Further on the topic of Drive-ins, this one is for the Brisbane people.

Sadly, there are no active drive-ins in Brisbane today. The only one nearby that is still open is the Yatala Twin drive-in at Beenleigh, on Stapylton Rd.

However going from a 1982 map of Brisbane, it seems there were once 11 Drive-ins there. Except for Aspley, which closed in 2001, the others all closed in the 1980-90s. By checking the 1982 map with today's Google Earth, this is a summary of Brisbane drive-ins:

* Aspley - now houses. There is a Starlight Place street name on the old drive-in site (it was the Aspley Starlight Drive-In)
* Boondall - now houses. Impossible to tell where it was.
* Cannon Hill - now the Cannon Hill shopping centre.
* Capalaba - now an industrial estate.
* Coopers Plains - now houses. The park at the dogleg on Mulgrave Rd was on the drive-in site, next to the screen.
* Keperra - now houses. There are streets called DeNiro, Decaprio, Willis and Kidman on the old drive-in site - nice touch.
* Kippa Ring (Redcliffe) - now a Holden dealership.
* Oxley - now houses. Impossible to tell where it was.
* Rochedale - now houses and a car park.
* Warner (Strathpine) - now houses. Impossible to tell where it was.

That's ten. Saving the best till last, here's the 11th Brisbane Drive-In - it's still there!

* Richlands - on Archerfield Rd. According to Google Earth, this is what it looks like. It closed 10 years ago, yet the ramps, and the building shell, are still there.

Google Earth is so cool.

Looking slightly further afield than Brisbane, I checked out the two drive-ins that used to exist in the Gold Coast-Tweed area, according to my 1982 travel map:

* Burleigh Heads - now the Stockland Big W shopping centre.

* Tweed Heads - another pot of gold! This one still exists too. Not sure when it closed, but now it's the Boyals Bay Garden Centre. The screen, and the restaurant-projection block, still exist, and the plants are laid out in curved rows, following the old drive-in ramps. How cool is that!

Hey Brisbane VW nuts - can anyone visit these places for us and give us more info? Or share more info on the closed drive-ins?

http://www.tivolidrivein.com 

Looking at their site, this is the calander..

Quote:
Spring Summer Season Now Showing

Saturday 6 September
Get Smart

Saturday 20 September
DOUBLE BILL
Viva Las Vegas
Frankie & Johnny

Saturday 27 September
Speed Racer

Saturday 4 October
Chronicle of Narnia Prince Caspian

Saturday 18 October
DOUBLE BILL
College Road Show
Underdog

Saturday 1 November
Star Wars Clone Wars

Saturday 15 November
Cars

Saturday 29 November
DOUBLE BILL
Pink Panther
Pink Panther Strikes Again

Saturday 13 December
High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Gates open 5pm. Movie screening from 7pm.
Ticket cost $25 per car


I haven't been to a drive in for years..

Tivoli Miracle Centre Drive-In Theatre
50 Coal Rd, Chewar.
http://www.whereis.com/qld/chuwar/mt_cr  ... C4C25F811F

That's brilliant, I missed that one as I was only looking at Brisbane. Looks like someone has spent a bit of money on that one, doing it up. The Conference Centre must be their income - only playing a movie or two on a Saturday, once a fortnight, is not the way to make money! The outside looks great on Street View. I like the way they are organising car club things too. I hope it works out for them and keeps another Drive-In going.

Maybe you Brisbane guys ought to have a VW Drive-In night there - the Elvis double on 20th Sept sounds AWESOME!

...i remember going to the tivoli.... 3 movie night, speed, home alone & some christmas movie, will have to go back sometime soon

the Drive in at Capalaba is now a bp service station on the outskirts of the new Industrial area on Redland Bay road. No evidence of it ever being there everything Gone.

[size=4]Ipswich had a few...the Starline drive in ...located at Raceview...now houses....& Tivoli Drive in....Richlands Drive in (NearInala)...& then further heading into Brisbane was Oxley Drive in....we had quite a choice to go to on a Fri/Sat night back then....Judy[/size]

damnit!! bring back the old drive-ins

Judy I looked at Google Earth in Oxley and I can't tell where the drive-in was. My old map says it was on the left side of Seventeen Mile Rocks Rd as you go towards Brisbane, between the road and the river. But from the air, all the houses and streets along there look new for a couple of km, so who knows exactly where it was?

Certainly from street level, you'd never know now there was once a drive-in there. Very sad.

At least the Richlands one on Archerfield Rd is still in situ, even if only in ruins. Can someone go there and post some photos for us?

BTW - update on the Starline Drive-In at Raceview (Ipswich) - you can clearly see the old shape from the air, and today it's not just houses, but is actually the Cascade Gardens retirement village, on the corner of Whitehall Rd and Cascade St.

Several of the Brisbane drive-ins were apparently twinned. According to a 1990 Brisbane street directory, there was the Aspley Twin; the Capalaba Twin; the Keperra Twin and Richlands Twin-Inala. From the ruins of the Richland, above, you can see how it was originally one screen (facing the road), then a second screen was added at the back. It looks like they never really moved the ramps in a proper arc, like the orginal ramps.

Sydney only ever had three twin drive-ins, and never more than two at once.

The Yatala Drive-in. Man, I got some memories from that place. When we were young and seeking in, in the boot of the crummydore. Smoking funny stuff and mucking around. Then when we grew up, taking the kids for a great family night out. Come to think of it I'd say our youngest was conceived there. I hope it never closes down!

I have picked up a Brisbane street directory from 1982, which is perfect for locating lost drive-ins. Here's some updates:

Aspley was called the Starlight Drive-in, which we already know, as there is a Starlight St among the new houses there now.
Cannon Hill was called the Galaxy Drive-in, and was actually right next to big shopping centre, where the homemaker centre is now.
Rochedale was called Macs Drive-in. The flyover from the Gateway motorway to Miles Platting Rd goes straight through the old drive-in site.
Coopers Plains was called the Skyline Drive-in (like almost all the Sydney ones were).
The Redcliffe drive-in was on Elizabeth Ave but just south of Miller St, opposite the Holden dealer. It's houses.
Oxley was called the Western Drive-in. It was huge, taking up the block bounded by Seventeen Mile Rocks Rd, Argyle St, Molesworth St and Fremont St.
Tweed Heads was called the Twin Towns Drive-in. It's now the garden centre, shown above.

There were several more drive-ins, further out from Brisbane, that we have missed so far. They were:

* Caloundra - now a retirement village on North St, opposite the aussie rules ground.
* Maroochydore - now the vacant lot behind the Maroochy Car Sound shop on Maud St & Gloria St. Subdivided but no houses yet.
* Southport - now the Harbour Town shopping centre at Labrador
* Woolridge (Waterford West) - Google Earth shows a vacant lot, with some new streets added. You can still see some remains of the drive-in ramps at the bottom. The screen would have been on the short line of trees to the left. However this is an old (2003) photo, and since then the site has been built over. Nothing left of it now, sadly.