Wallis matriarch hands over SA movie reign
Wallis Entertainment’s long-term leader is passing control of its five cinemas, including the heritage-listed The Piccadilly in North Adelaide, to the next generation.
Wallis Entertainment has announced the retirement of Lorna Wallis after almost two decades at the helm, with her daughter Michelle Wallis now leading its stable of South Australian cinemas.
The business was established as Wallis Theatres when founder Hugh Wallis opened Blueline at West Beach in 1953, which was South Australia’s first drive-in cinema.
Wallis Entertainment now owns and operates venues throughout the state and in Mildura, ranging from The Piccadilly in North Adelaide to the Mitcham, Mount Barker and Noarlunga cinemas, as well as the heritage-listed Auchendarroch House events venue in Mount Barker.
Lorna Wallis’s granddaughter, Deanna Wallis, told InDaily that the Wallis family collectively decided it was time for her grandmother to retire.
“We collectively, as a family, felt it was for the best – her health is not the greatest. Nana has been through and seen a lot; together, we felt it was time for Nana to enjoy this next stage of her life and for Mum to have the opportunity to really flourish,” she said.
“She’ll pop into the office when she feels that she can, but for the most part, it’s just winding down and spending time together as a family.”
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Deanna Wallis, who is a director of Wallis Entertainment and a fourth-generation member of the Wallis family, said Wallis Entertainment has seen a lot of changes since Lorna Wallis took over as owner in 2007 following the passing of her late husband, Bob Wallis.
“During that time, we acquired the Mildura cinema and we renovated The Piccadilly. We have done, in the last year, two different premium seating experiences,” she said.
“But obviously, also, Nana was the owner when Covid first hit, and it massively impacted the industry. So she has seen a lot in her whole time involved with the company, but even a lot in the last decade and a bit.”
Michelle Wallis will now take over as head of Wallis Entertainment and will lead the new Advisory Board.
Deanna Wallis said she looks forward to seeing her mother flourish in the new role.
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She said they are committed to keeping the business in the Wallis family.
“My mum has been involved in the business since she was a teenager. She started at the very, very bottom working as a dish cleaner, a carpet sweeper and an usher at the Academy and Glenelg and has worked her way up,” she said.
“She has been heavily involved from a very young age, and it’s time for her to flourish now.”
Deanna Wallis said that under Michelle Wallis’s direction, Wallis Entertainment will pursue a project to diversify the Mount Barker cinema to add more entertainment offerings.
Asked if she sees a future for cinema with the impact of streaming services, Deanna Wallis said she expects movie theatres will remain for some time.
“Obviously, it’s becoming more experience-based – back in the day, you used to put a film on and people would fill the auditoriums; it’s not like that now, sadly,” she said.
“I do feel as long as we keep up in the experience space and have other things to complement, I do feel cinema will be around for quite a while, and that is at the DNA of who we are.”
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