Malachite

2004 CLUB ACTIVITIES

In January the club held its biennial gem show at the Archie Graham centre in Timor St.

Warrnambool. Some of the display cases from that show are shown below.

Top Row: L to R A showcase with a display of agates ; A showcase based on Aladdin's cave; A display of local peridot from Mortlake Second Row: L to R A showcase featuring a variety of Australian gemstones; A display of fossils from around the world; A gem show display case by Bill Rogers Scanned article below right: This article appeared in the local paper, the ‘Standard’, advertising the show. Life member Dianne Brown is shown in the article.

2005 Activities One of the main events for 2005 was the visit to the 'Palmer Rockerama' in S.A. by a dozen of our club members. We had a great weekend at the Rockerama with the local club showing great hospitality to our members. The 'El Supremo' at Palmer, his HRH Kym, performed fantasticly both on stage and as host, for the time we were there. 'Brian' had great fun in the metal detecting competition and we all enjoyed the field trips organised by the club. Slide show below left. Two photos below: L: Black Granite quarry R: Fossil site near Mannum.

2006 Activities January, February, March, April, May, June, July,August, September, October, November, December January 27 -29 Warrnambool Gem Club Inc. Biennial Gem Show The club held its biennial gem show over the weekend. The show was most successful and a report can be found on our club shows page. April 2 - 4 Visit by York Peninsula Gem Club to Warrnambool. Seven members of the York club arrived in Warrnambool on Saturday afternoon, 1/4/06, and made themselves at home in cabins at the local C.P. at the beach. On the Sunday, with 'Jock" and 'Robert' leading them they joined Warrnambool members at Tarrone quarry where they fossicked a selection of calcite and aragonite specimens from the basalt boulders in the quarry. On Monday the two clubs arrived at the Mt Shadwell quarry to fossick for peridot. Upon arrival we found that there were fossickers from Qld, W.A. and N.S.W at the quarry already, digging away for the peridot. Unfortunately the weather turned wet by mid-day and only a few pieces of gem peridot were found. The clubs enjoyed a pleasant BBQ lunch together before retuning to the quarry where a few more specimens were found. Tuesday was a finer, sunnier day and with the better light fossickers from both clubs started to find 'cutters' as well as various micro- mounts. By the end of the day most of the visitors had experienced some success in their fossicking, topped off by a nice relaxed lunch at Alan Woods residence where we viewed some of his impressive collection of finds over the years. Photos below: Top row: L to R York Peninsula club members fossicking at Tarrone quarry for zeolites; Members of the Southern Rockhounds fossicking at Mt Shadwell; A specimen of aragonite and calcite from Tarrone quarry; Faceted Peridot from Mt Shadwell Second row: L to R An aragonite specimen from Tarrone quarry; Peridot in a bomb from Mt Shadwell; Two of the peridot bombs found on the weekend; View of Tarrone quarry.

October 28 The Horsham club visited Mortlake to fossick for peridot. November 4 The Glen Waverly club visited Mortlake and Lake Keilambete for a fossicking trip. A lot of bombs were broken open at Mt Shadwell with mixed success. Some nice micromounts were found, including some calcites and anorthoclase specimens. (I personally found 6 small peridot cutters in one bomb, the largest producing an 8mm emerald cut). The Glen Waverly folk stayed in Warrnambool, joining Warrnambool club members for apleasant meal out on Satuday night. As one of our club members commented later, "they are a nice bunch of people (the G.W. club members)". November 11 and 12 Visit to Geelong exhibition Warrnambool Club members undertook their annual trip to the Geelong Gem show on sunday the 12th, where a good time was had by all. It was great to catch up with the members of the Geelong club. A number of Warrnambool members visited the geelong show on the 11th due to other committments. December 10. Club breakup for year. A good turn up at Keith and Janices' place at Woodford! (A big thank you must go to Keith and Janice for making their place available) The weather was perfect for our bbq and all members seemed to enjoy themselves. Male members were very interested in Woody's new roof-top camper ( a real bargain at under $600 new). All members wished Alan White the best as he recovers from his operation. Get well soon Alan, we are missing your cheery presence! Photos below: L to R John, Alan & other club members at bbq; Karen, Janice & Graham in action!; Matt, John and Jacob at bbq Larry, Keith, Brian at bbq

2007 Activities January, February, March, April, May, June, July,August, September, October, November, December January 17 Wed. Club workshop reopens for 2007. First meeting for year at 7-30 p.m. February 21 Wed. Monthly meeting at 7-30 in club rooms! March 10 -12 Victorian Gemkana at Ballarat Greyhound Racing Track Complex, Moreshead Park, Rubicon St. Ballarat. A large number of our club members attended the Gemkhana and had a great weekend. Larry had a good time tail gating and several club members returned with cutting and faceting material to use in the club workshop. April 4 Bill Rodgers had his 96th birthday. Bill is our most senior club member and maintains a keen interest in lapidary and mineral matters. Happy birthday bill! May 4 - 6 Eleven club members attended the Palmer Rockarama near Mannum, S.A. over the weekend. Most members drove over to Palmer on the thursday, encountering heavy rain for the first part of the trip before experiencing sand storms in the latter part of the trip! There were strong N.W. head winds all the way. At Palmer John Chivers had some 'fun' erecting his tent in the strong winds but eventually won out with some help from his friends. Most of the Warrnambool members were located in a group which was great. Since last year the Murraylands Gem and Mineral Club have installed a new toilet and shower block (beside their clubrooms at the show site) which was appreciated by all. Friday was a windy day with scattered showers. Traders/stall holders moved around the show buying and swapping mineral specimens etc. John Chivers, Brian Alexander and Alan Wood were each busy buying minerals as well as making some sales. Chris Ahyee and Janice had their 'fossils' stall set up in the large marquee and appeared to be doing good business. In the evening the Gemclub plus local groups catered for those wishing to purchase their tea. A slide show covering central/north/west Australia was held in the hall. Saturday was warmer, sunnier and less windy; with a reasonable number of members of the public wandering around the show. Our club members reported good sales (as did most of the traders I spoke to), although 'John C." still seemed to be buying as much as he was selling! Jenny Wood looked after John's stall during some of his many buying forays but she admits her knowledge of minerals is 'limited'. One customer was heard to ask Jenny 'what is this mineral' to which Jenny replied 'it is a rock'. When asked what sort of rock, Jenny replied it is a 'rock rock'! Alan Wood had a very good day when he was able to purchase a 10" automatic diamond saw unit plus a gemmaster vibro-lap for $500 (he was lucky he had Jenny there to 'bank-roll' him). He will now need to get his new shed built to accomodate these items! Once again 'Woody' received many compliments on the standard of his wire-wrapped jewellery. Saturday evening saw the 'auction' take place with spirited bidding for many of the items. Items up for auctions included mineral specimens, gemstones, toys, lapidary equipment, food, lots of shampoo and many other varied and wonderful items. Kym Locheal once again did an excellent job as an auctioneer despite having his arm in a sling (as a result of an altercation with some steam powered equipment). Brian Alexander was a busy bidder throughout the evening which was enjoyed by all who attended. After the auction quite a few club members spent a few hours discussing fossicking etc around the fires outside the main hall. A great night all up. Sunday dawned fine and calm. A major feature of the sunday of the show is the metal detecting competition. This attracts entrants of all ages and a large number of adults and juniors took part. The competition includes many opportunities to wind prizes/awards and the prize giving ceremony on sunday afternoon is a popular time at the show. Warrnambool members Brian Alexander and Alan Wood both received prizes on the day. Brian’s children, Tarna, Sarah and Darien Alexander were also successful in the metal detecting competition (see slide show below). The final part of the weekend is the 'show' on sunday night, which is invariably a highlight of the weekend. Kym Locheal once again played a big part in the show which included a starring performance by the 'Village People'. Jenny Wood starred in a follow up version of the 'Village People' and also told a great joke while up on the stage. Monday saw most people heading home, this time with strong tail winds. Overall a great weekend! See the slide show (below left) also four photos (below right) Top row L to R: Kim at prize presentation Tarna in metal detecting competition. Bottom row L to R: Club members in main hall for auction Jenny Wood on stage with ‘Village People’

July 1 Members celebrated Allan White's birthday with a party/lunch in Port Fairy. Some 25 members had a great afternoon during which Allan was presented with his life membership of the club. Photos L to R, top row to bottom row: Allan White @ his birthday party; Allan’s ‘Birthday cake’; Matthew, Allan and Heather; Alan & Jenni Wood (rhs); John & Gillian, Alan, Reece (l to r); Darren and Kelsea. August The club has been fortunate to purchase an excellent selection of tumbled stones from the collection of Mrs Mathieson (formerly of the Terang Gem Club). The collection contains a large number of stones from the 'Moonlight Heads' gem field, including a considerable number of 'moon agates'. Mineral specimens and display cases were also included in the purchase. The 'moon agates' will form part of the clubs permanent collection. The club has also been fortunate to have equipment, which belonged to a former member, Roy Coleman, donated to the club by his children. Roy, and his wife Alma, were life members of the club. The equipment includes display cases and a large automatic- feed diamond saw. Several club members met up at the Anakie gem show in Qld. The weather was lovely and good crowds were in attendance. Photos L to R, top to bottom: There were many traders at the show; Some good quality boulder opal on sale; Club member 'Dicky' at Anakie.; Great weather at Anakie!. The photo at the immediate left shows the sand quarry at Tingha, near Inverell in N.S.W., where for a small charge you can collect quartz crystals, smokey quartz and rutilated quartz. It is simply a matter of standing at the end of the conveyer belt, with a shovel, to collect the crystals as they tumble off the end of the belt. September 29 - October 1 The inaugural Kyabrum Rockarama and Craft Show was held at the Kyabrum Showgrounds from Saturday to Monday, with camping and trading on site. The crowd was limited (it may have had something to do with the AFL Grand Final being played that weekend) but club members had a good time and look forward to the 2008 kyabrum show. Four photos Top L to Bottom R: George in his cooking apron; Kevin & Betty's site; George, Chris & Janice at the 'auction'; Warrnambool club members relaxing November 21 The club held it's A.G.M. last night and is pleased to announce the election of Jenni Wood as club president for 2007 - 2008. Janice Fisher continues as club secretary and Kay Keen as treasurer. The club christmas picnic will be held on the 9th of December at Janice and Keith's home at mid-day. Club members were sad to hear of the 'passing away' of Sheila Tims recently. Sheila was a major driver in the formation of the club some 40 years ago. December 2 Congratulations are extended to club member Darren Lucas ,who has just successfully completed the first year of his Gemmology course. Darren scored well in both theory and practice and will be continuing the course in 2008. Well done Darren

Elbaite crystals

2004 CLUB ACTIVITIES

In January the club held its biennial gem show at the

Archie Graham centre in Timor St. Warrnambool. Some of

the display cases from that show are shown below.

Top L: A showcase with a display of agates R: A showcase featuring a variety of Australian gemstones; Second L: A showcase based on Aladdin's cave R: A display of fossils from around the world Third row: A gem show display case by Bill Rogers

2005 Activities One of the main events for 2005 was the visit to the 'Palmer Rockerama' in S.A. We had a great weekend at the Rockerama with the local club showing great hospitality to our members. The 'El Supremo' at Palmer, his HRH Kym, performed fantasticly both on stage and as host, for the time we were there. 'Brian' had great fun in the metal detecting competition and we all enjoyed the field trips organised by the club. See the Slide show below.

2006 Activities January, February, March, April, May, June, July,August, September, October, November, December January 27 -29 The club held its Biennial Gem Show over the weekend. April 2 - 4 Seven members of the York Peninsula Club arrived in Warrnambool on Saturday, 1/4/06. On the Sunday, with 'Jock" and 'Robert' leading them they joined Warrnambool members at Tarrone quarry where they fossicked a selection of calcite and aragonite specimens from the basalt boulders in the quarry. On Monday the two clubs fossicked at the Mt Shadwell quarry for peridot. Upon arrival we found that there were fossickers from Qld, W.A. and N.S.W at the quarry already, digging away for the peridot. Unfortunately wet weather resulted in only a few pieces of gem peridot being found. Tuesday was sunny and both peridot 'cutters' as well as various micro- mounts were found. Most of the visitors experienced some success in their fossicking followed by lunch & a look at Alan Woods impressive collection. Photos below: Top row: L to R York Peninsula club at Tarrone quarry; Southern Rockhounds at Mt Shadwell; 2nd row: Aragonite and calcite from Tarrone; Faceted Peridot from Mt Shadwell 3rd row: Aragonite specimen from Tarrone; Peridot in a bomb from Mt Shadwell; Two of the peridot bombs found; View of Tarrone quarry.

October 28 The Horsham club visited Mortlake to fossick for peridot. November 4 The Glen Waverly club visited Mortlake and Lake Keilambete for a fossicking trip. Some nice micromounts were found, including some calcites and anorthoclase specimens. (I personally found 6 small peridot cutters in one bomb, the largest producing an 8mm emerald cut). November 11 and 12 Warrnambool members took their annual trip to the Geelong Gem show. It was great to catch up with the members of the Geelong club. December 10. Club breakup at Keith and Janices' place at Woodford! (A big thank you must go to Keith and Janice for making their place available) The weather was perfect for our bbq and all members seemed to enjoy themselves. All members wished Alan White the best as he recovers from his operation. Get well soon Alan, we are missing your cheery presence! Photos below: L to R JohnC., Alan W. & other club members at bbq; Karen A., Janice F. & Graham C. in action!; Matt, John and Jacob at bbq ; Larry P., Keith F., Brian F. at bbq

2007 Activities January, February, March, April, May, June, July,August, September, October, November, December January 17 Wed. Workshop reopens for 2007. February 21 Wed. Monthly meeting at 7-30 in club rooms! March 10 -12 Victorian Gemkana at Ballarat Greyhound Racing Track, Rubicon St. Ballarat. Club members attended the Gemkhana and had a great weekend. Several club members returned with cutting and faceting material to use in the club workshop. April 4 Bill Rodgers had his 96th birthday. Bill is our most senior club member and maintains a keen interest in lapidary. May 4 - 6 Members attended the Palmer Rockarama near Mannum, S.A. John C. had 'fun' erecting his tent in the strong winds but got help from his friends. Most Warrnambool members were located in a group which was great. The Murraylands Gem Club have installed a new toilet and shower block which was appreciated. John Chivers, Brian Alexander and Alan Wood were each busy buying minerals as well as making some sales. Chris Ahyee and Janice 'fossils' stall was doing good business. In the evening a slide show was held in the hall. Alan Wood was able to purchase a 10" automatic diamond saw unit plus a gemmaster vibro-lap for $500 and he received many compliments on the standard of his wire-wrapped jewellery. The Saturday evening 'auction' included mineral specimens, gemstones, toys, lapidary equipment, food, lots of shampoo and many other varied and wonderful items. Sunday a major feature of the show is the metal detecting competition. Entrants of all ages took part. Warrnambool members Brian Alexander and Alan Wood both received prizes on the day. Brian’s children, Tarna, Sarah and Darien Alexander were also successful in the metal detecting competition (see slide show below). The 'show' on sunday night included a starring performance by the 'Village People' starring club member Jenny Wood. Overall a great weekend! See the slide show also three photos below. L to R: Kim at prize presentation Tarna in metal detecting competition. Jenny Wood on stage with ‘Village People’

July 1 Members celebrated Allan White's birthday with a party in Port Fairy. A great afternoon during which Allan was presented with his life membership of the club. Photos below: top row to bottom row: Allan & Heather White; Allan’s ‘Birthday cake’; 2nd row John & Gillian, Alan, Reece August The club purchased a selection of tumbled stones from the 'Moonlight Heads' gem fields; from the collection of Mrs Mathieson (formerly of the Terang Gem Club). The 'moon agates' will form part of the clubs permanent collection. The club has had display cases and a large automatic-feed diamond saw, which belonged to a former member, Roy Coleman, donated to the club by his children. Roy, and his wife Alma, were life members of the club. Several members met at the Anakie gem show in Qld. Photos below: 2nd & 3rd row: traders at the show; Club member 'Dicky' at Anakie. Photo 4th row R: sand quarry at Tingha, where you can collect crystal, smokey and rutilated quartz at the end of the conveyer belt. September 29 - October 1 The inaugural Kyabrum Rockarama and Craft Show was held at the Kyabrum Showgrounds. Club members had a good time and look forward to the 2008 kyabrum show. Photos : George in his cooking apron; Warrnambool club members relaxing November 21 The club held it's A.G.M. last night and is pleased to announce the election of Jenni Wood as club president for 2007 - 2008. Janice Fisher continues as club secretary and Kay Keen as treasurer. The club christmas picnic will be held on the 9th of December at Janice and Keith's home at mid-day. Club members were sad to hear of the 'passing away' of Sheila Tims recently. Sheila was a major driver in the formation of the club some 40 years ago. December 2 Congratulations are extended to club member Darren Lucas ,who has just successfully completed the first year of his Gemmology course. Darren scored well in both theory and practice and will be continuing the course in 2008. Well done Darren