Doctor Who Club Of Victoria History
The Doctor Who Club Of Victoria (DWCV) was formed on Anzac Day, 1979, as a result of a appearance by Tom Baker at Doncaster Shoppingtown.
On this Friday night, February 16, a group of teens and 20-somethings - total strangers - were so exhilarated by this event, that they decided a fan club should be formed.
Adrienne Losin took the initiative to host the first meeting at her home in Croydon, which was well-supported by Austrek members.
The word soon spread among Melbourne's fledgling sci-fi community.
In subsequent months Adrienne, aided and abetted by Judith Houston, ran meetings in various homes around the suburbs. There were no VCRs among us in those days; and meetings consisted mostly of showing off merchandise, wearing long scarves and lots of talking. Adrienne produced a publication, The Victorian Time Machine, and later in the year we had our first convention in a church hall in Fitzroy.
The following year, it was becoming clear that a committee was needed to administer our soaring membership and this was formed in June 1980 with John Davies as our first President. A new monthly publication, Sonic Screwdriver was launched and an occasional fanzine, Supervoc, which consisted mainly of quality fan-fiction and illustrations. The Club was incorporated in 1981, along with a necessary constitution. In the years that followed, the increasing membership began meeting at larger venues such as Moonee Ponds Town Hall and Melbourne University, and our annual Christmas parties became legendary. We have hosted many conventions, with guests such as Robert Jewell, Dudley Simpson, Sandra Reid, David Banks-Stewart and more recently, Sylvester McCoy, and we have collaborated with professional convention organisers on other occasions to give members access to other Dr. Who legends such as Colin Baker and Peter Davison.
Today's Club
It is 2009, our thirtieth year, and our membership exceeds 250 and is rising fast.
The Club currently enjoys a great respect within Melbourne's science-fiction establishment.
We publish a monthly magazine, Sonic Screwdriver that is of a professional standard without compromising the fanzine aspect (we even offer full colour versions by special subscription for those who appreciate quality).
Our members include a large demographic range from pre-schoolers to sixty-somethings, uni students to business owners, fanboys/girls, families, and every conceivable occupation and lifestyle.
We're starting to have adult members who were brought to the Club as children... and are now bringing their own.
Meetings
The Club organises meetings on the last Saturday of every month. At present we are using Northcote Town Hall, but we will be alternating venues this year, to maximise the opportunity for our geographically-diverse members to access meetings (and are planning some Sunday meetings for the same reason).
What do we do at meetings?
We provide our own entertainment, usually with a theme to celebrate our love for something specific... the era of a particular Doctor, companion or villain, or to discuss a spinoff such as Torchwood or the Sarah Jane Adventures. We display and buy/sell merchandise, have great raffles and door prizes. We have a K9 corner for the kids to do arts and crafts, play games and race our two 12" remote control Daleks. And we still do lots of talking.
Above all, it's a place where you can be a Doctor Who fan to the point of obsession and no-one will tell you to "grow up"!
We hope you will do the same...
you're welcome to come and play with us anytime.
In between meetings
In between monthly meetings we have small Local Groups that host home meetings around the suburbs, just as we did in those earlier times. We have Robot's Picnics (bring a robot instead of a teddy bear) in various parks and adventure playgrounds and we're planning to increase dining events in pubs, etc. Many of our members support the activities of other local sci-fi clubs, so it's a good place to network and make a lot of new friends.
Contact Us
You can contact the DWCV at secretary
dwcv
orgau.
Alternatively, you can contact the club via snail mail at:
PO Box 8080
Rippleside
Victoria, 3215