Drive-in theatres (also known as drive-in cinemas or just drive-ins) were once very popular in Australia. Although considered an American invention, there is evidence of outdoor cinemas in Western Australia where some patrons attended in their cars as far back as 1938, and it is possible that these facilities may even predate the first American-style drive-in theatre.

History

The first American-style drive-in theatre to open in Australia was the Skyline in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood on 18 February 1954. It was the first of 330 drive-in theatres that would open across Australia.

Many have since closed with the large amounts of land taken up by drive-ins being sold off to build houses or shopping centres, although in recent years a number of drive-in theatres have reopened or expanded the number of screens available.

In the 1990s, the Coburg Drive-In in Melbourne was expanded to three screens, as was the Dromana 3 Drive-In In more recent times the former Dandenong Panoramic Drive-in, in Victoria, has been reopened as the Lunar Drive-in Theatre and now has four screens making it Australia's largest drive-in theatre with the most screen choice.

In 2002 the Rodeo Drive-in at Mareeba, near Cairns, re-opened, with the Tivoli Drive-in near Ipswich re-opening in 2008.

Dromana Drive In is the longest continually running in Australia. It was opened in 1961 and has never closed.

The longest running Drive In Theatres in Western Australia that is still open today is located in Dongara. This opened in 1967 and still operates every summer, the projector has been upgraded to digital to show the latest movies.

Along with a few metropolitan operations, there are a number of drive-in theatres serving remote communities such as Jericho in Queensland.

By state and territory The remaining drive-ins provide a glimpse of what was a very popular pastime in the 1950s and 1960s. The following is a listing of Australia's remaining open drive-in theatres. It includes portable operations in which patrons can either drive or sit down to see a movie outdoors.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT had two drive-in theatres, the Starlight in Watson (opened in January 1957 and closed in 1993), which has now been redeveloped for medium-density housing, and the Sundown at Narrabundah (opened in 1968 and closed in 1984), which is now a motel and private housing village.

On 2 February 2018, the Southern Cross Drive-In theatre opened just over the ACT border in Queanbeyan. However, it was only open for a month when it closed on 3 March after a severe storm damaged the screen.

New South Wales The Skyline drive-ins at Frenchs Forest and Dundas were Sydney's first. They opened simultaneously on Wednesday 24 October 1956, with Frenchs Forest screening 3 Ring Circus and Dundas screening The Racers.

The Skyline on Johnston Rd in Bass Hill opened in November 1956, with a 724 car capacity and until its closure in September 2007 was Australia's oldest continually operating drive-in theatre.

The Chullora Metro Twin drive-in was opened by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pty. Ltd in October 1956 with Chips Rafferty in Walk Into Hell. It was taken over by Greater Union in 1971 but closed in 1979. It was Australia's first twin-screen drive-in.

North Ryde drive-in, on the corner of Lane Cove and Waterloo Roads, opened in December 1956, accommodated 620 cars and operated for 30 years from December 1956. It was operated by Consolidated Drive-In Theatres Property Ltd. It closed in February 1986. The site was redeveloped for industrial uses.

Caringbah Skyline drive-in on Taren Point Rd opened in 1956 and closed in 1988. It is now occupied by a retail development.

In the southwestern suburbs of Sydney, El Rancho drive-in opened in March 1957 on Hamilton Road in the then rural locality of Fairfield West, and closed as the Skyline drive-in in 1984. The site is now occupied by Mary McKillop College Wakely (the name change from Fairfield West occurred in the early 1980s as the area was urbanised). Later came the Prestons drive-in, which had closed by the early 1990s.

The Matraville Star Drive-In opened in August 1958, and was operated by Star Drive-In Property Ltd. In 1971 it was re-named Skyline Matraville but closed in August 1984.

In the Western Suburbs, the Blacktown (Prospect) Skyline drive-in opened in December 1963 as a single screen site, with a second screen being added in the 1980s. Until recently the Blacktown Skyline Drive In was one of Sydney's last remaining drive-ins. It was the first of the Consolidated circuit to add a second screen in 1984 and has a capacity of 700 cars. It is currently operated by Event Cinemas. The Penrith Starline drive-in opened in 1965 and in 1970 was brought by Consolidated Drive-In Theatres Property Ltd and renamed Penrith Skyline drive-in. It was taken over Hoyts Theatres in March 1979, taken over by Greater Union in 1982, and closed in August 1984.

Warriewood drive-in opened in September 1971 and closed in August 1984. It was then used as a plant nursery, but later demolished for residential development.

Probably the last of Sydney's drive-ins to be built, the Parklea Skyline drive-in opened in December 1976 with Rachel Roberts in 'Picnic At Hanging Rock'. It lasted less than eight years, closing in August 1984. Parklea Market then occupied the site.

In Lambton in Newcastle the Skyline drive-in opened in December 1956 at a cost of $200,000, with a capacity for 722 cars and a holding area for a further 420. It closed in June 1985.

In Wollongong, the Southline drive-in, on the corner of the Princes Hwy and Balgownie Rd in Fairy Meadow opened in October 1957 with 'Picnic'. It closed in March 1984. The Lakeline drive-in, located on Kanahooka Rd Kanahooka, opened in November 1967 with 'Divorce, American Style'. It closed in March 1986. There is now a Summer out door cinema held periodically in the Wollongong Botanic Gardens.

The Village Orange drive-in opened on 8 October 1970 but closed in the early 1980s. From then until 2018 when it was demolished, it was used for various types of open-air markets.

In Thurgoona in Albury, the Stargazer drive-in opened in October 1972. It closed in December 1990.

The Sturt drive-in in Wagga Wagga opened in February 1959. It closed in the late 1980s and was demolished sometime after 1998. The site is now occupied by retail.

The Taree drive-in, located on Bushland Drive, opened around 1970 but closed in the mid-1980s. The site remains unused, with the concession stand, ramps and ticket booths still standing as of 2019.

Coffs Harbour drive-in opened in February 1972 and closed in September 1988. It was demolished in December 1988 for an industrial estate.

At Narellan, the Gayline drive-in opened in November 1967 and closed in 1990. It has been demolished and the site redeveloped for housing.

The opening date of the Lismore drive-in is not known, but was before 1973. It has been demolished.

Tweed Heads drive-in opened in December 1971 and is thought to have closed in the 1990s. The site was brought by Gold Coast Airport for carparking.

The Armidale Drive-In was located in Mossman St and opened in the 1970s and closed in 1986.

In Broken Hill, the Bel-Air drive-in opened in the early 1960s, and closed in 1989. It has since been demolished.

Several smaller community drive-ins remain in rural NSW.

Tamworth Drive-in theatre opened in July 1965 and closed circa 1980. Featured a children's playground and mini-golf with full food amenities. Heddon Greta Skyline (1 screen), Heddon Greta Drive-in was opened in the 1960s but between 1984 and 1996 the theatre was closed, however it has been reopened. The theatre has the capacity of 676 cars. It is currently operated by Skyline (Greater Union/Hoyts) and Donna and Scott Seddon. The land has been sold, and the cinema is expected to close mid-2023. Dubbo Westview Drive In (1 screen), Closed in the mid 1980s recently restored and reopened to special events.

In 2010 a new seasonal facility with a blow up screen was proposed for Randwick Racecourse.Jockey club dreams of days at the drive-in Sydney Morning Herald 15 March 2010 In 2020, the Mov'in Car drive-in theatre opened on the rooftop carpark at the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park.

Northern Territory Darwin was home to the Paspalis (Nightcliff) Drive-in Theatre, the largest privately owned drive-in located in Australia, which was opened in 1965 and closed in 1985. The Alice Springs Star line Drive-in operated from 1975 to 1990 closing when the Alice Springs Cinema opened in 1989. There are currently no operating drive-ins in the territory. The Tennant Creek drive-in ran 1972–84 and Katherine hosted one in Bogart Rd.

Queensland Queensland had at one stage over 50 drive-ins. Now all of the suburban Brisbane drive-in theatres have closed leaving the Gold Coast's Yatala as the closest drive-in theatres to Brisbane. In rural Queensland however, there are still a number of drive-in theatres operating.

Brisbane's first drive-in was the Capalaba which opened in 1955. The Boondall Drive-in opened on 8 February 1956, at the time it had the largest screen in Australia. Kids were well catered for with a Merry-Go-Round, miniature Cobb & Co coach and Shetland Ponies to ride (Brisbane Telegraph, 6 Feb 1956). The site of the Boondall Drive-In has now been developed into housing.

The Burleigh Heads Drive-in was one of Queensland's first drive-ins when it opened in 1957 with a 500 car capacity. It was followed by the Starlight drive-in at Aspley, which was opened in January 1957 (at a cost of £100,000). Fourth to open, in April 1957, was Hoyts Skyline Drive-in located at Coopers Plains at a cost of £200,000. It could hold 650 cars on its 17 acres and also had a children's railway line, putt putt, badminton facilities and a dance floor.

The Starline Drive-In opened near Ipswich in the early 1960s. Other drive-ins opened in and around Brisbane in the late 1960s, early 1970s. These included the Keperra, the Western at Oxley, the Galaxy at Cannon Hill and the Redcliffe Drive-In on the city's northern outskirts.

In 2002 a small boutique drive-in was opened in Wonga (north of Gympie), with a second screen added in 2004, increasing it to a 250 car capacity. A third screen was subsequently added; however in January 2010 the drive-in closed, when its owner went into receivership. In September 2010 a new owner took over the operation of the drive-in reopening in December that year. The drive-in has recently closed. Ayr Stardust Drive In, Ayr The Stardust drive-in was opened in September 1964, with a capacity of 360 cars. Built within the grounds is a hardtop cinema, so patrons can choose between outdoor and indoor movies.

Charters Towers Tors Drive-In, 110–120 New Queen Road, Queenton, Charters Towers (). The Charters Towers Tors drive-in was opened in 1966 and has two screens with capacity for 300 cars. Jericho Drive in, Jericho The Jericho drive-in is the smallest public drive-in located in Australia, and possibly the world, with a capacity for 36 cars. It was opened in 1969. Movies are screened once a month. Rodeo Drive In Mareeba, Mareeba The Mareeba Rodeo drive-in was built by Far Northern Theatres in the 1960s. Far Northern Theatres had a circuit that extended right through far northern Queensland and into Papua New Guinea. The circuit was sold to Birch Carrol & Coyle in the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, Birch Carrol & Coyle pulled out and the Rodeo was sold to Norm Janke. Janke operated the drive-in until 1998 when it closed. It subsequently re-opened in 2002, with a 300 car capacity. Tivoli Drive In Theatre, Chuwar