Swancon 5

Swancon 5 was also the 19th Natcon (National Convention)

Dates: Friday 15th to 18th August, 1980

The Convention

Guests

GoH: Anne McCaffrey

Grant Stone, Shayne McCormack

Venue

Park Towers / Kings Ambassador

Committee

Chair : Julia Ferguson

Secretary: Joanna Masters

Publicity: Bob Ogden (Bid)

Treasurer: Roy Ferguson (Bid)

Bid Committee Chairman: Rob McGough

Venue Organizer: ??

Program Organizer: ??

Others: ??

Program: ??

History

Masquerade was MCed by Ian Nichols. Theme: Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

Swancon 5 was WA's first Natcon. It was also the first Swancon at a proper hotel, and the first with a banquet. It featured a multimedia presentation by the Smithfield people (Jeff Jagoe, Mark Denbow, Louisa Denbow, Kim Lambert) at the opening and closing ceremonies.

It had the first Goon Show episode written for and performed at a Swancon (though a Goon Show episode may have been done earlier at an Adelaide convention: "The Dune Show"). It was titled "The Dragoon Show" (as a reference to McCaffrey's Pern series), and featured "surrealist humour". Sound effects were from BBC Electronic Workshop vinyl effects disks, recorded to tape, then the tape was physically clipped, and used during the show. Cast members included Dave Luckett (Neddie Seagon), Grant Stone (Dennis Bloodnok), Roy Ferguson (Grytpype-Thynne), Rob McGough (Moriarty), Julia Ferguson (Minnie Bannister), Warren Hughes (Henry Crun), Eric Harding (Bottle); sound effects by Iain Henderson.

Sally Beasley was starting chair, but swapped out before the convention.

Oral History and Reminiscences

Barb de la Hunty is remembered for a costume which was "...something with white fur and not much of it". (Sally Beasley) Role-play game "Traveller" was much played on stairwells at that convention. (Susan Margaret) For some reason, a mattress ended up in a lift. (Susan Margaret) Some Swancon 5 was delivered to the hotel and went mysteriously missing. (Sally Beasley)

Publications and Productions

The SF archive includes an essay on Swancon 5, written by Susan Margaret for a Popular Culture course at Murdoch University.

External Links

These are mostly links to transcripts that have been done for the Australian Science Fiction Distributed Archive Project (ASFDAP) on its blog 'This!'

• Swancon 5: - Bidding for the 1980 National SF Convention (page 1)
• Swancon 5: - Bidding for the 1980 National SF Convention (page 2-3)
• Swancon 5: - Bidding for the 1980 National SF Convention (page 3-4)
• Swancon 5: - Bidding for the 1980 National SF Convention (middle pages)
• Swancon 5: - Progress Report No. 3
• The West Australian: - 'Star Wars' Fraternity by Mark Skulley
• Swancon 5: - 1980 Ditmar Awards nomination form
• All SwanCon 5 posts on ASFDAP blog