If there's something weird - and it don't look good, who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

It was a case of stepping back in time when Thames Coromandel District Council staff uncovered movie memorabilia from thirty years ago in two forgotten rooms at the Whitianga Town Hall.

Mercury Bay customer services representative Suzanne Cook said retro movie posters from the 1980s and 1990s, movie film reels, tickets, fliers and movie equipment remained in place.

''There's still a half-drunk cup of coffee sitting on a bench, possibly left behind by the film projectionist while on the last job working at the Buffalo Beach Cinema,'' she said.

It's been 15 years since the Town Hall was used as a movie theatre and Ms Cook said the rooms look completely untouched, including posters from cult 1980 movies Gremlins, Return of the Jedi, Flashdance and Ghostbusters lining the walls alongside other cinema gems from days gone by.

''Glass plates, which were inserted into the film projector to advertise the wares of local businesses are littered around the room alongside old, disused film reel cases.''

The movie booty was uncovered during a planned electrical upgrade of the Town Hall.

''We were looking at rewiring in the building and during a visit by an electrician we uncovered these forgotten rooms,'' she said.

''It's now a piece of history we don't want to lose because it remembers a time when everything was on film, long before the digital age.''

Council is now looking at the best way to preserve the movie memorabilia and is calling for suggestions from the public.

''We've had quite a few people who have independent movie theatres in other towns around the country who've said they'd like our memorabilia to preserve in their theatres, but we'd quite  like to keep it in Whitianga.''

Ms Cook said the Town Hall was used as a movie theatre on several occasions over the years. It was known as 'Buffalo Beach Cinema' and before that the 'Hickbilly Cinema', during the 1980s.

 * Any ideas can be emailed to suzanne.cook@tcdc.govt.nz

 

- © Fairfax NZ News

Comments