Our Treasures: Whangārei Museum s Lyceum Theatre part of city s cinema history
22 Feb, 2021 04:00 PM
5 minutes to read
West s Lyceum Pictures in Cameron Street in 1912 (Whangarei Museum 1990.27.3.43).
OUR TREASURES
Cinema in Whangārei has a history of more than 100 years. Our first theatre was the Theatre Royal. The earliest display of moving images was via a Projectoscope or Kinetoscope in 1898, two years after New Zealand s first cinema screening.
This was set up like a large magic lantern but with a reel system for rotating short lengths of nitrate film.
A backdrop of sound to the display would be provided by a phonograph or live musicians.