Melbourne, VIC
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At the Awards Ceremony of Continuum 8 in 2012, it was plausibly stated that Melbourne has long been at the centre of Australian fandom, and that the Melbourne Science Fiction Club (MSFC) has been at the centre of Melbourne fandom. It was noted that members of the MSFC had been prominently involved in bidding for and running all four Australian Worldcons.
The MSFC claims to be the oldest continuously active science fiction club in Australia. The Futurian Society of Sydney was formed earlier, but was officially disbanded for some years.
The first four Australian Natcons were in Sydney, but the next six were in Melbourne. Melbourne has continued to host Natcons once in a while, whereas Sydney has gone twenty years without hosting the Australian Natcon. Perth fandom has hosted the Australian Natcon once in a while since 1980, and boasts the longest-running annual convention in the Southern Hemisphere (Swancon), but has long postponed its ambition to take a Worldcon bid to the voting stage. (A Perth, Australia in 2025 bid is aiming to host a Worldon in Swancon's 50th year.)
Melbourne now has an annual convention, Continuum.
A Brief Chronology[edit]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1940, June | Austra-Fantasy first published |
| 1940, Nov | Melbourne Bulletin first published |
| 1952, May 9 | First official meeting of the Melbourne Science Fiction Club (as the Melbourne Science Fiction Group) |
| 1953, Mar 1 | Etherline first published |
| 1956, Dec 8-9 | Olympicon (Melbourne's first Australian Natcon) |
| 1958, Apr 5-6 | Sixth Australian Science Fiction Convention (i.e., sixth Australian Natcon) |
| 1966 | Australian Science Fiction Review first published |
| 1966, Easter | Seventh Australian Science Fiction Convention |
| 1968, Easter | Melbourne Science Fiction Conference |
| 1969, Jan | SF Commentary first published |
| 1969, Apr 4-6 | Eighth Australian Science Fiction Convention |
| 1969, Apr | Ditmar Awards first presented |
| 1970, Mar | The Somerset Gazette first published. |
| 1970, Mar 27-30 | Ninth Australian Science Fiction Convention |
| 1970, Aug | First meeting of Nova Mob |
| 1971, Jan 1-2 | Tenth Australian Science Fiction Convention |
| by 1971 | Space Age Books opened, as The Space Age Bookshop, on 7th floor of the Beehive Building at 96 Elizabeth Street |
| 1971, July 6 | Space Age Books moved to Swanston Street |
| 1971, Apr 9-11 | Mini-Melcon |
| 1972 | Eastercon '72 |
| 1974 | Space Age Books moved to 305 Swanston Street |
| 1974, Aug | Ozcon (Natcon) |
| 1975 | Norstrilia Press began publication |
| 1975 | First Unicon convention |
| 1975, July | Austrek founded |
| 1975, Aug | Void first published |
| 1975, Aug 14-17 | Aussiecon |
| 1976, Aug 13-15 | Bofcon (Natcon) |
| 1976 | Australian Science Fiction Foundation established |
| 1976, June 10 | Valhalla Cinema opened in Richmond |
| 1978 | Australian Science Fiction News first published |
| 1979 | Australian Science Fiction Review revived |
| 1979 | Doctor Who Club of Victoria formalized |
| 1980 | Minotaur comics shop opened at 23 Tattersalls Lane |
| 1981, May | Minotaur moved to Mid-City Arcade |
| 1982, Apr 9-12 | Tschaicon (Natcon) |
| 1983, March | Minotaur moved to 251 Swanston St |
| 1984 | Minotaur started stocking science fiction novels |
| 1984, Apr 20-23 | Eureka!con (Natcon) |
| 1985, Aug 22-36 | Aussiecon 2 |
| 1985, Dec | Melbourne Science Fiction Club moved to St. David's Uniting Church Hall, West Brunswick |
| 1985, Dec | Space Age Books closed |
| 1986, Mar 7-10 | Galactic Tours Convention (Media Natcon) |
| 1987, May | Star Wars 10th Anniversary banquet held at Townhouse Hotel |
| 1987 | Valhalla Cinema moved from Richmond to Westgarth |
| 1987 | Minotaur opened a separate shop for comics in Flinders Lane |
| 1988, Oct 14-16 | Zencon II (Media Natcon) |
| 1988, Oct 14 | Star Walking (club) officially launched |
| 1989 | Minotaur (apart from comics shop) moved to 128 Elizabeth St |
| 1990 | Aurealis first published |
| 1990 | Minotaur (comics and all) moved to 220 Bourke St |
| 1990, Apr 13-16 | Danse Macabre (Natcon) |
| 1990, Nov 23-25 | Huttcon '90 (Media Natcon) |
| 1991, Oct 11-13 | Vampiricon (Media Natcon) |
| 1992 | Christmas at the End of the Universe party held |
| 1993 | Slow Glass Books shop opened upstairs |
| 1993, Oct 29-31 | CupCon |
| 1994, Jan 21 | The Australian Science Fiction Bullsheet first published |
| 1994, Apr 1-4 | Constantinople (Natcon and Media Natcon) |
| 1995, Jan 27-29 | Concinnity 95 |
| 1995, Oct 21 | Basicon (Media Natcon) |
| 1995, Nov 25 | First Multiverse convention |
| 1996, June 10 | Valhalla Cinema closed (became Westgarth Cinema) |
| 1997, June | Star Wars 20th Anniversary Banquet held in an aircraft hangar |
| 1997, Sept 27-28 | Basicon 2 (Natcon and Media Natcon) |
| 1997 | Slow Glass Books shop opened downstairs |
| 1998 | The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction & Fantasy published |
| 1999, Sep 2-6 | Aussiecon 3 (and Spawncon II) |
| 1999, Dec | First MiDFur fur meet |
| 2000 | Minotaur moved to 121 Elizabeth St |
| 2000 | First Manifest |
| 2000, Apr 21-23 | Kitten Kon |
| 2002, June 7-10 | Convergence 2002 (Natcon) |
| 2002, Oct 22 | Slow Glass Books shop at 305 Swanston Street closed |
| 2003, Jul 11-13 | First Continuum convention |
| 2006, May 20 | First Melbourne Zombie Shuffle |
| 2007, Feb 9-11 | First Nullus Anxietas convention |
| 2007, June, 8-11 | Convergence 2 (Natcon) |
| 2008, Dec 12-15 | First MiDFur convention (MiDFur X) |
| 2009, Aug 14 | Chronos Awards first presented |
| 2010, Sep 2-6 | Aussiecon 4 (and Dudcon III) |
| 2010, Nov 14 | The Writer and the Critic (podcast) first published |
| 2011 | Melbourne Browncoats became New Melbourne Browncoats |
| 2011 | Victorian Quidditch Association founded |
| 2012, Mar 6 | Notions Unlimited Bookshop opened |
| 2012, June 8-11 | Continuum 8 (Natcon) |
| 2013, June 8 | Valhalla Social Cinema held its first 24-hour sci-fi movie marathon |
| 2013, Aug 16-18 | Last Manifest |
| 2013, Oct 6 | First Melbourne Zombie Convention |
| 2013, Dec 13 | Melbourne Science Fiction Club farewelled St. David's Uniting Church Hall, West Brunswick |
| 2014, Jan 10-12 | First ConFurgence |
| 2014, Jan 24 | Melbourne Science Fiction Club met at St. Augustine's Anglican Church, Coburg |
| 2014, Feb 1-2 | PonyCon AU 2014: Marebourne |
| 2014, June 6-9 | Continuum X (Natcon) |
| 2015, Mar 7-9 | Con 70 |
| 2017, Mar 11-13 | Con 80 |
| 2017, May 20-21 | ThronesCon |
| 2017, June 3 | Star Wars 40th Anniversary banquet |
| 2017, June 9-12 | Continuum 13 (Natcon) |
| 2018, April 28 | First Speculate Writers Festival |
| 2019, June 7-10 | Continuum 15 (Natcon) |
History of conventions in Victoria
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