THE 55-year-old, recently heritage-listed Starlight Drive-In sign in Watson may have been damaged beyond repair after tipping from its rusted plinth and crashing through an adjacent fence. 

An inspection by a “CityNews” reporting team revealed that one side of the sign appeared to be completely missing and the underside had been impaled by a signpost it fell on to.

The iconic sign, which was erected in 1957 and used to mark the entry to the drive-in from the Federal Highway, secured heritage protection by the ACT Heritage Council in February after heavy campaigning by “CityNews” and the community to acknowledge the sign’s cultural value.

The sign was on the property of an apartment development, whose strata-title committee was the original applicants for the heritage listing.
“CityNews” first reported the deteriorating condition of the classic, American-style cinema sign in October, 2010.

It was the only drive-in sign in Australia still in its original position.

In a statement of heritage significance, the ACT Heritage Council wrote in February: “The sign is important as evidence of a distinctive custom of the drive-in theatre era which is no longer practised in the ACT.”

But last week “CityNews” discovered the three-metre-high, double-sided sign had fallen on to a nearby fence, and looked to be damaged beyond repair with one panel missing and a large hole in the second panel.

It’s also likely recent heavy winds may have contributed to the fall of the ageing steel frame.

Applicable heritage guidelines under the Heritage Act 2004 state the guiding conservation objective is that the sign “shall be conserved and appropriately managed in a manner respecting its heritage significance and the features intrinsic to that heritage significance.”

The ACT Heritage Council was unavailable for comment on the sign’s maintenance.

The Starlight Drive-in was one of the first drive ins in Canberra when it opened in 1957.

In its glory days, Starlight could hold up to 1180 cars and offered two shows a night.

The evening would include the news and cartoons before the main film.

Many Canberrans have fond memories of the theatre, including Judi Sindel who attended the opening in 1957.

“I was just four years old,” she says.

“From then on mum and dad took my two sisters, my brother and me to the drive-in about twice a week for the duration of my childhood. I then started going there on dates as a teenager in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.”