c. 1801

Birth of Thomas Spicer, original grantee of Allotment 5 in Section 3 of the town of Mudgee, on which the Regent Theatre is located

1818

Thomas Spicer is transported to New South Wales per Morley 2 for 14 years

1828

Thomas Spicer is an overseer for Robert Lowe senior at Sidmouth Valley, south-east of Bathurst

1837

Thomas Spicer is present in the Mudgee district, possibly managing landholdings for Sarah Lowe, widow of Robert Lowe senior

1838

January: gazetting of the town of Mudgee

Purchase by Thomas Spicer of Allotments 1 to 5 of Section 3 of the township of Mudgee, fronting Short Street. Allotment 5 was bought for £3

1850s

Thomas Spicer subdivides Allotments 2 to 4 of Section 3 and constructs 6 cottages thereon

1862

18th January: Thomas Spicer dies without a will, thus leaving his common-law wife and 5 children destitute. Although he left a substantial estate, he had extensive debts 

1864

13th September: Auction of all of Thomas Spicer’s real estate holdings in Mudgee. Allotment 5 and the western portion of Allotment 4 were purchased by James Coleman for £518, suggesting that the site contained a substantial structure, possibly a hotel

1868

15th September: James Coleman sells his property to Mudgee businessman Richard Crossing. The land ultimately contained Tattersall’s Hotel, now the Lawson Park Hotel, on the northern portion, while the southern portion was further subdivided, eventually containing a two-storeyed building adjacent to the hotel, and a more rustic single-storeyed building on the southern boundary of Allotment 5. 

1870

Brothers James and John Loneragan set up an emporium in premises on what is now the Regent Theatre site on the southern boundary of Allotment 5

c. 1885

Birth in England of George Newton Kenworthy, architect of the Regent Theatre

c. 1911

George Newton Kenworthy, now a qualified architect, emigrates to Australia

1916

Opening of the Criterion Theatre in Church Street, Mudgee (later owned by Ivan Adams)

1929

George Newton Kenworthy: involved in the design of the State Theatre in Sydney as managing partner of the architectural firm of Henry White

Late 1920s /early 1930s

George Newton Kenworthy: extensions and modifications to the Paragon Café in Katoomba

1930

George Newton Kenworthy: establishes his own architectural practice

1934

George Newton Kenworthy: design of the State Theatre, Sydney: ballroom, milk bar, and coffee lounge

c. 1934

George Newton Kenworthy: design of Parthenon, Robertson Road, Centennial Park, an inter-war mansion

1935

February: Formation of the Regent Theatre (Mudgee) Ltd

George Newton Kenworthy: design of the Regent Theatre, Mudgee. Completion by July 1935

31st July: grand opening of the Regent Theatre

1936

George Newton Kenworthy: design of the Ritz Theatre, Port Macquarie

1937

George Newton Kenworthy: design of the Savoy Theatre, Hurstville (demolished)

March: Sale of the Regent Theatre to Mudgee businessman Ivan Adams

June: tilework on the front façade carried out for Ivan Adams

 

YEAR

EVENT

1938

September: installation of Mirrophonic sound system in the Regent Theatre 

George Newton Kenworthy: design of the Royal Hotel in Orange

George Newton Kenworthy: extensive remodelling of Hoyt’s Savoy Theatre, Enfield

1939

June: central heating installed in the Regent Theatre by Ivan Adams

Late 1930s

George Newton Kenworthy: design of a house at 12 Cliff Drive, Echo Point, Katoomba, for the owners of the Paragon Café at Katoomba 

c. 1940 

George Newton Kenworthy: extensive remodelling of the Civic Theatre, Bankstown (demolished)

1945

February: Water fountain bubbler installed in front of the Regent Theatre by Ivan Adams

1946

Several murals painted on the walls of the nursery (later the candy bar)

1948

October: Ivan Adams installs the latest Westrex sound and projection equipment in the Regent Theatre at a cost of £3,500

1954

Death of George Newton Kenworthy, architect of the Regent Thatre

1972

Installation of two 35mm carbon arc movie projectors in the Regent Theatre

1986

Installation of a new sound system in the Regent Theatre

1993

28th September: the Regent Theatre is entered on the National Trust Register

2007

Sale of the Regent Theatre by the Suttor family to Peter Freeman of Sydney

2009

Front façade of the Regent Theatre repainted in three tones – two greens and a cream, allegedly based on paint scrapings

June: the Regent Theatre is placed on the market

July: the Regent Theatre withdrawn from sale after the publication of a reserve price figure

July: the Regent Theatre features in a documentary about NSW theatres by Sydney cinema historian Ross Thorne who has compiled a register of NSW cinemas

2012

February: the Mid-Western Regional Council decides not to buy the Regent Theatre for the community

March: the Regent Theatre fails to sell at auction

2014

May: sale of the Regent Theatre to Cameron Scott-Fell

June: the Mid-Western Regional Council rejects the concept of an art gallery under a public-private partnership in the Regent Theatre 

2015

February: Cameron Scott-Fell reveals plans to transform the Regent Theatre into a 34 apartment complex

September: Decision deferred by Mid-Western Regional Council on a DA for the afore-mentioned project, largely due to an access dispute involving a driveway between the Lawson Park Hotel and the Regent Theatre

2017

A DA is submitted to convert the Regent Theatre to an 84-room hotel which would involve the demolition of the theatre auditorium and the demolition of the house at 33 Short Street

November: Mudgee architectural historian and heritage consultant John Broadley compiles “The Regent Theatre, Church Street, Mudgee. An Historical and Heritage Curtilage Study”  

November: the National Trust of Australia (NSW) writes officially to the Mid-Western Regional Council listing its opposition to the development/demolition of the Regent Theatre 

2018

January: As a result of a list of queries raised by the Mid-Western Regional Council in December 2017, primarily objecting to inadequate parking provision in the 2017 DA, a revised DA was submitted by Mod Urban Pty Ltd with fewer (62) hotel rooms and a proposal to have 20 parking spaces within the grounds of the Anglican Church opposite

March: Response listing objections to the new DA from Lucas Stapleton Johnson, heritage and planning architects, lodged with the Mid-Western Regional Council