Kevin Childs

Daylesford is about to take centre stage with national exposure for its new civic heartbeat — Phoenix @ The Rex.

After raising an impressive $70,000 in just six months, the community is preparing to showcase its new 73-seat theatre on the high-rating TV series The Block. The theatre will feature over two nights, September 8 and 9, bringing Daylesford into lounge rooms across Australia.

Nicknamed “a cultural gem rising from the ashes,” Phoenix @ The Rex has been years in the making. The project received a huge boost when contestants from The Block rolled up their sleeves to help transform the space.

To celebrate, organisers have planned a month-long festival, “Lights Up Daylesford: Phoenix Rising”, with a packed program of fundraisers — from pub meat raffles and market entry donations to a gala dinner, magic and jazz shows, and more. Sponsorships and memberships are now being welcomed, and the focus is on engaging the whole community — in person and online — before, during and after the broadcasts.

A highlight of the celebrations will be the Phoenix Party at Hepburn’s newly reopened Savoia Hotel, coinciding with the second night’s TV screening. Short videos of volunteers, locals, and artists will also be shown, sharing why Phoenix @ The Rex matters so much to the community.

The Rex is a Spanish colonial-style landmark designed by the same architects behind Melbourne’s iconic Regent Theatre. It first opened in 1929, entertaining locals for more than 30 years before closing in 1963. The building served various purposes over the decades, and a smaller cinema was revived in The Rex Arcade in 2013 — until its closure in 2017.

When Hepburn Shire Council purchased The Rex in 2016, plans for a library and community hub ultimately fell through. The building was sold to private owners in 2022, but the incorporated Daylesford Community Centre persisted in its mission to bring back a cinema for the town. Phoenix @ The Rex represents the realisation of that vision and a fresh chapter for local arts and culture.

For more information contact Jenny Beacham (Treasurer) or Linda Hancock (Deputy President)