SwanCon 18 wrap-up publication

by Doug Burbidge

Anna has handed me a copy of:

 

SwanCon 18

Perth, Western Australia
Easter 1993
The Wrap-up Publication!

(Don’t say we didn’t warn you!)

 

I see that this is one of the bicapitalised SwanCons. The wrap-up report is 20 pages, A5, folded and centre-stapled.

The inside cover says:

Contents

Terry Pratchett’s G.o.H. Speech at SwanCon 18	3
Where your money went!	11
Demographics	12
Craig Hilton’s Con Report	13

By my count, their numbers are off — “Where your money went!” is on page 10; Demographics is on page 11, and pages 9 and 12 are upside down and swapped.

“Where your money went!” shows a profit (naughty people — we don’t say “profit”; we say “surplus”) of $220.67, a remarkably small number. (With uncertainties as large as those afflicting con budgets, it’s very hard to hit this close to zero.)

Line items include “From previous Conventions: SwanCon 16: 1502.01”, “SwanCon 14: 832.00” and “SwanCon 17: 2111.00”, and on the outgoing side “Australia in 1999 Bid: 1000.00”, “Suncon and Syncon shortfalls (to ASFF): 1000.00”, “DUFF, GUFF, ASFF, FFANZ: 1700.00”, “REFUND OF LOANS FROM PREVIOUS CON’S TO WASFF: 4,445.01”

And now I see how they got so close to the zero mark: they distributed the surplus.

On the following page:

Demographics

Guests	9
Full Members	344
Children between 8-15	15
Day Members	90
Supporting Members	8
PreSupporting Members	11
	377

So how many people came to SwanCon 18? Well, our final membership list has 377 names!

Some of the Day members came for only half a day, others came for a couple of half-days, or even a couple of days. Over $4000 was taken in memberships (either full or day) at the door over the long-weekend. As you can see, almost all our Supporting and Pre-Supporting members converted their memberships to Full. Most gratifying. In fact, you people simply blew us away with your enthusiasm and support! At the end of the road, this has been the best attended convention ever held in Western Australia. What can we say except

Thank You!Under this is an illustration of a humanoid ape (or an ape-like human), two-thirds buried under a mound of papers, thinking “So many memberships!”.

Terry Pratchett’s speech is too long for me to transcribe, and Craig Hilton’s con report is (of course) in comic form. (Craig has elected to draw me as a llama.)