Zencon

Convention
Name:	Zencon
Dates:	?-1988
Frequency:	annual
Location:	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Type:	fan con, fan-run, with featured guests
Focus:	science fiction and media
Organization:
Founder:
Founding Date:
URL:
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Fans across the science fiction spectrum gather at the Clubs Panel for Zencon II, 15 October 1988. Back row: Jan MacNally (Austrek), Lam Ria Byrne (Battlestar Galactica), Tom Marwrede (MSFC), Shane Morrissey (Star Wars), Paul Poulton, Rebecca McGroarty, George Ivanoff (V), Helen Steers, Scott Tracy (Fanderson) Front row: Rachel Shave, ?, Sue Campbell. (Photo by Jan MacNally).

Zencon was a fan-run science fiction and media convention held in Australia.

This con (and its guests) was associated with ConFederation, a New Zealand con that took place shortly after "Zencon" and organized by Kathy Hanson and others.

Zencon II

Zencon II ("The Con at the Edge of the World") was held Australia.

front cover of the program book for Zencon II, artist is Robert Jan

In Australia, it was held 14-16 October 1988 at the Carlton Social Club (during the day) and Clunies Ross House (evening and night) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Also Royal Parade Motor Inn in Parkeville.

Blake's 7 guests were Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Janet Lees Price, and Dr. Michael Archer.

It was a National Media Science Fiction Convention.

The costume parade was held at Clunies Ross.

Dr. Archer was a biologist and science fiction fan who talked about the fossil deposits at Riversleigh. One of these fossils was of an ancient crocodile called "Baru Darrowi."

One co-convenor was Geoffro.

It was at this 1988 con that fans were are told primarily by Kathy Hanson that Ann Wortham, Leah Rosenthal, and Linda Terrell had written slash fiction under pseudonyms. This was a major element that began The Blake's 7 Wars.

The club Star Walking Inc. was officially launched at Zencon II in October 1988.

Con Reports by Janet Darrow

Re-united with Michael and Carol (who’d gone the other way round the world) we all had a memorable day a Melbourne Zoo, one of the best I’ve ever visited. ’’Avon” and ’’Vila” were recognised by four Aborigine girls down from the remote Alice Springs on a visit - much excitement, giggling and photo taking. Carol spent ages in the magnificent Butterfly House and managed to photograph the Ulysses Butterfly, the most vibrant blue, among a rainbow of swirling colours, winging above our heads. Because of a last minute hitch, there were three venues for the Convention, consequently a fair bit of dashing about expertly guided by our "minders”. The welcome from the fans was, as ever, warm and friendly. They kept thanking us for coming so far; we felt the thanks were all on our side for making the trip possible.

[...]

Once the Convention was over, our friend Dr. Mary Webber (whom we first met in America) whisked us away up to the Snowy Mountains; an eight hour drive, climbing all the time, through ever-changing countryside, and where, to ray delight, I saw a mother and baby Wombat standing by the side of the road. Love at first sight!

Mary later bought me a toy one, instantly christened ’’Michael" - well, they are small, plump and cuddly! The mountains were still snow capped and everywhere was carpeted with small purple flowers - a feast for the eyes indeed.

Soon it was goodbye to Australia, with our thanks to all those who'd made our trip so memorable.

[much snipped about ConFederation, see that page]

We flew home via Hawaii. Sun, sand, sea and splendid food, a chance to relax. We retrieved the day we had lost by crossing the date line - every day is precious when one is ancient - and we parted at Los Angeles Airport. Paul to stay on in the States for four more Conventions, while I flew home about to be re-united with Becky and Holly.

A thought occurred to me last night as I started to answer the 173 letters which awaited my return - (one, incidentally, addressed Paul Darrow, Actor, England from Bulgaria of all places) what a truly amazing profession this is. Had anyone told us ten years ago when B7 was born, that we would one day be doing Conventions in Australia, America and New Zealand, we’d have thought them mad. How lucky we have been.

To all our friends in Australia and New Zealand, an inadequate "Thank You" for your hospitality and for sharing your countries with us. Our visit was surely the stuff memories are made of.

Con Reports: Fans

Friday the 14th October, dawned cool and clear, like many other spring days in Victoria Australia. This was no ordinary Friday, however, for as the day wore on, a strange collection of 'beings' assembled at the Royal Parade Motor Inn in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. These beings arrived from many places on the planet (and off it too!) with the sole aim of attending ZENCON II, Australia's National Media Science Fiction Convention for 1988.

And the guests they had to meet? None other than Paul Darrow, Janet Lees price and Michael Keating, all of Blake’s 7 fame, and Dr. Michael Archer of the University of New South Wales. Janet, Paul and Michael had flown in two days earlier - to the collective relief of the committee and perhaps the guests themselves too, as only Michael had ever visited Australia before, many years earlier Following an evening radio show, Paul and Michael were delighted to be recognised by fans as they enjoyed shopping with the ladies in the city, and during a visit to the zoo by Aboriginal school children from Alice Springs.

Our fourth guest, Dr. Archer, was met by a silver lizard when he arrived at Tullaraarine airport late Friday evening - we couldn’t let an opportunity like that slip by!

The convention programme got into full swing on Saturday and offered attending members an art show and weapons display, a hucksters' room full of goodies, discussion panels where Janet, Michael and Paul talked about their work and science fiction themes, auctions, quizzes, and autograph and photo sessions. Saturday evening’s masquerade gave fans a chance to show off their talents as entertainers and costume makers, to the enjoyment of the four guests who acted as judges and the rest of the audience too.

The highlight of Sunday's programme was a very entertaining and informative talk by Dr. Archer. At the end of one of the shortest hours in the whole convention, Paul was presented with a magnificent painting by Peter Murray of Baru darrowi, Paul’s fossil crocodile from Riversleigh, and a naming certificate. Dr. Archer also announced the naming of one of our ancestral koalas for Michael Keating. On a lighter note, Dr. Archer was asked to identify a fan's pet - a cute little dinosaur, live of course!

All too quickly it seemed, the closing ceremony was the only item left on the programme and it was time to pass on the gavel and Domesday Book to Conspire, the successful bid from Canberra for the 1989 Australian National Media Science Fiction Convention. On behalf of the Zencon committee, our thanks to Janet, Paul and Michael for travelling so far to be with us and we hope to see you 'Down Under’ again in the not-too-distant future.

[comments about ConFederation snipped]

Paul, Janet, and Michael visited Australia on their way here. 'Avon and Vila' were recognised at the Melbourne Zoo by two very excited Aboriginal girls on holiday from Alice Springs, with much giggling and photo-taking.

Janet, who had fallen for wombats, was given plush one which she immediately named Michael because, to quote her, "Well, they are rather small, plump, and cuddly".

Michael displayed his 'koala bear scar' to impressed con-goers. How very... Vilaesque to be scratched by a cuddly bear, though to be fair, koalas are nervous little guys and get very stressed too much interaction.

I haven’t laughed so much about a convention’s mishandling of a guest since I learnt that Paul Darrow was handed a tram timetable when he and his wife asked to see Melbourne. (Mind you, Ed Bishop volunteering the information that there’s a really great bus tour of the same city for a mere $13, with all that implies, does rank a close second!)

[...]

The point was brought up in "Talking To Our Friends" in THYME 84 that it may not take many of these incidents to give Australian conventions a bad name. Don’t delude yourselves, guys. We've already got it. With a vengeance, in some circles. I sat through Zencon, disbelieving, as I watched Paul Darrow in particular and Mike Keating to a lesser extent, systematically insulted. All around me fans were laughing, while I struggled with the possibility that I was just stick-in-the-mud over-sensitive and perhaps the comments hadn’t gone quite as far as I thought they had into the demeaning category. Indeed, 1 debated through Saturday with several other Queenslanders, finally deciding that I had imagined it all. I subsequently settled down by dinner time to what we all agreed was the best media con we’d ever attended. (We were, after all, having an immensely good time and the only thing spoiling it was the constant little niggling doubts about the way the guests were being treated. Once we’d decided we were reading more into the situation than was warranted, there was nothing to mar our enjoyment.) By late evening, however, I’d changed my mind. So had every other Queenslander I knew at the con. None of us were in any doubt any longer about whether or not the treatment of the guests was ‘appropriate’ , because by the end of the costume parade the insults had reached staggering proportions. Throughout the next day we watched as the guests were subjected to more of the same until Mr Darrow, at least, had had enough. He took one of the committee aside, informing the individual in question that he would not be insulted again. I have this on the word of a good friend who overheard the rebuke and described the tone as ‘Avon at his chilling best.’

But the most disturbing aspects of this whole situation are twofold —

1) That of the several hundred fen at that convention who attended the same panels, the same programming items, the same speeches which I did, only a handful seem to have been aware that the jokes, the repartee, the comments made in public by committee members, went too far on occasions too numerous to mention.

2) That perhaps those who, belatedly, have come to realise that perhaps insults were given, albeit unintentionally, the majority have concluded that since no offence was intended by the committee then there’s really nothing to concern ourselves over. The point that I would like to make is that the Darrows and Mr Keating were quite deeply offended. My international correspondence is neither vast nor various. Nevertheless, during the aftermath of Zencon I was regaled with news, written to me by fans overseas, relating to behind-the-scenes details which I find personally offensive. The incident of the tram timetable came to me from an exceedingly reliable source in New Zealand who claimed to have heard it from Paul Darrow himself.

Other dubious and unpleasant incidents were related to me by persons also claiming to have heard them from the horses mouth, and as I know these individuals know the Darrows, I have no reason to disbelieve them. I do however have some reason to call into question the revisionist history that seems to have been circulated since.

Fan Comments Regarding the Second Zencon and "The Blake's 7 Wars"

It was this second convention that played a role in The Blake's 7 Wars. NOTE: please keep in mind that this was a very complicated issue, and that there are many versions of what happened; the comments below illustrate some of the differing telling of events.

As to your comments re Gareth Thomas and Paul Darrow - there is a very long story behind all of that, and I don't have all the details, but I can tell you a little bit of it. When Paul came to Australia, someone gave him a slash zine to autograph (there are some totally brain dead morons in fandom!). [...] For a long time, Paul did not attend conventions (I don't know if he does now, think he does), and it's taken a long time for him to regain his faith in fandom. I think the zine was given to him at Zencon, in about 1988, I won't mention the zine publisher's names.

I understood that the convention where Paul was given (or saw, it depends on whom you talk to) a slash story was in America, though I may have misunderstood.

Darrow was quite convinced that his story, Avon: A Terrible Aspect was "canonical." In fact, Mrs. Darrow was fond of telling folks in letters that once Paul's book was published there would no longer be any "need" for fans to write stories about Avon's background, etc. because Paul's version would be the one true version. She was utterly convinced that everyone would accept Paul's version as the absolute truth and no one would be compelled to ever write a fan story again.

In 1988 I nearly went to ZenCon II in Melbourne, Australia, unfortunately I missed it. However, during that convention (not necessarily because of the convention, but I think I have some documentation somewhere if anyone's interested) a great upset occurred between the Darrows and some fan writers who wrote slash fiction. Most unfortunately I think this included Annie. I wonder if there's a link? Maybe Avon: A Terrible Aspect was about Darrow re-affirming his heterosexual manhood in no uncertain terms. What do you reackon? As I've written before, I didn't like what he showed me.

The information I had came from when he attended a convention here in Australia. Zencon. Some bright fan handed him a slash zine, which had Darrow/Thomas slash in it and asked both he and his wife to autograph it. This is the one that led to the court case that I know of, I wasn't actually referring to the one I think you were which went no where, but the one where he tried to copyright his face and lost on that basis. I was actually at this con, and was aware of all the shouting and screaming that was going on, so I am accurate in my news there.

As far as I know, this was also an Australian zine, but I've done research and it wasn't Blake's 7 The Other Side, which is one of the one's he mentioned in his case. Oh, he lost on every count, as the makers of B7 wouldn't support him. Neither would Thomas, who was making money out of the cons and the fans and really couldn't have cared less about the whole business.

[...]

Anyway, I got my stuff autographed, being about 6 people ahead in the line before the daft fan with the slash zine, so I'm happy.

Zencon II Gallery

Melbourne event at Clunies Ross House. Photos supplied by Jan MacNally

• 
  Michael Keating at Zencon II Opening Ceremony, 14 Oct 1988.(Shane Morrissey in front row of audience)
• 
  Janet Lees Price at the Opening Ceremony.
• 
  Paul Darrow at Opening Ceremony.
• 
  Michael Keating presents "Smarties" prize to Quiz winner Jan MacNally 14 Oct 1988.
• 
  "Liars Panel" at Zencon II, 14 October 1988: Paul Darrow, Janet Lees Price, Michael Keating.
• 
  Greg Franklin on "Liars Panel" at Zencon II, 14 Oct 1988.
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  Paul Darrow, Janet Lees Price, Michael Keating and Greg Franklin on the "Liars Panel", 14 Oct 1988.
• 
  Zencon II lunch, 15 October 1988. Clockwise from left: Marion MacNally, Adam Bradshaw, Maria and George Papadeas, Rachel Shave, Sue Campbell, Robert Jan.
• 
  ZenconII lunch, 15 October 1988. From left: Jan MacNally, Robert Jan, Gail Adams, Marion MacNally.
• 
  Preparing for costume parade, 15 Oct 1988: Alison Wallace, Adam Bradshaw, Julie Hughes.
• 
  Maria and George Papadeas, Zencon II, 15 Oct 1988. (Photo by Jan MacNally).
• 
  SHADO Moonbase operative Jan MacNally helps Ferengi Robert Jan prepare for the costume parade, 15 Oct 1988.
• 
  Star Wars visits the costume party.
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  Asterix cosplay at the costume party.
• 
  Marion and Jan MacNally as SHADO Moonbase operatives at the Zencon II costume party.
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  Gathering for the costume parade: Gail Adams (Barbarian), Julie Hughes (Romulan), Robert Jan (Ferengi), Alison Wallace (Romulan) and Marion MacNally (UFO)
• 
  Gail Adams as a Barbarian at the costume parade, 15 Oct 1988.
• 
  "Gallifreyan Lady Timelords" at the costume parade.
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  Stephen Scholz cosplays Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome in the Costume Parade.
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  Robert Gudgeon in the Costume Parade.
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  Julie Hughes and Alison Wallace as Romulan assassins in the costume parade.
• 
  Mike McGann (as Travis) and Wendy Ratter (as Servalan) at the Zencon II costume parade, 15 October 1988.
• 
  Gail Adams and Robert Jan after the costume parade.
• 
  Loretta as a belly dancer at Zencon II.
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  Awards Night
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  Julie Hughes leads a Zencon II Room Party after the Costume Parade.
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  Austrek table in the Zencon II Hucksters' Room, Carlton Social Club, Sunday 16 October 1988.
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  Huckster displays a 1977 Star Trek Beach Towel, Zencon II, Sunday 16 October 1988.
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  Art auction at Zencon II, Sunday 16 October 1988.
• 
  Zencon II Photo session, Sunday 16 October 1988. Michael Keating, Jan MacNally, Marion MacNally, Betty de Gabriele, Paul Darrow, Greg Franklin and Janet Lees Price. (Photo by Jan MacNally).
• 
  After dinner, Zencon, 16 Oct 1988. Marion MacNally and K9, with Dr Michael Archer looking on.
• 
  Zencon II closing ceremony, Banquet Room. Sunday 16 Oct 1988.
• 
  At home after the Zencon II closing ceremony, Sunday 16 October 1988. (left to right) Rachael Shave, Jan MacNally, Linda Hasn and Sue Campbell.