the car into the spot and lay in the back of the wagon, wrapped up in a blanket. Others would bring their deck chairs, put them in the back of the ute, enjoy a drink and a smoke, and watch the movie.

The Shop

The Drive-In movies offered an experience, whether at the snack bar, which sold banana fritters, hot dogs, battered savs, Chiko Rolls, popcorn, chips, choc-tops, ice creams, Jaffas, Minties, and Hoadley’s Violet Crumble. The Narellan Gayline Drive-In had a large screen, a projector booth, a children’s playground, and a large parking area.

Terry Frazer recalls:

Mrs Alma Rootes

Alma Rootes was a regular worker in the shop and kitchen. She was a kitchen hand and shop assistant from 1967-1975 until she became pregnant with her fourth child.

Mrs Rootes recalls:

Mrs Alma Roots was presented with a retirement gift from the Frazer family. Alma worked at the Narellan Gayline Drive-In for many years (I Willis, 2008)

Patrons

Terry Frazer remembers:

Terry Frazer recalls:

Patrons could get out of their cars and go for a walk. People wandered around.

Different uses

Frazer stated:

Inclement Weather

Frazer remembers:

Lyn Frazer recalled that patrons would rub half an onion onto the windscreen if it was drizzling, and you could see.

 Narellan township

Narellan township in 1967 [when we set up] only had 6 shops. There was always a takeaway next door to the current cheesecake shop [on Camden Valley Way]. There was only a very small shopping centre.

All that is left of the Narellan Gayline Drive-In is a street sign. (I Willis, 2008)

The End

Like many in the Sydney area, the Gayline Drive-In eventually closed when residential development at Narellan Vale started to grow, and the land became more valuable as real estate.

Unfortunately, lifestyles have changed, and people prefer the comfort of suburban movie theatres in Campbelltown and, shortly, Narellan. However, the tradition of outdoor movies and all their attractions for young families and teenagers are not dead in our area.

Outdoor movies have come back in the local area, as in other parts of Sydney. Movies under the stars have been shown at venues like Mt Annan Botanic Gardens and Macarthur Park.

 

A story about the Narellan Gayline Drive-In that appeared in The Crier 20 May 1987 (The Crier, 20 May 1987)

Sources

Terry Frazer, Interview, Camden, 2008.  

Alma Rootes, Interview, Bringelly, 2010.

Reference

Robert Freestone, ‘The Rise and Fall of the Sydney Drive-In’, in Paul Hogben and Judith O’Callaghan, Leisure Space, The Transformation of Sydney 1945-1970, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2014.

Read more 

Read more about the Outdoor Movie Theatre and Drive-In Movie Theatres

Read more on Australian Drive-In Movie Theatres and @ Drive-ins Downunder 

Read about the Blacktown Skyline Drive-In – the last drive-in in the Sydney area and here

Read about the history of the Yatala Drive-In in Queensland

Read about drive-ins  2007_SMH_They’ve long been history; now drive-ins are historical

Read about the Lunar Drive-In in Victoria

Facebook Comments: Camden History Notes

Warwick Storey I remember going to that Drive-In with Hilarie. It was only 500m up the road for her place. (12 January 2016)

Richard Barnes Watched ghost busters there with my dad..(11 January 2016)

Dianne Vitali Watched many a movie over the years!! B (11 January 2016)

Ian Icey Campbell Use to. Go there in my Escort Panel van, lol. (11 January 2016)

Lauren Robinson I live on this Drive-In! (11 January 2016)

 Nell Raine Bruce  Such fun times we had there. Before we could drive we would walk and sit on the veranda of the cafeteria and watch the movie. The good old days, wish it was still there. (Facebook, 22 June 2015) 

Eric Treuer  I remember going there thinking that the drive-in was for gays. I was very young at the time. Lol  (Facebook, 22 June 2015) 

Gail Coppola  Had great times there. Listening to the movies and the cows lol  (Facebook, 22 June 2015)

Jan Carbis  Went there many times….great memories  (Facebook, 22 June 2015)

Barbara Brook Swainston I remember it well!  (Facebook, 22 June 2015)

Adam Rorke My lawyers have advised me to say nothing….. (22 June 2015)

Chris Addison What is it now houses kids used to love going there (22 June 2015) 

Justin Cryer I remember going out to here with the whole family hahaha wow (22 June 2015)

Graham Mackie Saw smokie and the bandit there as a kid (22 June 2015)

Jan Carbis Went there many times….great memories (22 June 2015) 

Robert Rudd Movie news that’s for sure gots lots of oh doesn’t matter (22 June 2015) 

Dianne Bunbury We had one in Horsham when I was growing up in – 1960s era. (22 June 2015)

Robert Waddell Watched Convoy with a few other families, as us kids played on the swings.ET was the last movie I saw there, it was great because families used to enjoy spending time together back then, El Caballo Blanco, Bullens Animal World, Paradise Gardens all family activities all closed now because of these so-called social networks, play stations, Xboxes, etc the family unit has broken down and it’s a very big shame.Have a BBQ with your neighbours take your kids on picnics enjoy the family time it’s over too quickly people life is too short by far!!. (23 June 2015)

Kay Gale Great nite out was had many years ago wow (23 June 2015)

Graham Mackie Saw smokie and the bandit there as a kid (23 June 2015)

Jacque Eyles The midnight horror nights! Loved it (23 June 2015)

Vicki Henkelman The Hillman Minx and pineapple fritters life were good !! I also had a speaker in the shed for years oops! (23 June 2015)

Meg Taylor Soooo many memories (23 June 2015)

Kim Girard Luved it great times (23 June 2015)

Robert Waddell Watched Convoy with a few other families, as us kids played on the swings.ET was the last movie I saw there, it was great because families used to enjoy spending time together back then, El Caballo Blanco, Bullens Animal World, Paradise Gardens all family activities all closed now because of these so-called social networks, play stations, Xboxes, etc the family unit has broken down and it’s a very big shame.Have a BBQ with your neighbours take your kids on picnics enjoy the family time it’s over too quickly people life is too short by far!!. (23 June 2015)

Kerry Perry Bring back the good times movie, chick, and food (24 June 2015)

Julie Cleary We would back the panel van in and watch in comfort… So fun! (24 June 2015)

Mick Faber Great memories at the Drive-In. 12 of us snuck in one night in the back of a mates milk van. More of a party than a movie night. (24 June 2015)

Kathleen Dickinson Holy geez I think I even remember where that used to be! Lol (23 June 2015

Mandy Ellis-Fletcher Those were the days… Camden / Narellan changed so much..(23 June 2015)

23 June 2015

Matthew Gissane We went down through Camden for a Sunday drive last … er … Sunday, and anyhow, we followed the Old Razorback Road up to Mt Hercules. A fabulous vista from up there. Didn’t see the Gayline though. 23 June at 22:39

Greg Black wasn’t aware of the Gayline,… I do like Camden and the surrounding areas, nice countryside (in the ’60s used to go there with m & d to watch the parachutin’…) 23 June at 23:39

Greg Black Some of the patrons would like to have a drink. Terry recalls a group of blokes in the late 1960s who came in a tabletop truck. They parked the truck and got out their folding chairs and had an 18-gallon keg. I think they finished the keg. It was hard to tell. 23 June at 23:46 

Gary Mcdonald You don’t see them any more  23 June at 14:18  

Sonya Buck Remember seeing American Werewolf in London here Julie Rolph  23 June at 15:58

Leanne Hall Remember getting in the boot to save money oh those were the days  23 June at 09:13 

Barbara Haddock Gann Lots of memories!!  23 June at 19:20

Ian Walton How many of you went there in the boot of a car, dusk till dawn R rated  23 June at 20:08

Sharon Dal Broi How many fitted in your boot Ian Walton 23 June at 20:09

Ian Walton maybe 2 but I never did that HAHA 23 June at 20:11

Sharon Dal Broi Only 2 23 June at 20:11

Ian Walton It was only a small car 23 June at 20:26

Keven Wilkins I remember that guy “movie news”(shit I’m old)lol  1 · 23 June at 22:02

Narelle Willcox We went to the skyline  23 June at 11:36

Graham Reeves went there nearly every weekend, got thrown out a few times as well  23 June at 05:01

Sonia Ellery 22 June at 20:37 This was a great Drive-In!

Vicky Wallbank omg that was a long time ago but I still remember it ..and used to visit there  1 · 22 June at 21:24

Kris Cummins Look them beautiful paddocks turned to shit 1 · 22 June at 20:06

Adrian Mainey Went there as a kid biff that’s a classic  1 · 22 June at 20:36

Nick Flatman Golden memories  Spent a number of trips in the boot  22 June at 20:50

Craig Biffin & back of a ute or wagon  1 · 22 June at 20:52

Nicolle Wilby Haha Nick I did too under blankets and stuff!  22 June at 21:40

Anthony Ayrz I remember it well,,,,, thought it was called Skyline….. full of houses now,,,,, can still pick put exactly where it was…. I was about 7 when my parents took us there a few times….. remember going to the Bankstown one with my parent’s friends in the boot…. and we got away with it!!!!  22 June at 21:28

Stephen Burke I did go there a few times. I did forget the name  23 June at 07:08

Anthony Cousins Good old days 1 · 22 June at 15:54

William John RussellThat was where I grew up as part of the old man’s original property 1 · 22 June at 20:15

Chris TownsendI remember it well. Drive-In great. Council sucked . ( Over the name )  22 June at 22:53

William John RussellThe reason it was named Gayline is that the owners lost their young daughter named Gay  1 · 23 June at 07:34

Eric Treuer I remember going there with my then-girlfriend and stopped in shock when I saw the name of the Drive-in. Lol.
I wish it was still there.

Bill Russell Reason it was called gayline is that they lost their daughter at an early age
Her name was Gay

 Toni Lyall Baume We had a mattress in the back of the station wagon with the kids in their jammies

 Kim Down We used to go almost every week with the family, then when we were old enough to get cars, we’d go with our mates

 Susan Vale I remember watching one of the Star Wars films there. I think it was a return of the Jedi.

 Robert Andersson Went there a hell of a lot. It was named after the owner’s daughter that passed away

 Bronwyn Herden They were the days …saw many movies there 😦

 Jody AndKathleen McLean We used to go was a great spot

 Matthew Frost Lisa Frost everything good was before our time.

 Rebecca Funnell Jill Funnell

 Sandy Devlin I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show when I was 10yo 😲

 Alison Russell That brings back memories I used to live behind the Drive-In it looks like the photo is taken from our old house which sadly has just been sold and will be knocked down but what fun we had there as kids and all the sneaky ways we had to get into the Drive-In

15 September 2017  at 07:37

Colleen Dunk Moroney Often went in in the boot so we didn’t have to pay 😲😇 the guy in the white overalls was Neville, used to tap on your window and say “movie news”, giving away movie newspapers. always scared the crap out of me lol. I loved the Drive-In.

 Lauren Novella I remember sneaking in the boot just to save a few bucks!!!!! Lol. Who even watched the movies….. It was more like a mobile party…😆

 Sharon Land Memories remember Alison Russell when we had to go to the outdoor loo and if an R rated movie was on we were supervised outside my mum and dad lol

 Andrew Carter-Locke We used to get in the boot of my cousins XY falcon. Back in the day you always got a backup film before the feature. I remember “Posse”, being better than “Jaws”.

 Wayne McNamara Many mems….watching people drive off ….still connected….and the guy in the white overalls at the entrance…

 Scott Bradwell Cherie Bradwell pretty much every Sat night back in the day 🙂

 Shane Sutcliffe I can just remember it as a 9-year-old before it closed

 Wayne Brennan Wow this sent some flashbacks off lol

 Steve Gammage Remember it well, what u think Kerrie Gammage

 Lynne Lahiff Yes I can remember going to Narellan Drive-In with my children and I loved it every time!

John MacAllister I remember seeing Mary Poppins there back in the day MA Ran! Good times

 Peter Thomas A fantastic place. Deck chairs, a bucket of KFC & a cold esky on a hot summer night.

 Karenne Eccles Went there often in the 70s …. thanks for the memories Gayline x

 Lesley Cafarella this is where I met my husband Marc Cafarella 48 years ago …. nice memories…

 Liz Jeffs Went all the time

 Sharon Beacham Fernance one of the places you liked to go 😀

 Mike Attwood Brings back so many memories

 Karen Attwood Remember my big brother Mike Attwood took me and my sister, Nicky, to see The Sound of Music

 Dave Lutas Movie news!!!

 Christine McDermott Melinda Jolly – Remember it well !!

Like

Like Love  Haha Wow  Sad Angry

Vicki McGregor So many memories at the Gayline.

 Greg Mallitt Was a great place

 Nelly Strike So many memories, the house in Tobruk road was the best party house too, hey Joseph HartyLiane GorrieDeborah BrownNick RomalisNick DonatoDave LutasJoanne BowerLauren NovellaMoira HartyGenene RocheLaurie Brien

 Jane Walgers James

 Graham Mackie Nat Kershaw

 Cathie Patterson John Jones remember this

 John Jones Sure do

Facebook 20 June 2021

Janelle Whittaker

It was great being able to go there

Denise Charlton

We always went to that drive in with the kids, love it.🥰great memories.We always had the Banana Fritters. Yummo

Kerrie Gammage

Great fun there

Dean Winship

The houses were worth more than the movies

Maria Gray

Good old days

Steve Gammage

Great times

Janet Mcgilvray

Nothing but over crowded. Badly designed awful dog box housing estates there now grey and more grey yuck

Anne Watkins

When I was a kid, you could see the screen, looking over the paddocks, from the top of Doncaster Ave, Narellan. Just paddocks, what a memory.

Chris Terry

Great times 😃

Kim Girard

Loved going to the drive in

Kathy Anne Hunt

Great days they did the best Banana Fritters 🤪

Chris Terry

Kathy Anne Hunt omg I was so sick on them once

Kathy Anne Hunt

Chris Terry really 😔

Updated 18 June 2024. Originally posted 22 June 2015, as ‘Narellan ‘Gayline’ Drive-In Movie Theatre’.


Discover more from Camden History Notes

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

2 thoughts on “Narellan ‘Gayline’ Drive-In Movie Theatre, a touch of modernism

  1. I remember the Drive in really well.
    Used to take friends in the back of the boot of the car.

    Also I used to date of the young girls that lived right behind the Drive in.

    Lots of fun back in the days.

Comments are closed.