[1] The land where the small northern NSW town of Bingara is now located is at about the north western extent of the traditional country of the Kamilaroi Aboriginal people.

[1] The list included ten applications for new dwellings, ten for additions to buildings, twelve for shops or additions to business premises, three for garages for motor sheds and on each for a picture show, a petrol depot, a bulk store, a guest house, a stable By July 1935 many new shops were being erected in Bingara, the Imperial Hotel was entirely remodelled, a new picture shoe was opened and another was in the course of construction.

These men, like many Greeks at the time left their homeland to escape the difficult economic, social and political conditions in Greece in the early 20th century.

Sir Nicholas Laurantus bought and built cinemas in Narrandera, Junee, Tumut, Lockhart, Cowra Hillston and Gundagai, often installing family members to run them.

Nomination to list Athenium, Junee Cinema on the State Heritage Register[1]They had direct input into the moral and social values of the communities in which they operated.

[11][1] By 1934 they had purchased a large corner site on Maitland and Cunningham Street and engaged a Sydney architect, W. V. E. Woodforde to draw up plans for an entertainment and retail complex.

[12][1] The progress of the Roxy development was further impeded by Victor Reginald Peacocke, the Greeks' competitor in the Bingra cinema trade, who was also the Mayor of the local council at the time.

When the Roxy cinema eventually opened on Saturday 28 March 1936, the local newspaper reported, "probably no event in the history of Bingara has caused more interest or excitement".

In response, the Roxy partners were forced to invest in their own sound system and to engage in promotions, such as a gala "Movie Ball" to which, the local newspaper reported, "Uncle George Psaltis declares he is going as Shirley Temple and has been measured up for a special dress".

Peter Feros moved to Victoria and George Psaltis went to Sydney although returning to Bingara for a time to manage the Roxy Cafe for the new owners.

[12][1][14] The virtual abandonment experienced by the Roxy from the 1960s to the late 1990s was a fate shared by numerous rural suburban and city film theatres, many of which were established prior to WWII.

[12][1] In the early 1990s a group of community members, among them Nancy MacInnes, recognised the Roxy's significance and began to lobby the then Bingara Shire Council to purchase and restore the theatre.

Large Greek-themed gatherings were held in the town with the council-appointed Roxy manager, Sandy McNaughton, and other council staff much involved in their organisation.

The museum, designed by Convergence Associates of Melbourne and curated by Peter Prineas was opened in April 2014 by the NSW Governor, the Hon Marie Bashir.

Today the Roxy complex houses the local tourist information office in one of the shops and the museum, celebrating Greek history in NSW operates in another.

[1] Greek cafes left a remarkable legacy on Australia's cultural history and played a significant role in the changing landscape of our regions.

The complex as a whole is a rectangular interpretation of the Art Deco style, with a stepped silhouette, pilasters and entablature and simple panelling to break up its cement-rendered wall surface.

These as well as the decorative grille running the length of the ceiling in the auditorium were incorporated as a way of ensuring air circulation and cooling in summer and were closed in winter.

Its layout and detailing internally is unchanged and features a large living dining room with access to the outside stairway to Cunningham street.

[1] The Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex is of state significance as a rare surviving example of an Inter-War Art Deco cinema with its distinctive street presence and intact, luxurious, interior detailing and layout in country NSW.

It is one of a handful of such cinemas that survive intact today and continues to operate as a theatre and as a significant focus of the community's social and cultural life.

[1] Internally, the Art Deco detailing of the ceiling and wall panels and proscenium create a sense of luxury and occasion for a visit to the cinema in the days prior to television.

[1] Roxy Theatre and Peters Greek Cafe Complex was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 25 August 2017 having satisfied the following criteria.

The Roxy Theatre and Peter's Greek Cafe complex is of state heritage significance as it is a rare surviving example of an Inter-War Art Deco cinema in country NSW from the 1930s-the heyday of movie going.

It also demonstrates and records the early introduction of American pop culture into country NSW by the early Hollywood movies shown for the first time in this cinema, by the building function and its original theatrical design and its name (which were all modelled on the world's largest showcase movie palace of the time, the original Roxy Theatre in New York of 1927).

The Roxy Theatre and Peter's Greek Cafe complex is of state heritage significance as a distinctive, landmark Inter-War building designed in the Art Deco style in country NSW.

Its exterior facade is finely detailed with a stepped silhouette, pilasters and entablature and simple panelling to break up its cement-rendered wall surface.

[1] Internally, the Art Deco detailing of the ceiling and wall panels and proscenium create a sense of luxury and occasion for a visit to the cinema in the days prior to television.

The Roxy Theatre and Cafe complex may be of state heritage significance for its complete and detailed demonstration of architectural, technical and social aspects of cinema going during the 20th century.

The Roxy Theatre and Cafe complex may be of state heritage significance as a fine example of a cinema designed in the Inter-War Art Deco style in NSW.