Elbaite crystals
2013 & 2012 & 2011
CLUB ACTIVITIES
January, February, March, April, May, June,
July,August, September, October, November,
December
February 2 2013 Club workshop reopens for 2013. See you there!
11/2/2012 HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lorna Lewis! Life member & ex-President,
Lorna, celebrated her 88th Birthday today!
March 17 Club members travelled to Mt Shadwell for a mornings
fossicking. The quarry has had a lot of material removed during the last
year and the new faces looked promising. However we found no faceting
grade peridot for our efforts! Louise (one of our new members) showed
us some bombs she collected a few weeks ago. They were impressive with
some large gemmy pieces which should cut nice stones. As always, it is a
lottery as to whether or not you will find cutters on a given day.
Members returned to Alan Woods home to enjoy a BBQ lunch and
examine Alan’s lovely mineral & gem collection.
March 28 - April 1
Members travelled to Murray Bridge for the
Gemboree. There were a large number of tailgaters at
the show and several of our members had some
excellent buys of mineral specimens and cutting
material.
The traders in the main hall had a large range of gems,
minerals, fossils and equipment for sale. Some of the
mineral specimens were very impressive.
As has been the case at previous shows we have visited,
some club members very quickly spent their budgets
due to the great range of minerals available (No names
mentioned Alan & John).
Club member John Honan once again made a good
showing in the faceting competition.
Overall, the weekend went very well for all our club
members.
April 16 Club members (Alan, Kay, Lorna, Diane) travelled to Geelong
to visit life club member Ivy Harper. (Photo left: L to R Lorna, Ivy, Kay,
Diane.
It was a great chance to catch up with Ivy and bring her up to date with
what is going on at the club. Ivy is a past President of the club.
April 17 The club hosted a year 8 science class from Emmanual
College. The group was shown how club members produce cabachons
and faceted gems and saw the clubs mineral collection.
April 23 Alan Altmann and Alan Wood visited the Nullawarre Primary
School to show students a range of gems and minerals as part of their
geology program. There were some very enthusiastic students. (Photo
above)
April 29 It is with great regret that the club has to announce the
passing of Lorna Lewis.after a short illness.
Lorna has been a long term member of the club who was always ready
to help new members learn the lapidary art. She provided a cheerful
face at the club rooms and brought along greatly appreciated
contributions to our afternoon teas.
Lorna was a Life Member of the club. She had served as both Treasurer
and President over a period spanning some eight years.
Lorna had a great collection of gemstone ‘eggs’ she had created over
the years, as well as ‘cabachons’ and faceted gems. She was working at
the clubrooms the day before she fell ill, participating and helping
other members and being her normal cheery self.
It is members such as Lorna who readily contribute their time and
enthusiasm who form the backbone of our clubs. She will be greatly
missed by all who knew her!
Photo L: Lorna Lewis
(left) with club
member Karen
L: Ivy Harper
R: Two of Lorna’s eggs
8/9 of May.
Members John H.
Alan & Jenny W.
Dianna B. Alan A.
Rosemary K. &
Anthony M. packed
up the gem &
mineral collection of
Ivy Harper . Ivy’s
collection is
significant,
representing many
years fossicking
around Australia
during the 1960’s and
1970’s. As well as
many mineral and
gem specimens it
also contained a
substantial amount
of lapidary work including many fine examples of enamelling work. A
large part of the collection will be displayed at the club rooms.
June-July
Club President Kathleen has been in the N.T./W.A. She visited the ‘Top
End’ Gem Club up at Darwin. Kathleen was very impressed by the
friendly and helpful attitude of the club members. She also visited the
Argyle diamond mine in the Kimberley region of W.A. and is the proud
owner of one argyle diamond, albeit a ‘petit’ stone. Kathleen also had
some luck metal detecting and is the proud owner of her first nugget!
The club has gained some two junior members this month, welcome
Liam and Oliver!
Regretably the club received news of the death of
ex-club member Ivan Peter New (Photo to right).
Ivan died at home in Lakes Entrance on
19/7/2013, aged 58, Ivan was well regarded by all
members of the club and he will be greatly
missed. Ivan was involved with the Hamilton
‘Imperials’ F.C., the Collingwood U19’s, the
Woodend F.C. and the Tooleybuc and Portland
F.C.’S. Peter served as a policeman in Melbourne,
Portland, Hamilton, Swan Hill, Halls Gap, Benalla, Wangaratta, Seymour,
Bairnsdale and Warrnambool.
In July, Warrnambool Gem Club Members hosted a visit by the mens
group from Terang. They were shown the club’s collection and
workshop.
September 10 Club members hosted members of the Terang Ladies
group. A pleasant time was had by all, including some ‘old time’
lapidaries in the
ladies group.
20/9 The club
hosted a visit of
year 4 students
from St. Johns P.S.
in Dennington. They
each got to make a
pendant or key ring
as part of the visit.
See the photos
right.
24/9/13 Photo left: The club hosted a visit
by the Terang Ladies group. The group was
shown the club’s displays and workshop
where the techniques in producing
cabachons was explained. This was
followed up with some afternoon tea and raffles. Both the visitors and
club members had a good time.
October Congratulations
to John Honan who
competed in the AFG
2013 National Faceting
competition, in the novice
section. John came 3rd,
obtaining a score of
90.84. This is John’s best
result to date! Top two
photos.
13/10 Members went to
Mortlake to fossick at Mt
Shadwell quarry. New
members Liam, Oliver
and Zanda joined the trip.
Alan Wood was the most
successful fossicker at
the quarry. Other
members found some
cabbing material and
specimens. .Members
returned to Alan &
Jenny’s home for a BBQ.
3rd photo: Oliver looking
for peridot. 4th photo:
Liam looking for peridot.
26/10 5th photo:
Fossickers from the
Ballarat & Essendon clubs
came to Mt Shadwell.
Warrnambool President
Kathleen found her first
facetable piece of
peridot! Among the
visitors a number of
pieces of peridot and
some felspar were found.
10/11/13 Members of the
Warrnambool Gem Club
visited the Geelong show
and made quite a few
purchases. It was a good
day out for all concerned.
Several members visited
life member Ivy Harper
who now lives in Geelong.
She was pleased to catch
up with the latest news of
the club’s activities.
6th photo ‘lunchtime’,
7th Photo Liam & Oliver
looking for bargains.
Ivy is still keen to be
informed as to what is
happening in the lapidary
area.
8th Dec. Club members
had a lovely luncheon for
the end of year breakup.
A special feature of our
January show will be a
large display of Agates
from the Otways.
MOONLIGHT HEADS AGATES AND PETRIFIED WOOD:
HOW OLD ARE THESE ROCKS?
'The pebbles of agate and petrified wood from the Moonlight Head
district probably have different ages and it is not known how old they
are as their sources are not known exactly. Most have probably been
eroded out of pebble layers within the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks
of the Otway district that form the Otway Ranges and
coastline.However they are obviously from older sources, which we
don't know much about. It's possible that some of them might have
been brought in to Victoria by Permian glaciers then recycled through
several episodes of erosion, transport and deposition.
Note: The Permian is a geologic period which extends from 298.9 ±
0.2 to 252.2 ± 0.5 (Million years ago). The Cretaceous is a geologic
period from circa 145 ± 4 to 66 million years ago. So these rocks are
very, very old!!!!!!!
2012 CLUB ACTIVITIES
JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER
January: 2012 WARRNAMBOOL
GEM CLUB SHOW (6-8 of January)
was a great success for the club.
18th & 21st Thanks to Ted M., Kay
K., Lorna L., John H., Alan & Jenni
W., Kathleen B., James H. and Alan
A. for reorganising the meeting
area and the faceting room prior
to the start of the new year for the
club.
February Alan Wood showed
members 2 pendants produced
from Mortlake peridot. Set in gold
(argest stone 8 ct), the stones were
found last december. 2 photos top.
On Sunday 4/3/12, members from
the Ballarat & Warrnambool clubs
fossicked at the Mt Shadwell
quarry. Good weather but only a
few finds were made.
Photo: Michael K., Alan Wood &
Rosemary K. fossicking.
March On the weekend of the 10 & 11th, 10 club members attended
the Gemkhana in Shepparton. Despite the recent rains the weather
was excellent and the site dry. The showcases were of a high standard
and there was plenty to look at and buy. Some members also had a
good look around the town itself. All up a great weekend away for the
group.
See the slide show below!
Alan Altmann has tumbled some agates he collected from Calder in
N.W. Tasmania, in February. The agates are mainly black & white
with some having red bands also. Many have calcite
sections/cavities and show some cracking. They have been
transported and eroded over time and some have cracks. However,
many have lovely banding and make attractive specimens. The agate
below left is 100 mm wide with dense clean banding.
April On Sunday the 15th, 9 club members travelled to Portland to
view the gem & mineral display which is located in the tourist Tram
Depot at Henty oval. The display, which contains part of the lapidary
efforts of a local lapidary/collector has been put on display by the
efforts of Cor Melis and other enthusiasts in the area. It contains a
large selection of polished slabs and spheres and specimens. Most are
Australian from famous localities such as Agate creek and Wyloo
station, to name two. There are also a good number of Mexican agates
on display.
May 27 Club members had a
great day out. Starting at Alan
Woods gem & mineral display in
Mortlake & an hours fossicking at
Mt Shadwell. Several members
found material suitable for
cabbing. We then travelled to Burn
Brae homestead near Penshurst
for a fantastic lunch and a good
look around the homestead. Mid
afternoon we visited the Volcano
Discovery centre in Penshurst
where members viewed the
displays and had a very informative
lecture/discussion session. Club
members then drove up Mt Rouse
to view the lava flows and
geography of the area.
Photos: Top Lunch at Burn Brae!
Middle Penshurst Volcano centre.
Bottom:
Club members at Burn
Brae homestead.
September Club members are back from fossicking during winter.
The Doris Sizeland display unit has been painted by Kathleen Brockett
and now looks much improved. Thanks must go to Kathleen for the
time and effort she devoted to this improvement to our displays!
Congratulations must also go to Kathleen on the arrival of her new
‘baby’, a ‘Hall-Xtra’ faceting machine, which she has introduced to club
members over the last few workshops. A vast improvement on the
equipment she had been using up to now.
Alan Wood brought some interesting agate/chalcedony specimens,
from the south island of N.Z., To the club for members to view. These
specimens consist of 2 to 6 layers of agate/chalcedony which fit
together like a 3D jigsaw and can be partly or fully dismantled into
individual layers. See the slide show below!
October The faceting room has been well used with Kathleen B.,
Dianne W. and James H. making good progress under the guidance of
John H. L to R: James H. Kathleen B.
November 11th, members travelled by bus to the Geelong Gem
Show. which was held at the community centre in Vines Rd. It was a
good trip down and back. At the show club members had a good look
at the display cases and purchased laps, rough, loupes etc. A good
chance for a chat with fellow lapidarys!
2011 CLUB ACTIVITIES
Use the links below to navigate to the relevant month.
January February March April May June July August
September October November December
January The club installed a flat lap in the club workshop. Thanks
must go to John Honan for his work on this unit.
February 1 The club has just learned of the death of long term club
member Doris Sizeland. Doris has been a member since the club’s
earliest days and has attended club activities until recently. She will be
greatly missed by club members.
March 12 Members went to Ballarat for the Gemkhana. Tailgaters
appeared to be greater in number than last year. Inside the hall the
range of mineral specimens, fossils, gems, findings, equipment and
faceting and cabbing rough was impressive. Club members made
many purchases. John Chivers and Darren Lucas were trading. Overall,
a good days outing for club members.
April The club has purchased two mineral display units with safety
glass. Keith & Janice F. and Ted & Val M. have returned from their
fossicking holidays in Tasi. Sounds like they had good trips all up.
May/June Club President Alan Altmann visited the USA and Canada.
While in Nova Scotia, Canada, I visited the town of Parrsboro on the
shores of the Bay of Fundy. At Parrsboro is a geological museum which
is worth a visit, displaying the geological history of the region, local
fossils and gemstones. At Parrsboro I meet Eldon George, a
fossil/mineral collector. I purchased some local agates from him and
then went fossicking nearby. I could see the quartz seams in the cliffs
and agates embedded in the rock platforms (but I had a geo-pick ). I
did pick up 3 agates on the beach. See the slide show below.
In 1984, Eldon found the
world’s smallest dinosaur
prints near Parrsboro (200
million years prints left by a
sparrow sized dinosaur,
Coelophysis. The photo shows
the size of the foot print
compared to an Australian 20c
coin.
July Larry Peterson took a short trip to the Harts Range in the N.T. and
collected mineral specimens while there. See the slide show below.
While examining the above specimens, Larry showed me some of the
Agate Creek agates he collected last winter. A selection of these are
shown below. Most of these measure around 50mm or so in length.
September 11 Members spent the morning at the Mt Shadwell
quarry. The peridot was scarce, but Gillian found a nice bomb with
gemmy peridot late in the morning.I Lucy also picked up a nice piece of
peridot which should cut a nice small stone. John Chivers got onto a
nice pocket of Illmenite crystals up to 50 mm long and an Aegirine
specimen. Then members retired to Alan & Jenny Woods home for a
BBQ lunch and cuppa.
September 17-18 Some 39 fossickers from the Nunawading, Mount
Gambier, Shepparton, Cheong Park, Warrnambool club etc took part in
a VGCA field trip at Mortlake. Alan Wood led the activities at the quarry
where olivine, peridot, calcite balls, aragonite needles and ilmenite
crystals were found. On Saturday afternoon the group had the
opportunity to see Alan Wood’s collection of minerals and cut gems
from the quarry. The ‘out of town fossickers’ enjoyed the stay at the
Mortlake Caravan park and the meals at the Mount Shadwell Hotel.
September 13 I was able to visit Darren Lucas’s ‘Castlemaine
Crystals’ shop, located at 1 Halford St. in Castlemaine. Darren, a long
term member of the Warrnambool Gem Club, is a fully qualified
Gemologist, Diamond Grader, Registered Gem & Jewellery Valuer and
member of the FGAA.
October The club has been fortunate to receive financial support
from the Warrnambool City Council. The council has provided a grant
of $3000 to assist an upgrade in the lighting in the workshop and to
improve our displays at the clubrooms.
Also, club member Ted Morton obtained a high quality display unit,
at no cost to the club. Well done Ted!
November 13 Members took a bus trip to the Geelong Gem Show. At
the show members caught up with friends from other clubs and made
many purchases of equipment and gem material. Overall a good days
outing.
December A number of good finds of gem quality peridot have been
made recently at the Mount Shadwell quarry at Mortlake. Some bombs
containing large gemmy chunks of
peridot have been collected by a
number of fossickers including one
local who found a bomb with some
large clean pieces around the 27 carat
mark, which should cut around 10
carat gems! The photo shows some of
the recent finds.