Journal Number 100
August 2006

EDITORIAL

This is the 100th issue of the Journal
By Ian St George

Dorothy Cooper received such an enthusiastic response to her book,  A field guide to New
Zealand native orchids, published by the Wellington Orchid Society in 1981, that she started
a native orchid group to keep up with the correspondence.

The first issue of the Newsletter appeared in March 1982, and is reprinted in facsimile in the centre pages of this issue of the Journal.  View Here
 

Her editorial in Newsletter No.2 is self-explanatory:

"What a wonderful response to what I thought might have been a useless idea!

I am pleased to report that we have over 80 members, from the far north to the far south, giving us great opportunities, and subs are still coming in. Many thanks for all your encouraging letters, and special thanks to the Thames Valley Orchid Society who kindly donated $20 towards the cost of setting up this group."
 

A few snippets

"If your group will emphasise the 'study' of our orchids plus the need to conserve, with information on seed collecting and growing for those who 'must have' then I will be pleased to join."

"The very worst that could happen would be competitive display... until we have learnt to efficiently propagate them."

"Too many species of plants have been lost, and no way can we reverse our wrongdoings, yes, perhaps when we can grow them from seed then we can all have our own little collections but at the moment I am happy to view them in their own environment and know that they will grow on there for longer."

"I am pleased to find the N.Z. orchids relatively common after several years of searching out British examples, and would hope that the Native Orchid Group would actively discourage collecting."

"I have wished that my own recording could have some meaningful objective and now can add to the collective pool of information that this group could provide."

"Letters were overwhelmingly in favour of leaving plants where they are until we
can successfully grow them from seed; thank you again for your responses -
I only wish that there was room to publish them all."

Could I please thank those who have already contributed to the newsletter, and remember, there can't be a newsletter without news: we would like to hear from you all."
 

Dorothy continued cheerfully (despite the faintly lukewarm comments above) as editor of the first 20 issues of the Newsletter, typed it and copied it by Gestetner, and was only occasionally the grateful recipient of enough copy to extend to 8 pages. She is one of a small distinguished band of NZ orchidologist's whose "first mover" contribution has been outstanding.

I took over an already successful publication from Newsletter 21, which was typed into my old Apple Europlus II, printed on the dot-matrix printer, pasted up, and reduced by photocopying on the Dunedin Medical School photocopier. The sub was $5. One reader complained immediately about the small print.

Newsletter 25 first carried the new logo, designed by Bruce Irwin. No. 50 first carried colour,
No. 52 set a record at 48 pages. We celebrated No. 75 with a colour cover, and that became
the norm after No. 93.

Now we are at No. 100. Copy comes in by email or disk, and is transferred to Microsoft Publisher. I email the completed file to the printer, who sends the bill to Judith Tyler and the journals to me and I stuff prepaid envelopes printed using Mailmerge.

It's not difficult nowadays.

I too thank those who have contributed to the journal, and remember, there can't be a journal without news: we would like to hear from you.

Ian St George