Vale : Colin Hamilton 27.10.42 ….14.01.08
(Extract from the eulogy delivered for Colin at his funeral.)

COL joined the Rockhampton Orchid Society in 1971after visiting one of our shows and admiring the magnificent blooms on display. He later said he was coaxed into joining by Ellie.

It was not long before Col was serving on the committee, then after a few years he was appointed as Treasurer, a position he held for a record 16 years. Also during all this time and for some time after he was editor or co-editor of our monthly newsletter and only stepped down after taking on the position of Editor of Orchids Australia.

Col loved to organize events and organized many Xmas functions for our club, and with his great sense of humour, was sometimes the entertainment for the night. He planned everything down to the last detail. When he was organizing a couple of weekend bus trips to the Gold Coast he would cover thousands of kilometres in his own car weeks before the event to find the best accommodation and places for the bus to visit. These trips were so popular with members there was never a spare seat on the bus. On the return journey from one very successful trip, someone asked “where next Col, Hawaii?” This set a challenge for Col but after 12 months of planning Col led 34 passengers on a 2 week tour of the Hawaiian Islands, taking in the Honolulu Orchid Show, for a trip they will never forget.

Col qualified as an Orchid Judge in 1991, and together with his good friend, Brian Maxwell, enjoyed travelling throughout Australia and overseas, joining judging teams and on buying trips to various commercial nurseries. Col, through his involvement with Orchids Australia and the internet was well known throughout much of the orchid world and attended orchid conferences in Glasgow, Rio de Janeiro, Vancouver, Malaya, New Caledonia, and Hawaii as well as throughout Australia.

In 1978 Col registered his first and only orchid hybrid. He named it Oncidium Hamilton Gold. Probably no plants of it still exist locally, but Col’s name and plant name are in the records books forever.

In 1995 Col took on the prestigious role of Publications Director and Editor of Orchids Australia. This role he carried for five years bringing the magazine to world acclaim. With his knowledge of publishing and computing he was a much valued member of the Australian Orchid Council and attended many board meetings and Council activities. He established the first web site for the A.O.C. and then in 2005, together with Wolfgang Bandisch completed an extreme makeover of the site. This was a huge amount of work. Col was really thrilled on hearing that this site was given a Gold Medal for World’s Best Orchid Site at the World Orchid Conference in Dijon, France in March 2005. Unfortunately Col was not able to attend this conference owing to illness. The trophy going with the Gold Medal was a bottle of select Burgundy white wine in a specially engraved bottle. Col. no doubt had the honour of having the first nip at a subsequent AOC meeting. This website that Col was so proud of already headlines the news of Colin’s passing and tributes from his friends around the world are beginning to pour in. The first one is from Col Jennings the Registrar General of the AOC.

Col established our own Rockhampton Orchid Society website in 2002.and soon after he once again took on the role of Editor of our monthly newsletter.

In 1986 Col was honoured with Life Membership of the Rockhampton Orchid Society for all the work and time he had contributed to the Society and in 2002 the Australian Orchid Council granted their equivalent: ‘A Fellow of the Australian Orchid Council’ for his work as Publications Director, Editor and Webmaster. A very rare but worthy recognition by the A.O.C.

Col also had a great love of music and theatre and was a life member of the Little Theatre. In earlier times he managed and worked “Front of House’ at the Pilbeam Theatre and often wrote critiques on musicals and drama productions for the Morning Bulletin. Ellie & I spent many happy Theatre times with Col and mutual friends.

It seems so sad that Colin did not live long enough to enjoy his retirement. We will miss him so much. We will all miss the phone calls we shared, his ready wit and even in his darker days the way he loved telling jokes.

Rest in peace dear friend. You will live on in the hearts of those of us who loved you.

Terry Dean