Tribute to film family unveiled at Wagin’s Betty Terry Community Theatre

A couple who were long-serving members of the Wagin community have been recognised for their efforts to keep the region entertained. A crowd gathered at the Betty Terry Community Theatre on April 7 to celebrate the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the legacy of the late Frank and Elizabeth Lintorn-Terry. For more than 50 years, Mr and Ms Lintorn-Terry entertained communities around Wagin, having started showing movies in the town in 1963. “The family gifted the theatre to the community, which is fantastic,” Shire of Wagin president Phil Blight said. “It is absolutely worthwhile that we honour their legacy.” The drive-in cinema was popular when the couple first started screening movies, but the tide was changing. In 1983 they bought the Wagin Power House, which was the converted into a 70-plus seat cinema and opened in 1986. “That conversion from a power house to a theatre took 18 months, with Frank doing most of the metalwork and I believe Arthur Kershaw did a lot of the timber work,” Mr Blight said. While the Lintorn-Terry family maintained ownership of the Little Gem Theatre, the operation of the cinema was largely left to community volunteers. Mr Lintorn-Terry later renamed the cinema the Betty Terry Community Theatre in honour of his wife who died in 2014 at the age of 81. The facility was gifted to the Shire in 2020 after his death at the age of 88. Betty Terry Community Theatre chairwoman Di Dohle said the family was thrilled by the recognition. “The theatre was a big part of their children’s lives as many of them performed duties at the cinema while they were growing up,” she said. Ms Dohle said the cinema still attracted visitors from across the region for screenings of the latest movies. “We have people travelling from Pingelly, Narrogin, Williams and Dumbleyung come to Wagin,” she said.