The sign was registered as a heritage site in 2012, the same year it was blown down in a storm. With repairs finally done, it was reinstated in October this year, but is now on the road verge 10 metres from its original site. The original site is in private hands and home to an apartment block.

Because the sign has been moved, the Heritage Council must amend the original heritage listing. It notified the change on the weekend and the public has until December 17 to make submissions on the amendment.

The registration says the Starlight sign remains as the only tangible reminder in the ACT of "the iconic era of drive-ins" which dotted the Australian landscape from the mid 20th century and were immensely popular from the 1950s until the 1970s.

It was thought to be the only original drive-in theatre sign in Australia which still stands in its original location.

The world's first drive-in opened in 1933, in New Jersey. In 1954, Melbourne became the first Australian city to get a drive-in, which was popular among families with babies, and teenagers on dates. The Starlight drive-in was opened in Canberra by George Kimli in 1957, and had in-car speakers and a screen claimed to be one of the biggest in Australia at the time.

In January 1957, The Canberra Times reported that "the giant screen, 70 feet high and 100 feet wide is a combination of style and strength", built of tubular steel and able to withstand a 70mph gale.

The site included a playground for children and ultra-modern equipment in the kitchen so the cafeteria could "cater for even fastidious tastes".

The drive-in operated for 37 years, from 1956 until 1993. In 1987, George Kimli sold the venue and it closed in 1993. A second drive-in, the Sundown, operated in Narrabundah from 1969 until 1991.

The restoration of the sign cost $50,000.