Roxy Redevelopment

Published on 27 October 2022

It was the culmination of a hard week’s work but the end result marked a major milestone in the refurbishment of the Roxy Community Theatre.

Local builders, Brendan Horton and his apprentice son, Liam, celebrated last Friday after finishing a huge 63 cubic metre concrete pour for the floor in the main section of the Roxy’s auditorium.

With the concrete pour now complete, other contractors including painters, carpenters, electricians and bricklayers - many of whom are local and from the region - can now access the site.

Working in the Roxy is personally significant for first year apprentice Liam. His great-great-grandfather, Bill Jones, built the Roxy. Bill came to Leeton after cutting cane in Queensland.

After working on the construction of the Main Canal, he went into farming, however, Bill’s ambitions did not stop there. As one of Leeton’s early entrepreneurs, he eventually ended up in construction with his company snaring the contract for the Roxy more than 90 years ago.

‘It’s pretty special,’ Liam said, ‘I’m back on this special site following in great-great-grandfather Bill’s footsteps.’

Meanwhile, Roxy Project Manager, Gideon Vos, said another vital element of the Roxy refurbishment now completed is the state-of-the-art under flooring infrastructure needed for the refurbished Roxy’s power and data connections, modernising the theatre's capability and making the space a lot safer.

‘It’s another one of those pieces of the Roxy puzzle which you can’t see but means that the days of cables running everywhere across the floor are over,’ he said.

Leeton Shire Council’s Deputy Mayor, Michael Kidd, said it was planned to have the Roxy opened in April/May, next year.

"We are excited that the project is heading towards fruition. The time frame is reflective of the Australia wide challenge to secure labour and materials.”

Meanwhile, the Horton team was back at the Roxy this week doing the pour for the auditorium’s tiered section. Other work includes the repair and structural strengthening of the front awning which is being temporarily supported by posts on the footpath.

The Roxy Redevelopment Project is being proudly funded by the Australian Government under the Murray–Darling Basin Economic Development Program, the NSW Government under the Creative Capital Program, as well as Leeton Shire Council.