Opening on August 23, 1915, The Strand Theatre was a luxurious and prestigious building situated on the eastern side of Baylis Street between Forsyth and Thompson Streets. It contained 800 seats in its main hall, an extra 40 within two sets of seating boxes beside the proscenium and another 200 seats on the balcony. It also had two lounge rooms, a foyer and a roof-top garden, which had a clear view of the entire stage.

During its early years, The Strand hosted numerous Commonwealth Government films produced by the War Office Cinematograph Committee. These popular films, such as Australians in Action, screened recorded footage of Australian soldiers as they fought in the war.

The Strand also hosted Prime Minister William “Billy” Hughes when he came to Wagga in 1916 to speak on the very contentious and divisive conscription referendum. The fact that The Strand was chosen as the venue of choice for a meeting of this nature says a great deal about its seating capacity.

By 1929 the revolutionary ‘talkies’ had arrived, and The Strand was the first theatre in Wagga to install the necessary equipment to enable the movies to be screened. On September 9 that same year, the musical comedy The Broadway Melody was shown at The Strand, becoming the first ‘talkie’ to be screened in Wagga.

Unfortunately, The Strand’s successes were to only last a few more years, with the theatre destroyed by fire in November 1932. A coronial inquest into the cause was held in December but the Coroner returned an open verdict. Under the supervision of J.K. Capitol, a replacement theatre was built - the Plaza Theatre.

Blakemore Building, College Avenue, CSU South Campus in Turvey Park.

Opening hours: Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm; certain Saturdays, 10am to 3pm.

Contact us: (02) 6933 4590 or archive@csu.edu.au