The Mareeba Drive In
Enjoy a classic outdoor Drive In Theatre right here in FNQ.
One of only twelve left in Australia!
When is the last time you went to the Drive In? We were absolutely delighted when we drove in to this classic outback Drive In theatre. It took us back to our childhood and ET – the last time we went to the Drive In. Yes quite a few years ago, back in 1982 actually! But now it’s one of our regular things we like to do because we love movies and the night sky full of stars and it’s affordable too.
In March this year a brother and sister team took over the Mareeba Drive In. Although it had been in their family for the past 20 years, their father, Sam, leased it out to various business owners throughout that time. Now for the first time the Drive In is in their hands to restore and revive!
The family have been working very hard to bring the Mareeba Drive In back to life including clearing kilometers of weeds, fixing hundreds of speakers, fixing operating equipment and projectors, buying new childrens play ground equipment, it’s a constant work in progress as these new business owners have a big vision for this big screen.
The Drive In is a fading experience with only twelve left in Australia and six of those are in Queensland, including Mareeba, Ayr and Charters Towers. It really is a great family and community night watching movies under the stars together and important to keep alive. How many houses are all watching different screens in different rooms?
One of the big upgrades has been the Cafe, with its lovely rustic welcoming style and fantastic home style food. Enjoy a classic burger and chips or a hotdog or perhaps you’d like the special on the night? The Cafe caters for all diets, including vegans and uses local produce. They also have coffee, chai and hot chocolate, chips and icecreams and of course popcorn! What theatre doesn’t have fresh hot popcorn ready to go?
The Mareeba Drive In has space for 200 cars and if you’ve a camper van you better get in quick because the whole back row quickly fills! That is because of a special feature – you can stay overnight! Yes, you can watch the movie, have a sleep and get up in the morning and go! No shower facilities or breakfast.
Open every Friday and Saturday night – 2 movie screenings. Great range of movies, special screenings for school holidays and soon to run their first horror movie night. They’re also open to hire for special events.
Listen to the movie through your car radio, just tune in to 96.0 FM. They’re even prepared to jump start you if you get a flat battery. Bring the family, you can even bring your dog, just keep it on a lead and clean up any mess.
The Mareeba Drive In was built in 1962 and thanks to the Torrisi family who are passionate to keep the drive in alive, we can all enjoy it.
The price for 2 movies is ADULT($14) CONCESSION/STUDENTS ($12) and KIDS 4 to 12 ($8).
5303 Kennedy Highway, Mareeba, QLD
Friday and Saturday nights