AussieTrek (Australian Star Trek con)
| Star Trek Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | AussieTrek |
| Dates: | 1979, 1980 |
| Frequency: | twice |
| Location: | Sydney, Australia |
| Type: | major, celebrity guests |
| Focus: | Star Trek |
| Organization: | |
| Founder: | Karen Lewis |
| Founding Date: | 1979 |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
AussieTrek was the first major Star Trek con in Australia. Members were kept informed by the newsletter, The Captain's Briefs. Its cartoon mascot was James T. Koala.
1979
AussieTrek 1 was held March 10–12, 1979 at the Menzies Hotel in Sydney. It had George Takei as its Guest of Honor. Convenors were Karen and John Lewis. Fan Guests of Honor were Diane Marchant and Susan Clarke. One of the judges of the costume parade was Marilyn Mayo, host of morning television's The Super Flying Fun Show (Nine Network). Richard Bradley, Head of Driftaway Productions, presented on special effects in numerous upcoming movies. There were about 300 full-time attendees.
Karen Lewis with George Takei and con attendees at the first AussieTrek, 1979. (Photo courtesy Susan Clarke.)
John & Karen Lewis, convenors of AussieTrek, 1979. (Photo courtesy John Lewis.)
There is a long, long con report by Nikki White in STAG #34. [1] Other con reports are in Beyond Antares #13, and issues of Captain's Briefs.
The first fan-run science fiction media convention, Trekcon, was held in 1978 in Melbourne. This was a solely Star Trek convention with no professional guest of honour. As organisers became more ambitious, it was obvious that they had to cater to people's broader interests - not just Star Trek – in order to afford to invite professional guests from overseas. This was evident in 1979 when AussieTrek 1 invited George Takei, one of the original Star Trek cast, to be their Guest of Honour in Sydney. As the first cast member to appear at an Australian convention, Takei attracted attendees from all over Australia and the convention had a large number of registrations, over 600. However, it ran at a loss.[2]
1980
AussieTrek 2 had Susan Sackett as its Guest of Honor and was a one-day convention held in July, 1980, in both Sydney and Adelaide. Convenors were Karen Lewis and Valerie Parv. It had a combined total of 462 attendees.
Susan Sackett addresses con attendees at AussieTrek 2, 1980. (Photo courtesy Susan Clarke.)
Con mascot, James T. Koala, on the AussieTrek 2 cake, 1980. (Photo courtesy Karen Lewis.)
References
- ^ PDF of STAG #34; scroll to Page 26
- ^ effect of commercialisation and direct intervention by the owners of intellectual copyright : a case study : the Australian Star Trek fan community by Susan Batho (2009) (an academic paper which studies the effect of the Viacom Crackdown and Australian fan clubs)