Astor Theatre is a heritage-listed cinema at 77 Burrowes Street, Surat, Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia.

[1] The Surveyor-General of New South Wales, Thomas Mitchell, mapped the area in 1846 and the District of Maranoa was proclaimed in November 1848.

The new Commissioner of Lands arrived with several police in 1849 and set up camp on Yambougal station, moving slightly up river a few months later.

Although Surat was superseded by St George as an administrative centre for the district in 1865, it continued to serve the surrounding area, which became Warroo Shire.

This was an open-air picture theatre comprising an earth-floored enclosure, a canvas screen at the rear and a shallow building along the street frontage containing a foyer with a projection booth above it.

This type of structure was the cheapest and simplest kind of purpose built film venue and was not uncommon at the time in the warmer parts of Australia, though many of them were later roofed over.

These small ventures, frequently family owned, did not have the capital to build lavish premises, nor did they have a large client base in country areas and might screen movies only once or twice a week.

Having invested in expensive projection equipment, particularly after the advent of talkies, extensions and improvements to picture theatres were often made piecemeal as demand grew and money became available.

It was operated during the Second World War by GO and RD Armstrong and was acquired in 1945 by E J and V M Aldridge who ran it as a family business, with their son acting as the projectionist.

Coming into town for a night at the pictures provided good family entertainment, a venue for courtship and an opportunity for people of all ages to meet.

They provided a stimulus for the imagination and a relief from isolation and anxiety, particularly in the difficult years of the Depression and of World War II.

[1] In common with many rural centres, Surat lost population in the 1980s and 1990s as falling prices and severe drought reduced the town's income and businesses closed.

The Astor Theatre is still used and hosted the Movie Muster, a festival of Australian films, during the Centenary of Federation celebrations in 2001.

Although extensions and additions took place in the mid 20th century, these were to improve function as a picture theatre rather than to create change and the building is still a good example of its type, which has become rare.

[1] The Astor Theatre is situated in the commercial centre of Surat and is a simple rectangular timber building set on low stumps.

[1] The front section of the building is divided into three and comprises a central foyer with a confectionary bar to the left and the ladies toilets to the right.

The Astor Theatre is centrally located in Surat and makes an important contribution to the built character of the town.

It has important associations with the community of the town and the surrounding area, as a venue for social interaction and popular entertainment, and for many members of which it is a focus for memories.