Geraldton’s Queens Park Theatre celebrates its 40th anniversary as local entertainment landmark

Good luck to you if you want to accuse a 40-year-old lady of being old. But the grand old dame of Geraldton’s entertainment scene, the Queens Park Theatre, has a milestone birthday coming up. While it seems to have been around a lot longer than four decades, it turns out the QPT is barely middle-aged, only just entering the prime of life. The local landmark celebrates its ruby anniversary this Sunday. On March 27, 1982 the Queens Park Theatre was officially opened with a week-long celebration. It was a new era for Geraldton’s cultural and entertainment scene, with the venue boasting a 673-seat auditorium and a 400-seat outdoor amphitheatre. City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said the QPT had been a focal point of the city for many years and brought people together from all walks of life and culture. He said the QPT was the “cultural heart” of Geraldton, which was why the council had spent more than $3 million to restore the venue to its former glory. “Over the years we have seen the venue host a variety of different shows and performances as well as bring folk together from all over the region and State to enjoy, connect, dream and relax,” Mr Van Styn said. “The Queens Park Theatre is integral to the fabric of Geraldton life. We are so fortunate to have this space that we all share such fond memories of and I look forward to many more great events to come.” Six years after the QPT was opened, the venue’s namesake made a visit to Geraldton and took a stroll through the theatre’s grounds and gardens. It was an event still etched in many older residents’ memories when Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip visited Geraldton in 1988 to officially declare the then-town a city, as well as open the new civic centre and Queen Elizabeth II Centre. The QPT has hosted some big ticket concerts and performances over the decades, most recently including Birds of Tokyo last year, Missy Higgins in 2014, Archie Roach in 2014, Justice Crew in 2017, Cosentino in 2007, 2008 and 2021, The Waifs in 2009, 2015, 2018 and 2019 and the Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2016. Not to mention all the theatre productions, entertainment acts, conferences and school and local dance performances that have graced the QPT stage over the years. Some people might also recall the QPT was Geraldton’s only cinema for many years, before Orana Cinemas opened its doors. Other notable highlights include a local production of The Pirates of Penzance in 1989, many Bell Shakespeare performances, live opera such as Carmen and Rioletto, plus Opera in the Park (performed in Perth by WA Opera and broadcast to the regions), comedy acts like Puppetry of the Penis (2003, 2008, 2012, 2014), Wil Anderson (2006) and Rockwiz LIVE! (2017) as well as children’s concerts like Possum Magic in 2019 and Bluey last year. The Friends of the QPT group has hosted pizza, wine and film nights for the past 12 years, which is still going strong. Friends of QPT president Catherine Hope this week shared many fond memories of the landmark venue, dating back to 1987 when she first arrived in Geraldton. “I’m an avid theatre goer,” she said. Mrs Hope has attended a variety of performances including local productions, operas — including the live streaming of Opera in the Park — and plays from the Black Swan Theatre Company and Shakespeare, international shows including the Moscow Ballet, Irish dancers, comedians and individual singers like Missy Higgins and Jimmy Barnes just to name a few. “We’ve had Indigenous dancers, Cosentino the magician and illusionist, now remember I’m just talking about a couple. These are just examples I’ve pulled out. There’s been circus groups for young people, for older people, weird and wonderful,” she said. Mrs Hope said the highlight of the QPT was being able to access all parts of the theatre over the years, including backstage, the rooms where the children prepared for the dance concerts, and to see the wall where all the artists and performers have left autographs and messages. “The highlights are going into this theatre that’s got rich, red plush carpet. It feels like a real theatre. Seeing your children perform on stage and of course some of the shows are just absolute standouts,” she said. Mrs Hope laughed when she recalled one of her funniest memories at the QPT when her five-year-old son jumped on the stage. “He was in what is now called the Theatre 8 or children’s drama,” she said. “They were putting on a show. And here’s my son on the front of the stage, to the Indian music, doing his own thing. “Everybody knew who it was and whose son it was, I just had to laugh, thinking, ‘yep, that’s him. Does his own thing, doesn’t care about anyone else’.” Mrs Hope said the theatre was her second home and she was frequently there as her children were always on stage. “My daughter was probably about four. So there were moments of pride. I feel as though Queens Park Theatre is my second home because I seem to be there so often. Not so much in the last few years with COVID. But it’s the fact that I have been able to go to so many things,” she said. The past 40 years have gone by quick for the QPT and the Geraldton community. If you’re a local, there’s a strong guarantee that at one point you’ve stood on that stage or at the very least spent many hours being entertained in one of those red velvet chairs. And there’s sure to be plenty more memories and moments to come out of the QPT for current and future generations.