AustLit

Situated at the Hyde Park corner of Oxford Street, the Gaiety Theatre had been known originally as the Emu Theatre, and is believed to have been one of Sydney's oldest picture houses. Prior to this, it had been Mark Foy's old drapery premises and after having been remodelled at an unknown date, it became the Empire Picture Theatre under the management by William Bevan. The theatre changed hands a number of times before it eventually came under the direction of William Howe, at which time its name was changed to the Emu.

By January 1917, under the proprietorship of A. Gough, it had become a vaudeville house, with booking arrangements in the hands of Will Robey (Will E.Grow). Early the following year (ca. March) the theatre's name was again changed, this time to the Trudamite. It also reverted to a picture house. Within less than 10 months, however, it was once again operating as a vaudeville and revue house under the management of Harry Sadler and Andy Kerr. Following Harry Sadler's suicide in 1919, Harry Clay took over the management of the entertainment, with his company overseeing the theatres fortunes though until the mid to late-1920s.

[Source: Australian Variety Theatre Archive]