Fire has destroyed the historic Central Otago building
The cause of the blaze is under investigation
Fire and Emergency attended a small fire at same spot in January
Roxburgh local Douglas Dance speaks about 71-year love of cinema
The fire that destroyed Roxburgh’s historic town hall and cinema was the second blaze at the site this year, authorities have confirmed.
Yesterday’s blaze has devastated locals - including Douglas Dance, 84, who has been closely connected to the cinema since he began working there as a 13-year-old schoolboy.
The Roxburgh Cinema, based within the town hall, has been showing movies since 1897 - making it “the longest continuously running cinema in the world”.
The fire was reported about 11.45am yesterday and despite the efforts of multiple fire crews, the building could not be saved.
The Herald can confirm that Fire and Emergency responded to a “small” fire at the hall at 3.41pm on January 3.
The cinema's history was being considered for a world record.
“Four crews attended, and the fire was extinguished by 3.50pm,” a spokesperson said.
“The investigation found the fire to be accidental, and likely to have been caused by an electrical fault.”
The Herald has contacted the Central Otago District Council, who operate the venue, for comment about the earlier fire and what had been done to prevent further incidents.
Dance is one of many locals eager to find out the cause of death of their beloved hall and cinema.
He told the Herald he had just sat down with a coffee after cutting up 4kg of apricots from his orchard when his son called to tell him the town hall was on fire.
Dance went straight outside to get in his car and could already see thick black smoke.
He knew whatever was happening at the hall wasn’t good - and he was devastated.
Dance then drove around Roxburgh trying to get a decent look at the fire but eventually, the sadness was too overwhelming and he went home.
When Dance was 13 he got a job as the assistant projectionist at the cinema, located within the hall, and since then he’s remained closely connected to it.
He went on to manage the cinema and over the years kept it running by rallying various community groups to get in behind it; his daughters performed in musicals, plays and shows; his son worked on the lighting for them.
“And now it’s just gone,” Dance told the Herald.
“It was a bad day. My whole family are gutted because they grew up there too,” Dance lamented.
“I went to four locations to get a better view and in the end, I just couldn’t stand it… I didn’t have a dry eye for a long time after that.
“It’s all gone, all that history and a big part of my history is gone.”
The Roxburgh Town Hall and cinema building before the fire. Photo / Google
At 7.15pm, Central Otago District Council issued a statement along with a photo of the fire.
“Thank you to all those that tried so hard to save the Roxburgh Entertainment Centre and Town Hall,” the statement said.
“Sadly the building has been destroyed. Engineers are making a safety assessment of the facade in the hope that it can be retained.
Dance was born and raised in Roxburgh. He started working at the cinema while he was still at high school and stayed on through the years - as he ran his own orchard, and through his 40 years as a St John responder.
“Unfortunately I was shoved in the deep end rather soon when the man who used to operate the cinema was killed in a car accident. I had to take over the role earlier than expected - but luckily I had been shown the ropes.
“In those days it was all film and there were two projectors. It was quite a skill operating them and I was the only one there doing it.
“When I started the Borough Council was running it and when they gave it up I was a member of the Jaycees so, naturally they started running the movies.
“After they folded up, I was a Rotary member and the Rotarians took it on, then the Roxburgh Silver band - I was a member there.”
A historic photo of the building, published on the Roxburgh Cinema's Facebook page. Photo / Supplied
Dance only gave up working at the cinema when the new digital projector was installed.
“That was too technological for me - too new. It can actually be started by phone from anywhere in New Zealand,” he said.
When work began to refurbish the hall, Dance was named chairman of the entertainment committee.
To say he is passionate about the building and what it provided the community is an understatement.
He said the building was “beautiful” - from its tartan carpet to the theatre seats that used to be Christchurch Town Hall’s James Hay Theatre, the dressing rooms with “Hollywood mirrors” and the dance hall.
“It wasn’t just a picture theatre, it was a one-stop shop, it was a fantastic complex,” he said.
“It was absolutely gorgeous inside. The whole district has lost this and I don’t know what they’re going to do about it. Things will never be the same.”
One of the things Dance is most upset about is the loss of the dance hall floor.
“The dance hall was beautiful, it was built in 1895 and was called the Athenaeum Hall. In 1930 when they built the town hall, they towed the Athenaeum to the back… that complex was historical and now that history is gone,” he said.
He said other historic items probably lost in the blaze included a 21-minute film of the building of Roxburgh’s dam - the earliest hydroelectric project undertaken in the South Island.
And a film version of In My Father’s Den - based on the book by Maurice Gee - which was filmed in the small town may also be lost forever.
A film about the making of the Roxburgh Dam, completed in the 1950s, is believed to have been lost in the fire. Photo / Jared Morgan
Dance said the building had no chance.
“The owner of the pub, who was in Dunedin, heard there was a fire before the fire brigade got called,” he said.
“And people at bowls could see the smoke. It was burning well before the fire brigade got there.”
The Herald has asked the council and Fire and Emergency New Zealand for updates about the cause of the fire and future plans for the site.
Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz
