Mister Brisbane: Pie-eyed
I could think of two good reasons to visit Yatala. So I did.
On my recent days off work, I drove to Yatala — a town between Brisbane and the Gold Coast that has at least two great attractions: its famous pie shop and one of Australia’s last drive-in cinemas.
When I was a boy in Brisbane, movies were screened in ornate picture palaces in the city, in somewhat shabby suburban cinemas or at the drive-in.
When I was really young, my mother would take me to the Metro or the Paris (both in Albert Street, and both long gone) or Her Majesty’s or the Regent or the George to see the latest Disney film. When I was a bit older, Dad would get in on the act and we’d all pile into his station wagon to see the latest flick at the Starlight Drive In in Aspley. It closed in 2001.
Later, it was the Keperra Drive In, which was just up the road. It’s been a housing estate for decades, with movie-themed streets such as Kidman Place and DiCaprio Close.
I also vaguely remember the old Keperra “flea pit” cinema and the Gaythorne, where we went to see movie adaptations of the texts we were studying in English class at Mitchelton State High School (which, I was told recently, is looking worse for wear these days … but I digress). I recall leaning back in the canvas chairs to watch Pygmalion and Wuthering Heights there.
The drive-in was also the place for teens with freshly minted licences and borrowed cars to hang out — although, I must admit, by the time I got to that stage, they were mostly gone.
Yatala Drive In is still there and still operating. As I write, the attractions include The Batman and other current fare. If you’ve never been to a drive-in, or you want to revist that particular thrill before it’s gone forever, I suggest you get alone soon.
The other blast from the past that still appears to be thriving in that neck of the woods is the Yatala Pie Shop. The signage says it’s famous and it certainly is … if you were brought up in south-east Queensland, that is.
It was always where we stopped on the way home from the Gold Coast when I was a kid. That’s a little more difficult now that you have to leave the M1 to get there, but it is doable and, if my experience is any guide, lots of people are still doing it.
I bought a beef-and-bacon pie with peas for breakfast and a family-sized beef and mushroom pie that has so far served as two further meals and has at least one more in it. That’s four feed for about $7 each, which is a better bargain than most fast-food joints.
I’d love to hear your memories of the drive-in or Yatala pies. Maybe you can recall or recommend a better pie? I’d certainly like to know about that.
HOME AND AWAY
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