Wodonga/Albury Camera Club

Club History Page 1 (Presidents)

Compiled by Paul Temple

1953 The Beginnings - The Wodonga Camera Club

Transport Problems

In the early 1950's, a number of Albury Camera Club members resided in Wodonga, some four miles away (Post Office to Post Office) from Albury. The tale is told that only one of the Wodonga members at that time owned a car. As all of the Wodonga members of the Albury Camera Club could not fit into one car, all could not attend meetings.
In early 1953, after some thought, Tom Willoughby (pictured on right), Ron Smallpage and others thought that a Wodonga based camera club might be a solution to the problem of not always being able to attend meetings in Albury. Messrs Willoughby and Smallpage called for a public meeting to gauge interest in the formation of a camera club in Wodonga.
The meeting was well attended and interest was sufficient that plans were made to continue with the formation of a club. Tom Willoughby was nominated and elected as President, Ron Smallpage as Vice President and A.W. 'Dick' Smith as Secretary.
The constitution of the Wodonga Camera Club was written and adopted on 5th February 1953.

1970 A Change of Name - The Wodonga Albury Camera Club

In 1970 the Constitution of the club was changed and the club was re-named the Wodonga Albury Camera Club. A couple of events precipitated this name change:
With the advent of the Albury Wodonga Development Corporation, the twin cities had begun to be linked by name if nothing else.
The Albury Camera Club had ceased to exist not long after the formation of the Wodonga club, and Albury no longer had a camera club of its own.
The committee and members of the club refused to adopt the norm of putting Albury first though, and named the club the Wodonga Albury Camera Club to reflect its origins in Wodonga.

Some Noteable Events

1953 The Coronation Parade

In June 1953, a parade was held to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Only a couple of months after forming, the Wodonga Camera Club decided to enter a float in the Coronation Parade and duly won the Most Humorous Float Award, for its depiction of a huge folding camera on wheels.

1959 The Albury Show

The Wodonga Camera Club took over the Photography section of the Albury Show.

1961 - Wodonga In Pictures

The club decided to present an exhibition of Wodonga In Pictures to the public in 1961. This was held at the RSL Hall with showings on Friday December 8th at 8pm and Saturday 9th until 12 noon. The display was also shown in Albury at the Foto Supplies auditorium on the following Monday and Tuesday.

1962 The Albury Trade Fair

The club was asked to participate in the first Albury Trade Fair, and was a regular exhibitor over the life of the fair, which continued into the 80s.

1964 - 1974 The Albury National Salon of Photography

In association with the Albury Show Society, the club ran a national photographic competition between the years of 1964 and 1974 inclusive. The dedication of the competition committee is to be admired. Eventually helpers were too few to cope with the rigors of running a national competition and1976 saw the end of this event. There was also an Albury National in 1947, but this was run by the Albury Camera Club of NSW.

Conventions

The Wodonga Albury Camera Club has hosted the annual VAPS convention on several occasions - 1964, 1973 and 2006.
The WACC has hosted The Australian Photographic Society APSCON Convention on two occasions - 1973 (Wodonga) and 2007 (Albury).
The 1973 APSCON was of particular note as it was the first to be held outside a capital city and was a large gamble on behalf of the APS committee at the time. The convention proved to be very successful and is now often held in rural areas.

1970 - Albury Captain Cook Bi-Centenary Celebrations

The club was asked by the Albury City Council to conduct a photographic competition to celebrate the Bi-Centennial. A Monochrome Print exhibition was organised and this provided the first outdoor print exhibition for the club. The prints were displayed on Hessian in front of the Albury Court House in Dean Street.