Melbourne Clubs

[JimmyTheSkip]

So I've spent the afternoon googling Clubs in Melbourne, I live in the western suburbs. I've come across Bonsai Northwest, Northern Suburbs Bonsai Club, Bonsai Society of Victoria and the Victorian Native Bonsai Club. Is anyone a member of any of the clubs? Do people join multiple clubs? What has been your experience with clubs?

I think all of them don't have meetings in January and restart in Feb so looking forward to getting to some meetings, what do you normally do at the meetings and what should I expect when showing up for the first time?

[TimS]

I'm a member of Bonsai Society of Victoria, Waverly Bonsai Society and Peninsula Bonsai Society so you can definitely join multiple clubs

Waverly and Peninsula have meeting this month, Peninsula is a very small club these days and i don't make every meeting, not sure about the others you mention (not a member of them)

North West and Native clubs both have excellent reputations, and a lot of long time experienced members have moved over to NW from some of the other clubs. BSV and Waverly are very welcoming to people new to bonsai

Clubs will do seasonal topics at meetings generally according to what species need what work done at the time. Some nights will be workshops where you bring your own trees along to work on, others will be special guests like professionals or experienced members doing lectures on certain topics. They will generally publish the entire years' worth of topics ahead of time, or at least a good portion. There will also be display tables where members can bring their own trees to show, and trade tables where you can buy supplies at good prices so that's very convenient for buying things like tools and wire etc. Once a year each club will hold a show for members to display their trees to the public over the weekend, and do sales etc. Well worth attending!

It's all very friendly and relaxed, as much a social thing as learning about bonsai so sit down and learn or work on your trees, grab a tea/ coffee and a bikkie and make some new acquaintances really.

Another that springs to mind is Yarra Valley Bonsai club, just depends where you are located and what is suitable travel times for you. NW is too far away for me to make any of the meetings otherwise i'd definitely join there

[JimmyTheSkip]

Thanks for that TimS.

I'm out Deer Park way so Yarra Valley is a bit too far and Waverley seems like it would be a fair distance too. That said, I'm considering joining BSV which has their meetings in Kew. I saw that they are putting on a special event where Hirotoshi Saito is going to be speaking later this year. I noticed BSV do "General Meetings" and also "Weekend Meetings" each month. From what I could tell the weekend meetings are the Workshops/demonstrations but the General meetings would be more discussion nights?

[TimS]

Thanks for that TimS.

I'm out Deer Park way so Yarra Valley is a bit too far and Waverley seems like it would be a fair distance too. That said, I'm considering joining BSV which has their meetings in Kew. I saw that they are putting on a special event where Hirotoshi Saito is going to be speaking later this year. I noticed BSV do "General Meetings" and also "Weekend Meetings" each month. From what I could tell the weekend meetings are the Workshops/demonstrations but the General meetings would be more discussion nights?

Yep BSV meet in Kew, i try to make most of the meetings there but it is the farthest for me to travel to get to as well so i don't get to all of them.

Weekend meetings are always workshops, the main club nights are the ones with the lectures/ discussions and that kind of thing held. I don't ever go to the weekend workshops because up until recently i was working weekends, plus i tend to keep pretty well on top of the maintenance of my trees so even finding a tree to work on when the weeknight meeting is a workshop can be a struggle for me.

I can see if you had a very large specimen tree that needed literally hours and hours of wiring work it would be beneficial to take it on a weekend workshop where you could focus on it, but none of my trees require work like that done.

Yep BSV will be brining Hirotoshi Saito out this year for workshops. Details are still TBC but he'll be doing some workshops which can be attended either with a tree or just to observe too i think?

I can't remember the price of the workshops but i don't recall it being particularly cheap + the cost of buying a decent piece of suitable material to work on there (he's basically said pines or junipers is all he wants to work with due to it being his own area of expertise which is fair enough) = expensive undertaking.

I'm on the fence about if i will participate or not at this stage as i'd probably want to start with a decently high-quality bit of stock to make the workshop worthwhile to me, plus my wiring sucks a** at the best of times, let alone under pressure of a Japanese professional

[shibui]

Tim has posted while I was typing slowly. I think we are both on the same page?

BSV have monthly meetings. The usual format is a guest speaker to show and tell on a particular bonsai subject. Monday 22nd is John Holbrook with a presentation on ficus as bonsai.
The Saturday meetings are informal drop in sessions where you can bring a tree (or several) and ask for advice, do some work on your trees or just wander round and watch others do bonsai.
They've also been running a beginner course once or twice a year.
Some other activities as they happen - sale day, display at Rippon Lea and sometimes other venues to boost the profile of bonsai in the Melbourne community.
There's also the annual show and sale, usually held at Box Hill.

Hiro comes down under and usually does a tour round the larger cities so Melbourne is probably only one stop on this year's tour. These events are mostly 3 hour workshops where you can get help styling or developing a tree but they often have a talk or demo one evening while he's in town.

BSV is a good choice for a club but I also get Yarra Valley newsletter and they are also doing lots now. In the west Bonsai North West is a very strong bonsai club with some very experienced and enthusiastic members. I don't hear much about Waverley but they've been going for many years and I expect they are a good option for those living out that way.

[TimS]

Yep Shibui pretty much nailed it there.

Waverly suffered from the lockdowns and went from regularly having 30-50 members attending each mothly meeting before the lockdowns, to now getting probably half that. The people are great there, just lost a lot of regular attendees which is a shame.

Certainly its a more beginner/ novice and intermediate level focused now than before.

[KIRKY]

It’s always easier to go to the nearest club to you, remembering they are on a weeknight and you need to travel to n from. So could be a long day pending on your job if you have an early start for instance. If it’s a chore you probably won’t be inclined to go. Just something to bare in mind.
As stated by Tim and Neal, BSV do have beginner and novice courses which run for 4 - 6 weeks. These are great as they do everything from growing stock, repotting, feeding learning how to wire and style etc… You keep the project trees that you have been learning on. They also have a once a month Saturday work shop we’re you can work on your trees be guided by other members if you need help with your trees or you can just watch what others are doing with their trees.
Also all clubs will allow you to go to a club night meeting. This will help you get the feel of the club to see if you want to join. So that’s helpful to see how friendly and basic running of the club.
Cheers
Kirky

[JimmyTheSkip]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I will have a look at a couple of them and make a decision. It sounds like the one closer to me is great. I saw the President of the club has a YouTube channel and I've been watching that a little. I hear what you're saying in relation to week nights - I don't usually get home from work on a weeknight until after 6PM so it's unlikely I'll be in any mood to get out to Waverley after coming home and picking up material etc for a workshop.

[TimS]

Just jumping in here to say if anyone is a BSV member that the Hiro sessions have now been opened for booking (BSV memebers only at this stage i do believe)

I recently picked up a nice old JBP that needs a good re-style, so i've booked the Sunday the 7th of July workshop 1-4pm to at least begin to tackle it.