The Society's 50th Jubilee Celebrations in 1983

At the 1979 March AGM the meeting elected Don Picken to be the sole Convenor of the Jubilee celebrations. Planning commenced shortly thereafter and at the 1983 March AGM sub committees were elected - see the Jubilee Booklet for details. The Jubilee was planned for the first week of the 1983 August school holidays.

An interesting note is that the whole Jubilee was financed by the Society itself - there were no sponsorships, no community grants of money, (and in hindsight 2005: also no cell phones, no computers or internet - how did we manage??) and it was due entirely to the enthusiasm of the Members.

Extract from the 22/11/1983 Minutes:  "Treasurer Breese reported interim Jubilee finances:

Mr Picken considered this a fine effort as we had budgeted for much higher expenditure and resultant loss, and we consider that this was a true reflection on the generosity of Members to donate and lend equipment etc and hence minimise the overall cost to the Society." 

Here is an extract from the Society's September 1983 Newsletter (slightly edited 2005)

Well the Jubilee Celebrations are now over.
How did the Society do ? - in one word "excellently".

As you are aware, the Celebrations were divided into four main areas:

1. The History Booklet - "The First Fifty Years 1933-1983" is the 64 page booklet the Society  produced to accumulate the history of the Society and the fishkeeping practices during that period.
   Although it would have little appeal to non-members, about 45 were purchased by the public. 
   Copies will be given to Members, Libraries and Embassies.  
   
     
2. Publicity - this was carefully planned to achieve the best exposure for value. Posters were generously distributed throughout the whole area by Members.
   * A small advertisement was placed with 5 of the regions 'giveaway' papers - four of which expanded on this with supplementary material.
   * The Evening Post had an interview with Mr Tom Atkinson which resulted in a third of a page article.
   * Television New Zealand came to the Display (see below) with their cameras and screened 2 minutes in their prime time "Today Tonight" current affairs programme.
   * A half page ad was forwarded for inclusion in the Federation's Aquatic World August issue.
   * A car roof rack sign proved most eye catching.
   * Radio coverage was limited to the 'Community Noticeboard' of the respective local stations.
      
3. The Display - a display of furnished tanks, in Archibald Centre, to show the public the types of aquaria, ponds, fish and plants that Members keep. It was decided that there would be ten 3 foot tanks (containing Axolotyls, Oscars,  Angels, Swords, small Tetras, mixed Barbs, Gouramis, Mountain Minnows, Community, Undesignated) and one or two pools containing plants and goldfish.

   Members were asked to "sponsor" a tank or pool and be responsible for it. The response from Members was excellent. Assistance was given with loans of fish and plants where required. Many Members had started work the previous year building up stocks of fish and plants in readiness.

   Here is the timetable we worked to:

   Set up tanks, lights, etc	Aug 20  Saturday
   Install fish	Aug 21  Sunday	10am - 2pm
   Open to public	Aug 21  Sunday	2pm - 7pm
   Open to public	Aug 22  Mon   to  28th Sun	10am - 7pm

   Admission was free and about 2,300 people came. Their general impression was most favourable and:
   (a) many people had their 'fishy' instincts rekindled and were given information on the aquatic society nearest their home and so all clubs in the region benefited.
   (b) we were not relying on making any money from the Jubilee and had never tried to forecast the number of visitors there might be. We were quite overwhelmed by the response, especially during the first 3 or 4 hours after we opened when about 600 came.
   (c) the general behaviour was very good - there was no 'tapping the glass' etc, and no intentional damage incurred.
   (d) they were interested and asked lots of questions. Lots were concerned that the Fire Eel might have been trapped when they saw it resting under the gravel with only its head showing.
   
   

4. The Social - a (no charge) gathering for present and some past Members in the Archibald Centre on Saturday 27th August after the Display closed to the public. What a joy it was to meet some of the old Members who had done so much for the Society over the years.
   The great catering (wine & cheese, followed by a buffet hot meal and tea/coffee) was ably organised by Lester Dean.
   What a marvellous Jubilee cake made and donated by Annette Baier and officially cut by Dawn Stilburn and Bill Sievwright.

The monthly General Meeting was delayed so that it could be held during this time at the Display. The Competition was for "Best Display At The 50th Jubilee Display" and was judged by popular vote.

SUMMARY - the Jubilee was most successful. Everything went smoothly. This was due entirely to the enthusiasm, dedication and cooperation of the Members - this made my job much lighter.
I thank you all for your excellent efforts.

Don Picken
Jubilee Convenor

PS:  did you know that three of our Members spent at least 7 hours every day at the Display assisting with everything from the cleaning to promoting the hobby and the Society - our sincere thanks to Muriel, Tom & June Atkinson.   DJP

the Society's September 1983 Newsletter continues

After all the preparation, planning, hustle and bustle, the Club can now look back on the 50th Jubilee celebrations, certainly a great success and a tremendous effort from Members. All the planning, organisation, setting up stands and tanks, providing the plants and fish, maintenance, manning the display, all the sweeping and cleaning, The Social evening, catering, publicity, and all those sundry jobs which crop up, then finally the task of dismantling the display.
Well done all.

The Show Display was well worth seeing, and those responsible for all the hard work which went into setting up the display can be very proud of the end result. A very impressive display, and a broad range of aquaria inhabitants. I hope the shows "stars" have all now settled down again in their own aquariums. A good number of the public came to view the show, and judging from entries in the Visitors Book, many of the visitors came from outside the Wellington area, various parts of the country were represented, and including visitors from as far afield as Singapore and the USA.

Don Picken, as Convenor of the Jubilee deserves a special vote of thanks for all his hard work in co-ordinating all the committees, and his tremendous effort in producing the Booklet, which is full of interesting items from down the years, great reading.

All in all a most successful and enjoyable Jubilee and congratulations to all who contributed.