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Guangzhou in September 2015. This was followed by the AABC presentation by Andrew Ward, President of South Australian Bonsai Society inviting everyone to AABC in Adelaide in May 2015.
Glenis concludes, “The Delegation from the Philip- pines then gave us a fun presentation with a message from Fely Gupit inviting everyone to the Philippines in 2016 for a regional convention. BCI board members past and present appeared in cartoon format on the presentation. It was very well done!
Over the three days we had a constant silent raffle with great prizes. Some of our international guests were not familiar with raffles but after a bit of coaching they really got involved. The raffle coordinator, Bruce
Harkness, was full of enthusiasm both in voice and dress! He hand painted the raffle boxes in Australian aboriginal designs and sold them off and the end of the convention, proceeds going to the convention of course.
All good things must come to an end and both host Presidents Lindsay Bebb, AABC President and Tom Elias, BCI President gave their closing speech- es. Both agreed it was a very successful event which was enjoyed by all and thanked everyone for coming. Next year in September, we are back to Guangzhou. Please join is for what will be yet another great BCI event!”
An Array of Asian and Australian Viewing Stones at the 2014 BCI Convention.
By Tom Elias, USA
Asplendid display of some eighty stones was exhibited at the BCI convention in Australia. The display was arranged along both sides of a bright and airy hall leading to the area where two stone appreciation lectures were presented. It was extremely interesting to see this multinational display of stones and to learn of the rapidly growing interest in Australia for unusual and beautiful stones that can be collected, displayed and appreciated as objects of art.
Some excellent stones were displayed from the collections of Bradley Barlow and Lindsay Bebb. The majority of the stones displayed were from different regions of China. A small collection of Lingbi and Ying stones were displayed, but the majority were more recently collected stones; from Gobi Desert stones, to a variety of excellent stones such as Dahua and Sangjiang from Guangxi Province in south-western China. One of these outstanding stones, owned by Trevor Simmons, was a large arch-shaped Laibin stone of a standard high enough to receive one of the three BCI Excellence Awards presented to the stones in this display.
There were a small number Japanese suiseki on display including a polished Neo Valley chrysanthemum stone and a large Seta River stone.
While initially influenced by both Chinese and Japanese stone
appreciation guidelines, many Australians are turning to their dramatic
native stones rather than importing stones from elsewhere. The fascinating
array of Australian stones displayed is indicative of the growing interest in
native stone appreciation. The lighter colored stones displayed evoked the more arid regions of Australia. These included several reddish stones of considerable interest because of their abstract shapes.
One flat stone displayed in an upright position exhibited a pattern resembling a forest of large trees with tall straight trunks. Appropriately named Lost Forest by its owner Brenda Parker, this stone was another recipient of a BCI Excellence Award. It recalled the recent discovery of a large grove of a new species of trees, the Wollemi pine, discovered in a hidden canyon in 1996. This new genus of trees, closely related to the Araucaria, led to the description of Wollemia nobilis as new to science. A third BCI Excellence Award was presented to John Cowgill for his stone resembling a costal bluff.
Displaying newly found stones with a distinctly Australian history is an important step in the development of the Australia stone appreciation culture. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of Lindsay Bebb in promoting this art form, and the participation of collectors like Trevor Simmons, Frank Kelly and Bradley Barlow, many more Australians are engaged in Chinese and Japanese stone culture. With a geology that includes virtually all known rock types and from all geological time periods of the Earth’s history, stone enthusiasts are searching more remote areas for the fantastic new stones that can be found in Australia. These will be largely distinct from well-known Japanese suiseki and Chinese viewing stones—new discoveries to further enrich and broaden the worldwide suite of stones that are enjoyed as the stone appreciation culture spreads.
Above; A third BCI Excellence Award was given to John Cowgill for his stone that resembled a costal bluff.
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