OPENING SOON.

The Roxy Café
Fully Restored to its Former Glory

Peter’s Cafe sign restored in 2010

The Roxy was built in 1936 by three Greek partners from the island of Kythera in Greece, as a magnificent art deco cinema with an adjoining café in the town of Bingara in northern NSW. In 2004, The Roxy Theatre was re-opened to the public as a cinema, performing arts venue and multi-purpose function centre that includes a variety of conferences, seminars, weddings and private functions.

Bingara has a population of 1,300. For the past three years, approximately 13,000 people have visited The Roxy and Tourist Information Centre housed in the venue. Of those visitors, approximately 10,000 people attended an event at The Roxy, with large numbers of those travelling from outside the local area. In 2009, the Gwydir Shire Council was the recipient of a grant for $750,000 through the Department of Heritage, Environment, Water and the Arts, the project to be completed by February 2011.

The funding was received to realize a multi-faceted project that includes:
• the restoration of the art deco café adjoining The Roxy Theatre
• a conference facility upstairs above the café
• a museum
• the relocation of the Tourist Information Centre within The Roxy
• a Trade Training Centre offering Certificate III Level Hospitality Training run in conjunction with DET and TAFE NSW funded by DEEWR (Stage 2)

 

Cafe´ after restoration December 2010

The story of the Greek Café is a shared chapter in the histories of Greece and Australia, a chapter that is almost over. Very few Greek  cafes operate as they did 50 years ago. The Roxy may be the last example of a cinema and café, functioning as per its original plan, remaining in NSW, possibly in Australia.

Greek Cafes changed the course of Australia’s cultural history and left a significant legacy on our culinary and cultural landscape. The Roxy is a symbol that epitomizes the Greek migration experience: one that made an outstanding contribution to the development of Australia. It is important that this story be shared with future generations. This will be realised through the incorporation of the museum.

The mission statement for The Roxy Museum is as follows: “A museum of Greek settlement in country Australia with a focus on New South Wales and Queensland.”

The Roxy Museum will become a place of national significance that conserves and protects the important cultural associations between people and place. The Museum will conduct research and develop collections that document the history of the New England North West of NSW in a national and international context, with the objective of facilitating the community’s understanding of the past, and engagement with issues affecting its future.

 

Inside the cafe´after restoration December 2010

The Roxy Café Restoration Project and the Roxy Museum are governed by a Committee. Three members of the Committee are members of the Kytherian Association of Australia, and one is also a member of the Kytherian World Heritage Fund. The Roxy has established a close working relationship with the Kytherian community, including with family members of the original founders.

A great strength of the project is the way that the complex relates to many parts of the primary, secondary and adult education curricula: Australian history, family and local history, changing food habits, conservation architecture, changing entertainment, ethnic influences and diversity of our culture.

The Roxy will become a place of great historical significance that exhibits local distinctiveness and a sense of place. Its civic pride and confidence in its heritage, in its cultural facilities and collections is destined to attract people from all walks of life, all walks of life, all wanting to share this unique experience.

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