Members Page

News, Info & Announcements for Members

GENERAL CLUB INFO

2024 Workshop Hours & Fees

Mondays: 9.30am till 4pm - $5

Wednesdays: 9.30am till 4pm - $5

Thursdays: 7.00pm till 10pm - $3

Saturdays: 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month. 9am till 12.30pm - $3

Saw room fees: Trim saw - 0.60c per stone (member operated). Slabbing - 0.20c per square inch (supervisor operated)

Potocopying Fees: B&W 20c per copy. Color 40c per copy.

Memberships

Yearly Memberships need to be paid by June 1st. Membership remains at $40 per adult per year, juniors are $20 and family are $80, and payments can be made direct to the clubs account. Be sure to include your surname, so it get records correctly. Or by cash or EFTPOS at the clubrooms on a workshop open time.

The postage surchage for Gemini post out is $9.

Please note that if you have not paid your membership fees, you have become un-financial, and are not permitted to use the club facilities, as you are no longer covered by our insurance policies.

Facebook

Follow our official Facebook Group called "Geelong Gem & Mineral Inc"

Meetings

General meetings are held at the club on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, at 7.30pm, except for January, June & July. All members are encouraged to come along, get involved and meet your fellow members! We always have a raffle and often have gemstone rough sales, exclusively for members.

Newsletters

Our Bi-Monthly newsletter is called Gemini. The Victorian Gem Clubs Association Monthly newsletter is called Pointer Magazine. You will find the latest copies of both further down this page.

UPCOMING EVENTS & FIELD TRIPS

The next field trip will be a trip to the Batesford Quarry on June 22nd, to search for fossilised sharks teeth, cowrie shells and other fossils. As we are required to limit numbers to these trips now, there will be limited spaces available, and these will be allocated based on espressions of interest of our own club members, and specific number allocations to other clubs. If you have an interest in attending for this date, or any of the follow up dates, as listed below, please put your name on the list on the white board at the club rooms, which will be put up on May 26th at 9am. Names will not be taken before that time and date. I would ask that to ensure the spaces are allocated to those with a sincere interest in fossils, if this is not a really strong interest of yours, please consider not listing, so that the keen members can attend. If interest exceeds the number of available spaces, we may limit member attendances to one visit per member per year, to keep it fair. The following field trip dates are July 27th, August 30th, and September 21st, and maybe October 25th, and members can choose to nominate for these dates also on the lists provided. Members who live outside the Geelong region can nominate by sending an email on or after May 26th at 9am expressing what their preferred attendance date is, and can nominate also a second option date, if they miss out. Subsequent second attendances may be possible, and will be worked out once numbers are known, and will be allocated as fairly as possible.

Please note: field trips are for members only, and members of other Gem and Lapidary clubs, details such as where to meet and what to bring will be emailed to our members.

CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS & PRESIDENT UPDATES

The next general meeting is the August meeting, and will be Tuesday August 12th at 7.30 pm.
There are no general meetings over the early winter period, being June and July, with the meetings resuming in August, where we commence planning for our show in November.
The primary sanding bench has undergone a change now, with a new 2 wheeled machine having been installed at the wall end of the bench. This machine is fitted with "Nova" type resin coated, diamond impregnated wheels, of 600 and 1200 grits. This machine marks the first step in our plan to ultimately replace all the old wet and dry type sandpaper sheet wheels, which are troublesome, and do not last very long. This new machine will be given a trial period, and if works well, we will proceed with replacing the remaining 2 machines, with various grit sizes. This change will ultimately greatly improve the ease of taking cabochons through the pre polish stages.
The security system for the club has a higher level of integrity now, as the camera can detect and track intruders immediately, and send out notifications by text straight away to alert us to unauthorized entry, and we now have the front door monitored too.
Junior Program: The Junior program on Friday nights has reached its end for the summer / autumn stage this year and will now resume in spring. If you have a junior interested in the junior program, be sure to get their name on the list on the training board, and they will be contacted when the program resumes in the spring.
Our club relies on members volunteering to be workshop supervisors, and we are always happy to have extra supervisors available, to ensure we can cover all of our workshop sessions. If you feel you are prepared to give up some time to become a supervisor, please discuss this with the club president, and training will be arranged.
Members, please help out to clean up the doping wax pot, when it is in need of a cleanup, as it needs cleaning frequently, and this is often overlooked during the cab room clean up. Please also avoid doping stones while on the side of the wax pot, as this increases the likelihood of spilt wax on the wax pot rim.
Some of our members have left behind some cabochons in various stages of completion, so if you have misplaced a cabochon, please ask the supervisor to see if your has been found, as the lost cabs are in the supervisor cupboard.
We are now open on Saturdays for morning workshops, on the first and third Saturday of each month- 9am-12.30pm, for those who find it difficult to attend during the week. Come along and support our new weekend workshop day.
When using the provided brush for applying shellac to the cabochons, please ensure the shellac is cleaned from the brush with some Metho, as failure to do this is ruining the brushes.
Members, please remember when using the clubs kitchen facilities, to wash and dry any cups, plates and utensils that you have used, and be sure they have been put away, and any rubbish created has been disposed of correctly.
Members please note that the kitchen urn has a pre- set temperature controller, and these settings must not be touched, so please use the safety timer switch only to turn the urn on for use. If the urn has to be turned off, please use front button of the timer switch, and press it repeatedly until the light on the timer goes off.

GEELONG GEM & MINERAL CLUB INC COMPETITIONS

Our 2024 Competition Winners are listed within their categories. Congratulations to all our winners.

NOTE: updated 13 November 2024

About: The Geelong Gem & Mineral Club Competition was established in 1974 and closes September 30 each year. The competition composes of Level 1 & Level 2 division, with various sections within each division.

Who can enter:

Level 1 Competition & Club Competitions - only open to members of the Geelong Gem & Mineral Club Inc.

Level 2 competition - open to members of all clubs affiliated with the Victorian Gem Clubs Association Inc. Other clubs from interstate are also eligible to enter.

Judging criteria: Competitions will be judged in accordance with Competition & Judging Manual No. 8 April 2015 by judges appointed by the V G C A. For more information on judging criteria for each Section, refer to the manual. A copy located at club in the Cab workshop or you can purchase a copy from the AFLACA website

How to enter: Email us for an entry form or pick up a copy of from the club (located on hallway notice board). Each entry must be accompanied by an entry fee of $2 & return postage where necessary. Competition closes September 30th 2025

Definitions:

Open Division: Open to all ability levels

Junior Division: Open to competitors under 16 years

Novice Division: Open to competitors who have not previously won 1st place in a Novice Division

CLUB COMPETITIONS - OPEN TO MEMBERS OF THE GEELONG GEM & MINERAL CLUB INC.

Level 1 Cabochon - Jack Graham Memorial Trophy

Section O.1A/AA: Open Division, Section 1A - Standard Cabochon. To be decided.
Section J.1A/AA: Junior Division, Section 1A- Standard Cabochon. To be decided.

Jack Graham Memorial Trophy Special Conditions: Material must be Petrified Wood. Entrants may enter two (2) cabochons in this event. Only the entrants best scoring stone` will count when awarding trophies. Trophies will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place as well as for best Novice. If sufficient Junior entries a 1st, 2nd, & 3rd placing will be awarded.

2024 Winners :

1st Place : Fred Kapteina - Petrified Wood Cabochon, 94.35 points

2nd Place : Rex Hunt - Petrified Wood Cabochon. 91.95 points

3rd Place : Des Mckiernan - Petrified Wood Cabochon, 83.90 points

Best Novice: Richard Baud - Petrified Wood Cabochon, 86.75 points

Leve 1 Faceting - Ern Haywood Faceting Trophy

Please note faceting diagrams are in the AFLACA judging manual, copy available in the faceting room

Section N.10: Novice Division, Section 10 - Modified Standard Cuts. Eight sided Brilliant, natural colourless or coloured quartz any variety. Drawing supplied.
Section O.10: Open Division, Section 10 - Modified Standard Cuts. Advanced cutter section, Beginners Cushion Any natural coloured or colourless quartz variety. Drawing supplied.

Club Competition - Beading

Judging features will focus on Aesthetic Appeal Design and Craftsmanship.

Section 1: Beading not intended to include Lapidary item
Section 2: Beading that includes a Lapidary item.

Beading Special Conditions: Where lapidary items are used they must comply with Definitions of Lapidary Items on Page 19 of Competition & Judging Manual No.8 paragraphs D2.2 or D2.4. Entrants may enter up to two (2) items per section. Please give approximate dimensions of items entered in the slumping section on entry form.

2024 Winner : 1st Place, Vivien Hayes, Beading with out lapidary item

2024 Winner : 1st Place, Vivien Hayes, Beading that includes a lapidary item

Club Competitions - Glasswork

Judging features will focus on Aesthetic Appeal Design and Craftsmanship.

Section 1: Fused glass pendant of your own design.

2024 Winner: Tanya Beehre, Fused Glass Pendant of your own design, 67 points

2024 Second: Lyn Ashton, Fused Glass Pendant of your own design, 64 points

Section 2: Slumped glasswork of your own design. Special Conditions apply.

2024 Winner: Lyn Ashton, Slumped Glass Vase, 94 points

Club Competition - Popular Showcase - June McKenzie Showcase Award

Free showcase composition. Votes from the public attending the show will be canvassed to assist in determining the winner.

Popular Showcase Special Conditions: While these Showcases may contain borrowed items they must be entered as an individual entry. Entries will also be accepted for display only.

2024 Winner : Les Barnes - Showcase #1 with 125 votes - see photo below ↓

LEVEL 2 - OPEN TO ALL CLUBS AFFILIATED WITH THE VICTORIAN GEM CLUBS ASSOCIATION INC.

Level 2 Cabochon - "Gemini" Trophy

Section O.1A/AA: Open Division, Section 1A - Standard Cabochon. Aesthetic Appeal. Any material

Gemini Standard Cabochon Competition Special Conditions: Only one (1) entry per competitor is permitted. The Gemini Perpetual Trophy will be awarded to the Club with a team of three (3) entries achieving the highest aggregate score. Clubs do not have to nominate their team, the three (3) top scoring entries from each club will comprise that club’s team. Trophies will be awarded for the best Non-Agate entry, the best Novice Entry and the Best Junior Entry. The individual winner will be the highest scoring entry overall. Second & third will also receive medallions. Novice entries must sign the Novice box on the Entry Form. Junior entries must give date of birth on entry form.

2024 Winner : Des McKiernan - Geelong Gem and Mineral Club, Cabochon, 87.25 points.

Level 2 Wire Wrapping - Brian Spicer Memorial Trophy

Section O.18E: Open Division, Section 18E. Wire Wrapped Jewellery with Lapidary item, fossil or mineral item/s prepared and set by entrant. Special Conditions apply

The Brian Spicer Trophy Special Conditions: The Brian Spicer memorial trophy will be awarded to the highest scoring entry in Section 18E. Entrants may enter up to two (2) items. . Both entries will count toward trophy awards.

Level 2 Jewellery

Section O.18 A: Open Division, Section 18A. Hand fabricated jewellery not intended to include lapidary/fossil, item must be made entirely of metal.
Section O.18B: Open Division, Section 18B. Hand fabricated jewellery with lapidary item/s cut and set by entrant. Special Conditions apply.
Section O.21A: Open Division, Section 21A. Cast Jewellery NOT intended to include Lapidary, Fossil or Mineral items. Entries must be entirely of metal. Casting must be made by the entrant using Commercial wax models or patterns.
Section O.21B: Open Division, Section 21B. Cast jewellery with Lapidary item/s cut and set by entrant. Castings must be made of metal by the entrant using commercial wax models or patterns. Special conditions apply
Section O.21C: Open Division, Section 21C: Cast Jewellery with natural fossil or mineral specimen set by the entrant. Casting must be of metal by the entrant using commercial wax models or patterns. Special conditions apply.

Jewellery Special Conditions: Entrants may enter up to two (2) items in each section, all items will count toward trophy awards. For sections 21B and 21C, if insufficient entries for individual competitions these two sections will be amalgamated and the winners/place getters will go to those entries with the highest points.

GENERAL COMPETITION CONDITIONS: The Competition Committee reserves the right to place entries in the correct category & change trophy awards as necessary depending upon the number of entries received.

Competitors are responsible for insurance of their entries while in transit & in possession of the Competition Committee. While all care will be taken to ensure safe handling, the Club will not take responsibility for items lost, stolen or damaged during mailing or judging processes. Each entry must be accompanied by an entry fee of $2 & return postage where necessary. Entries must be received by the Competition Co-ordinator Geelong Gem & Mineral Club Inc. Post Office Box 662 Geelong 3222 no later than September 30th 2025 or handed to the Competition Co-ordinator in person.