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Club History
Club History
At left is the cover page of the first club newsletter which was published soon after the formation of the club in 1992. The PDFs of Newsletters No. 1 and No. 2 can be dowloaded from the links below.
In 1993, John Jarman wrote the following article for the newsletter...
1992 .... THE YEAR THAT WAS
1992 .... THE YEAR THAT WAS
For me 1992 was a very special year. I have been interested in Astronomy for... well as long as I can remember, but I have never really become involved in any society. I had had my fingers burned with a couple of the groups around and virtually all of the astronomy that I did was done alone. Second half 1991 my good wife, Noelene, pushed me into doing an astronomy course run by CEW at the University of Western Sydney. The course was advertised as an introduction to the Night Sky. I was really looking for a more advanced course than an introduction but as it has turned out the course fee was the best $100.00 I have spent for a very long time.
In talking to Graeme White, the lecturer for the course, he suggested that as he had 40–50 people through his course that perhaps there was enough interest in the area to start an astronomical society. After thinking about it for a while we decided to hold a meeting, and fully expecting only a handful of people to turn up, found instead 25 very interested folk. From this meeting the Western Sydney Amateur Astronomical Group (W.S.A.A.G.) was created and it has exceeded expectations in growing as rapidly as it has with very little in the way of active promotion.
Continued...
The frequency with which the comment "it's about time somebody did something in the west" has been heard in the last 12 months shows that W.S.A.A.G. is filling a need that has existed in the western regions of Sydney for some time. It is very exciting, and bodes well for the future of the Group, to see the enthusiasm with which it has been greeted.
Mistakes were made in 1992, some we know about, some we don't, but overall the year was very successful. In the early part of the year things just seemed to happen, but with the mid-year election more structure came into the organising of the Group and the second half of 1992 proceeded very smoothly. The weather was a factor in 1992, as a large percentage of weekends were overcast or wet. But there again, some very pleasant evenings were passed waiting for the clouds to clear. I recall one in particular, standing in the street at Tench Reserve discussing all manner of interesting topics because someone had forgotten the key to the reserve gate—no names please.
We can do nothing about the weather, but we are investigating some ideas that may turn an overcast night from a loss into a worthwhile evening.
Graeme White
Continued...
At the moment our group is not a technical one but as we grow and gain expertise, as a group and as individuals, there will be a need to create additional avenues for people to explore. Possibilities for the future include the setting up of specialised study groups or sections to investigate, in greater detail, some of the many different subjects that Astronomy encompasses. Telescope Making, The Moon, Astrocomputing, Variable Stars and Astrophotography are just some of the possible sections—what actually happens will depend very much on the interest and involvement of the membership.
1992 was a good year. A year where a lot of learning was done and where a solid foundation was laid for the future of the W.S.A.A.G., but it's 1993 now—let's get to it.
John Jarman
John Jarman
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