Jan Mitchell’s Sandwich Board Man bollard cleverly tells the story of one of Geelong’s most resilient and relocated entertainment venues.

On his front, he advertises Rudolph Valentino’s The Son of the Sheik, a nod to the 1,400-seat Geelong Maritime Cinema, built in 1912 directly over the bay on timber piles. The silent movie theatre’s romantic heyday was cut short by WWI, which drew away its core audience of young men.

To survive, the venue was rebranded as the Joy Ark, proudly promoted on the bollard’s back, hosting roller-skating, fancy dress competitions, and children’s parties. After a brief and unusual stint as a wool storage facility, and with its over-water foundation failing, the building was carefully dismantled and moved inland to Moorabool Street.

Reborn as the alcohol-free Geelong Palais, it became a premier dance hall where generations of young couples courted. The building later operated as a bingo hall before a major refurbishment and reopening in 2022.

Full of character and history, the Sandwich Board Man captures the bold adaptability of Geelong’s waterfront entertainment culture.