By Sahar Foladi
With the Lunar Drive-In on sale due to decrease in profits and soaring land tax, locals are disappointed to watch history repeat itself.
Cranbourne resident Barry Radic has lived in the area and went to the drive-in his entire 41 years of life along with five or six generations of his family.
“They’ve been there so long and the community loves them,” Mr Radic said.
Drive-in was most popular in the 1950’s and early 1960’s with 330 in Australia. The first drive-in established in Melbourne gained a lot of popularity among the locals including Mr Radic’s grandparents.
“Back then my grandparents told me before they passed away that there was hundreds of drive- ins around Victoria. There was Frankston, Burwood and Rowville, they were everywhere virtually in every suburb.”
However, the introduction of VCR’s in the early 1980’s caused drive-ins to suffer and many shut down. Dandenong was one of 22 remaining drive-ins serving the locals’ passions and a diminishing market.
Soon after it closed in 1984 and converted into a Sunday trash and treasure market.
“I remember my mum and dad were disappointed. I remember when it closed, Dad started going to the Oakleigh drive in because that was the nearest one,” Mr Radic said.
The shrinking market also saw the closure of the Oakleigh drive-in in 1990.
The closest drive-in for the locals was in Dromana which was too far. It made the Dandenong drive-in location ideal for cinema-goers around the area.
“It went from 1956 into the 80’s. Then it was like, hold for 20 years until somebody turned it into the Lunar Drive in.
“Back then a builder said to my Dad, ‘I just finished installing screens on the new drive-in at the trash and treasure market. Isn’t that good?’”
Opened again in 2002, thousands of cars made their way to watch Austin Powers in Goldmember, Lilo and Stitch and Stuart Little 2 on the massive new steel screens.
“It was a big celebration. Dad piled all of us in. I may well have been in my 20’s and everybody was just excited. We’ve gone ever since we don’t like the Villages.”
Mr Radic believes the drive-in to be safer compared to cinemas as it’s a family-friendly environment with guards.
“As my wife says if you go to a Reading in Dandenong you might see a late movie, it’s creepy and uncomfortable to wait in the car park to get home, whereas with the Lunar you just drive in and drive out.
“For those reasons it suited a lot of people.”
Due to the large crowds that the drive-in attracted, it was a great shock when they recently found out it was up for sale.
Mr Radic said people arrive at the drive-in an hour early to avoid the rush.
“I read the rates have skyrocketed, which is a real shame because everybody loves that joint.”
With the Lunar Drive-in paying $1,000 a day in land taxes, Mr Radic said he doesn’t agree with this and the place should be exempt from land taxes.
“I don’t agree because places like churches and museums are actually exempt and I know some churches that rip the joint off. And then there’s also big companies like mining, they don’t pay any tax.
“It’s a real disappointment. I will be sad to see it go. It deserves to be classified as a heritage museum, a historical site that’s been there since 1956, the year before the Melbourne Olympics.”
The Coburg and Dromana drive-ins had been classified by the National Trust in 2007, in an attempt to protect the movie phenomenon, according to The Age.
This was a first for the organisation while they considered classifying Dandenong’s drive-in as well.
However, Lunar Drive-in owner David Kilderry said that never happened because the National Trust “didn’t deem it historically significant” and the drive-in had to be in its original aspect.
Mr Kilderry said the drive-in lacked the “original signs, screens, building snack bar, speaker posts,” and other fixtures.
He had tried everything from talking to the State Treasurer to every political party in regards to the land taxes. “They’re all sympathetic but there was just no way,” Mr Kilderry said.
“We’ve explored every possible way and opportunity but loses will be enormous and it’s difficult. Literally no choice left.”
The future of the drive-in is uncertain as expression of interests close on 23 November.
“We understand people will be upset, if there’s something else we could do we would do it,” Mr Kilderry said.
There have been expressions of interest from a lot of cinema operators but Mr Kilderry told ABC that the land in the short or mid-term may be used for factories, as the drive-in is surrounded by multi-national factories.
“As soon as we know (of the new owner), we’ll share it.”
Surprisingly, even classified buildings get taken down according to Christine Keys, the president of Dandenong and District Historical Society.
“It would be lovely to see it classified, but I also see classified buildings get taken down, or left to rot,” Ms Keys said.
Businesses that gain profits should not be exempt from land tax however she is sad the remnant of the past will be no more, she said.
Ms Keys has lived all her life in Dandenong and has vivid memories of the drive-in.
“We used to go to the drive-in every Friday night, my family enjoyed it. Yes, it is sad that it’s historical and it will probably be closed down.”
The Dandenong Drive In is classified by the National Trust at a regional level.
“The classification of a heritage place by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) is a powerful advocacy tool that acts to draw community attention to the special importance of that place in the state’s heritage,” the trust stated.
“However, the inclusion of a place in the National Trust Heritage Register does not afford a place statutory protection.”
