Pages 10 and 11 of the SwanCon 17 Progress report (unnumbered; dated July 1991) contain information about the venue, and a full page map of the venue, including accommodation areas, pool, and location of the river. Halfway down the page of text is a logo for the hotel, reading “Ascot Inn” and “on the Swan” with silhouettes of two flying swans in the centre. Below the logo are the address and contact details, including Fax and Telex. The rest of the article:
The primary Venue for the Festival’s Events is the Ascot Convention Centre, Belmont. It’s only fifteen minutes (real travelling time, not hotel-blurb travelling time) out of the city, at the end of a quiet side-street, on the Swan River. It’s a five minutes walk from Great Eastern Highway (where a regular bus service runs), and less than five minutes drive from a multitude of fast-food outlets, Chinese restaurants and shops, and it has a fine on-site bar, bistro and restaurant. The rooms are good motel quality and cheap, and the convention facilities are the best we’ve found in Perth (why we’ve never had a Con there before, we cannot imagine; the next two years have followed our lead already, and 18’s a NatCon!).
Accommodation at SwanCon 17 is $50.00 per room per night. This is a special deal, arranged by the Committee for the Con. The number of rooms available at this rate is limited and many are gone already, so we’re asking that people book as early as possible to avoid disappointment. We’re hoping that we get sufficient response to book both wings of the Hotel (see map, opposite), but even if we don’t we’ll have an entire wing to ourselves (the river wing), so room parties, corridor parties, stairwell parties (sadly, there are no lifts), balcony parties, cupboard parties, and almost anything else you can think of will be OK by us and the management. Of course, if we get both wings, those who do want to go to bed early (or even to go to sleep early) will be separated from the “party wing” by the pool courtyard.
As you’ll see from the map, the venue itself is very compact, with the “Oaks” and “Derby” rooms being used as the main programming rooms, the “Epsom” as the Fan Lounge and Hucksters Room and the Ledger Room (a purpose build audio-visual mini-theatre) as the Video Lounge. Access to the accommodation and the river foreshore is incredibly convenient. Simply, this is a great Convention Centre.
Please note: although the Ascot Inn is the venue for SwanCon 17, it’s not the venue for the Writer’s Workshop, which is being held at St Columba’s College on the preceding weekend. Also, the Education Seminar, while being held at the Ascot Inn, will occur at the beginning of December, 1991.