Venue: Athenium Theatre
Town: Junee, AU

Athenium Theatre is a heritage-listed former theatre and cinema and now community hall at The Broadway, Junee, in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Kaberry and Chard and built in 1929 by J. Nyssen. It is also known as the Broadway Theatre and JADDA Centre. The property is owned by Junee Shire Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 9 January 2004. c. 1894. Gearge Laurantus was born in Kythira, Greece. (His brother, Nicholas was five years his senior.) c. 1909. George emigrates to Australia, first working in Sydney, then for brother Nicholas who had bought a cafe in a country town, then the Globe Theatre, Narrandera. 1925. Nicholas Laurantus's Globe Theatre is destroyed by fire. He rebuilds. 1927. The new Globe Theatre opens. Nicholas wishes to develop a "chain" of cinemas as a means of getting a better deal on film hire. c. 1928. Nicholas joins Ben Cummins, Junee, to build a new theatre in the Broadway; he puts brother George in charge of the Lyceum and overseeing the building of the new theatre. 1929. In May, Theatres and Public Halls gives approval to build. On 10 October the theatre opens as the Athenium Theatre. 1935. Nicholas and Gearge build the Rio Theatre at Lockhart. 1939. Nicholas decides to buy a property outside of Narrandera, decides to sell his theatre interest in Junee, forces George to give up management of the Athenium to go out and manage the property while Nicholas resides in town. c. 1940. Robert Tilby Begg takes over the theatre. 1950. R J and E E Pollard buy and run the theatre, renaming it Broadway. 1954. The Pollards sell on to Albert Thomas Manion for his son Kevin and daughter-in-law, Yvonne to manage (purchase price 28 000 pounds $56 000). 1958. The theatre is transferred into a company, Broadway Theatre (Junee) Pty Ltd, of which Kevin Manion and Thomas A Wah are directors 1959. The proscenium is removed, as was the custom to provide a wider opening for Cinemascope present