Forwared to the list from: Kev Lamprell <[log in to unmask]>

The 4th Australian National Shell Show, 23-24th March 2002.

The 4th Australian National Shell Show was held at the Greek Club And
Convention Centre, 29-31 Edmondstone Street, South Brisbane, Queensland on
the weekend of the 23rd and 24th of March, with Brisbane turning on its
usual magnificent weather for the event.

The Queensland Branch of the Malacological Society of Australasia hosted the
event under the direction of the Organising Committee, which included Branch
President Sally Johnsen, Secretary Robert Ellis, and branch members Callum
Woodward and Cheryle Myles. The Brisbane based Queensland Branch members
worked extremely well together throughout the Shell Show, assisting with the
organising committee with the tasks and activities required, ensuring the
smooth running of the Show. I would be remiss if I did not also thank and
congratulate the many people (who are not members of our branch) who
volunteered their services, taking much of the weight off the committee and
branch member's shoulders. The Shell Show was an outstanding success, and I
am sure the Committee and Branch members have felt a great sense of
satisfaction with this result after the large amount energy they spent
preparing for it.

The Show was very well supported, with approximately 150 people from other
branches of the MSA, and various other shell clubs throughout Australia, New
Zealand, and other countries, as well as our own MSA Queensland Branch
members, being present for the duration of the shell show. The support from
Australian and overseas shell dealers and booksellers was overwhelming, with
21 of them setting up trading tables.

The Australian dealers were Adrian Browne, Steve Dean, David Tarrant, Del
Martin, Doug Thorn, Ena Coucom , Hugh Morrison, Malcolm Ford, Merv Cooper,
Rob West Ron Moylan , and Simon Barbour.

The overseas dealers included Bruno De Bruin from South Africa, Larry
Strange of Sanibel Seashell Industries from Florida USA, Marcus Coltro of
Femorale Ltd from Brazil, Mike Hart from New Zealand, Ng Hiong Eng from
Singapore, Peter Demertzis from Greece, Vincent Crayssac of Caledonian
Seashells Ltd from New Caledonia, Mike Hart from New Zealand, and Alistair
Moncur from England. Patty Jansen, Books of Nature from New South Wales, was
also in attendance with a great array of new and old publications, and
Neville Coleman had information about a number of his publications.

One of the benefits of having dealers attending Shell Shows is the
opportunity to see the magnificent and often extremely rare species they
have brought with them. Even though the price tag for such specimens is
often way beyond the reach of many of us, we are grateful for the
opportunity to get to see these beautiful specimens which we otherwise would
not.

The displays in the Shell Show competition were of an excellent standard,
with 35 competitors exhibiting 90 entries. This gave the judges quite a task
in making their decisions and all the competitors and judges are to be
congratulated for their fine effort. The Shell Show Presentation Dinner took
place on the Saturday night, with 95 people attending for the dinner and
presentation of trophies and judges awards.

The committee would like to extend their thanks to the judges for their
untiring efforts. The judges were:- Cheryle Myles, Geoff Macauley, Ron
Moyland, Merv Cooper, Hugh Morrison, Bruno De Bruin, Barbara Collins, Thora
Whitehead, Doug Thorn, Jon Singleton, John Stanisic, Jules Leroi, Geoff
Macauley, Kev Lamprell, Wayne Rumball, Allan Limpus and Ena Coucom.

The non-competitive exhibits included a display showing the range of species
collected in the Moreton Bay region of southern Queensland, and a display of
world wide Spondylus , and both displays drew favourable comments.

We were fortunate to have several Government agencies provide displays and
staff to offer advice and literature on relevant topics. Staff from
Environment Australia had information available concerning the current
regulations on the import and export of Australian molluscs. The Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) had literature and posters
available, and the Coastal Co-operative Research Centre (Coastal CRC) also
had literature and posters available.

Attendees at the Shell Show greatly appreciated the opportunity to listen
and ask questions of the various guest speakers. The guest speakers and
their topics were Dr John Stanisic of the Queensland Museum who spoke about
Land Snails of Australia, and about Giant Land Snails in the Rainforest; Dr
Peter Duncan of University of Southern Queensland who spoke about the
Aquaculture of Bivalves and other Molluscs; Neville Coleman who spoke about
The World of Shells, and about Nudibranchs, and Jenny Harper from
Environment Australia who spoke about the current regulations for the
importing and exporting of molluscs. In addition, Phil Simons's video
"Little Killers of the Sea", which included footage of the feeding behaviour
of live cone shells, was also shown. Each of these topics was very
interesting, and each of the sessions were well attended and appreciated. .

As a result of publicity given to the event, 450 - 500 members of the public
came to the Shell Show over the two days. Many people expressed amazement at
the variety and beauty of the specimens displayed and for sale. I understand
the Queensland Branch may gain some new membership as a result of the Shell
Show.

Some raffles were run during the Shell Show run to assist with covering
costs. The Easter Hamper raffle's first prize was a $200 food hamper, and
was won by an American visitor, I wonder how he got it home, or did he throw
an Australian barbeque before he left ?? The second prize was chocolates
worth $50. A Spondylus clarksonii donated by the author was first prize in
another raffle. Dr Barry Wilson donated some fine West Australian wine for a
raffle, which was won by a New South Wales MSA member, David Cowdery.

Thanks must also be extended to the Greek Club for the help their staff gave
our visitors in providing snacks and coffee whenever required, and for the
fine meal we enjoyed at the presentation dinner. The venue was most suitable
for a Shell Show, with easy parking and ready access, and plenty of
affordable accommodation was available close by.

Kevin Lamprell

MSA Queensland Branch