FRONT COVER: Oda. (Aloette x Carnette) - a magnificent stem of richly coloured flowers owned by Jim O'Hare of Perth. This was the Grand Champion Orchid of the Orchid Society of Western Australia's Spring Show. Photographer: Ivan McFarlane.

Ira Butler Trophy and the Bill Murdoch Trophy for 1996. These trophies are awarded annually, the Ira Butler Trophy for the Australian Native Orchid Hybrid of the year, and the Bill Murdoch Trophy for the Australian Native Orchid Species of the year. This year's winners are announced and illustrated.

Selected Species - Eurychone rothschildiana. Peter Taylor's regular feature is always a wealth of information, and this month is no exception. This orchids is not common and a bit of an oddity.

Three Popular Orchid Books. Brian Milligan is a collector of orchid books. In this article he delves into the early publications on orchids dating from the middle of the last century.

Cymbidium Club of Australia - Seedling of the Year. With a sponsored prize of $1000, competition was keen to take out this title. The winner was Helen Palmer but you will have to read the magazine to see the winning orchid, a beautiful pink intermediate type. Other annual competition winners are described and some photos.

The Cymbidium Page - Potting Mixes Julian Coker's regular feature catering for the Cymbidium grower, this month discusses potting mixes. There are as many ingredients and combinations as thereare growers, but Julian gives the low down on what the plant's requirements are so you can make an informed choice.

Orchid Weekends These are very popular and in this issue there appears information on events coming up in Rockhampton, Taree, north Brisbane and Bega. Show schedules and prize money on offer include $1000 for Grand Champion Orchid at Rockhampton in May.

Book Reviews All of a sudden we were deluged with new publications. In this issue our team of David Banks, Ron Kerr, Ian Melrose and Colin Hamilton review publications from Australia, USA, Papua New Guinea and Singapore. In particular we found the Field Guide to the Orchids of New South Wales and Victoria excellent value and sure to be a winner. Sadly the author, Tony Bishop, died before his lifetime of work on our Australian native orchids could be published.

History of the Tasmanian Orchid Society - 50 Years Chris Nicholas recalls the history of this society which first met on 11th February 1947.

A Pure Love Story . Roy Neale (New Zealand) tells of the exciting hybrid he has developed, Cym. Pure Love. This is proving him with a crop of awards and champion ribbons.

14th Australian Orchid Conference/Show, Brisbane this Conference moves from state to state every three years. It is now only six months away and things are hotting up.

Papua New Guinea - A Unique Orchid Tour on offer Details of a new enterprise to take orchidists into the highlands for a unique orchid expedition in strictly limited numbers. Unlike the orchid explorers of yesteryear, this group will be accommodated at the award winning Ambua Lodge at Tari. There is more than orchids to see - a real witch doctor, wigmen and, of course, those exotic Birds of Paradise.

Brisbane Grower Tops 110 Awards - and 100 of them in only 40 months Dr. Des Neuendorff has made this remarkable achievement, and many of the awards have been to hybrids from his own breeding programme. Many photographs to show the range of his activities, and most of them you won't find in nurseries. Des topped off 1996 by taking out the Bill Murdoch Trophy for Australian Native Orchid Species of the Year, with Cym. canaliculatum 'Ghost Gum' AM/AOC-QOS.

MAJOR FEATURES:

Seed Production and Germinability in the OncidiinaeMarilyn Light (Canada) reports on her investigations in this area, as presented to the Odontoglossum Alliance meeting held in Vancouver in 1996. Nice micro photography by Michael MacConnaill, and species illustrations by Marilyn, David Banks and David Titmuss.

Victorian Orchids of the Year 1996 Yep, here is another batch of Orchids of the Year, this time from OSCOV in Victoria. THE orchid of the year was Blc. Mem. Warren Jones 'D. Littman' AM/OSCOV, and there is an excellent photo of it. (This hybrid was made by Bryan Jones, Gladstone, Q., and named in memory of his son who was tragically killed in a car accident a couple of years ago.)

A Short History of some of the Chemicals used to Control two-spotted Mites Alan Merriman writes on the history of chemicals used to control these pests in Cymbidiums over a long period of time. Many of the old chemicals, and some not so old, have disappeared. Alan also provides information on what is around to use today - complete with warning on their use.

50 Years - City of Lismore Orchid Society
40 Years - Townsville Orchids and Allied Plant Society

and regular features: Around the Shows, International Conferences and Shows through to 1999, Cultural Notes, etc. etc....

Revised January 1997

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