www.goldcoastlapidaryclub.com.au

Monthly Newsletter of the Gold Coast Lapidary Club Inc. PO Box 12 Nobby Beach, Queensland 4218

Inside this Issue 1. Snippets photo of the month. 2. Committee & general information 3. Presidents report 4. Raffle Prizes, Silversmith competition

5. Caught by your Camera

6. Beading classes, Welcome New Members, Up Coming Show Dates, Poem from our resident Poet Bob Wakeham . 7. Gemfields Lapidary and Craft Club, Birth-day Wishes 8. Fossicking for Labradorite by Chez and Jadzia

Jadzia and Lady Marie’s silver spider getting up close and personal

August 2014 Issue 427

FROM THE EDITOR Do you have something you would like to share in ‘Snippets’? Or a question you would like an answer to? Are you aware of the Snippets box? { it’s situated outside the faceting room window next to the OLD POLISHER} Just put your thoughts or questions in the box. I will endeavour to find the answers for you. (we have a wealth of knowledge in the club) It would be great if any items for Septembers’ ‘Snippets’ could be in my hands by 28th August then the draft ‘Snippets’ can be given to the president for approval prior to the committee meeting on Tuesday 9th September. Deadline is Monday, 1st September 2014 My Email address: seiira@bigpond.net.au or you can contact me on 55-292884 /mob: 0418-537234 Thanks Deborah E

GENERAL MEETING FOR AUGUST

DATE: SUNDAY, 31st August in the Courtyard of the Club rooms

TIME: 11.00AM sharp followed by a $2.00 BAR-B-Q

SEE YOU THERE!

Gold Coast Lapidary Club Inc

Members of Queensland Lapidary & Allied Craft Associations Inc. 80 Pacific Avenue, Miami. Queensland.- PO Box 12, Nobby Beach Queensland 4218

Phone: 5526 1190

The Management Committee 2014-2015

President Wayne Schulz 55 961865 / 0417-96185 /president@goldcoastlapidaryclub.com Vice President 1 Geoff Saunders 0407125567 Vice President 2 Ken Wilks 55 789419 Secretary Lenora Collins de Luth Treasurer Vicki Lumm 55 247951 / 0418466130 Member Secretary Deborah Ensor 0418537234

General Committee Chez Siwka 55 799989 Jadwiga Siwka 5579 9989 Steve Profke 0419471332 Denis Burton 55 276488 Robert McGregor 55323469 Allen Frentz 5571 6436

Management Positions Snippets Editor Deborah Ensor 0418537234/55292884 Show Coordinator TBA Purchasing Officer Geoff Saunders 0407 125567 Club Curator Burt Last 0401355271 Senior Librarian Liz Nicholas Assistant Librarian Jadwiga Siwka Raffle Coordinator Elena Sparks Show Stall Conveners: Elaine Arch-Row & Pru Aguinaldo

Judges

Faceting - Robert McGregor Cabochons - Ken Wilks Carving - Allen Frentz Silversmith/wire work Lady Marie Howard and Jadwiga Siwka

Instructors & Workshop Times

Monday 10am to 3pm Cabbing Ray Tolley 55 244642 Beading Di Scott 0400 342717 Monday 7pm to 9.00pm Evening Cabbing John Nelmes 0412 575995 & Terry Houghton 55 946814 Opal Cutting and Polishing Jason Neville 0433 691025 Tuesday 10am to 3pm Cabbing Shirley Sunderland 0411 175095 Bone Carving John Tonkin 55 3471121 Free Form Boats ( 1st and 2nd week of the month) Laurence Yannaccelli 55 772185 Wednesday 10am to 3pm Silver Jewellery/Wire Wrapping Marie Howard 0428 732276 & Jadwiga Siwka 55 799989 Cabbing Denise Burton 55 276448 Faceting Steve Profke 0419 471332 Investing Book with Instructor Geoff Saunders 55 687616 / 0407 125567

Wednesday 7pm to 9.00pm Evening Basic Silver Jadwiga Siwka 55 799989 / 0419 756533 Cabbing Mal Wanchap 55 798908 Faceting Chez Siwka 55 799989 / 0407 7598755 Thursday 10am to 3pm Cabbing Shirley Sunderland 0411 175095 Silver/Casting/Cabbing Ron Barr 55 394737 Faceting Brian Brown 55 278552 & Lawrence Yannuccelli 55 772185 Casting Book with Instructor Geoff Saunders 55 687616 / 0407 125567 Friday 10am to 3pm Closed Friday 7pm to 9.00pm Evening Cabbing Ron Palmada 55 345701 Saturday 9am to 3pm Cabbing Alex Toro 0411 805378 Faceting George Tsakmakis 55 909470 Soap Stone Carving/Viking Chain Merv Scott 55 314576

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

August 2014

The Gold Coast Lapidary Club wishes to express their sincere thanks to Michael Hart local MP, who has offered the facilities of his office for photocopying our Snippets Newsletter.

Hi All Well the month of July has gone so quick and I still feel like my feet haven’t touched the ground. The flow on from the Show has been terrific with a lot of interest generated in the club and what we do and the Instructors have been under pressure to pass on the knowledge and skills involved. Thank you from the Club to Lenora for taking on the position of Club Secretary when the call went out, I am sure you will enjoy being a part of a great team and a great club. Council has been looking at the rear car park and working out the logistics etc. of getting it as-phalted and marked out so hopefully we will see some action shortly. Peter Smith has notified us of his stepping down from Faceting Instructor, as he has decided to try for a sea change and the Club thanks Peter for his commitment and involvement in activities and wish him the best in his future Endeavour's. It is great to see that the Fossicking / Purchasing trip to Lightning Ridge has been successful in getting members together and we hope to see an article in next month’s issue on its success and happenings along the way. Thanks to Jason and Steve for the hard yards in organizing the trip, well done. Safe travel and good finds. Our “Spring into August” social event was again successful with members attending for a get to-gether with some music and song by Dale and those that were encouraged to karaoke. It is good to see people getting to know each other away from the wheels and as it gets warmer we will have more of these occasions. You may have heard some stories regarding Lady Marie taking a fall and though we have some good information that she is ok but badly bruised we will chase the story out when she get back for next month’s issue. On a sadder note I received a call from a life member’s daughter notifying us that her mum “Rae Hamilton” had passed away on the 17 July 2014. From some of the older members in the club I gathered that she was well liked and a pleasure to be around and thoroughly enjoyed her lapidary hobby with a bit of a passion for Gem Trees. Her family has donated most of Rae’s collection to the club and we will introduce this material into the Cub shortly and we thank them for their generosity. I encourage you to put an entry into the monthly competition and continue to create that fun com-petitive nature that a club needs and you will be rewarded with a lively and fun atmosphere to fol-low your hobby. So with continued commitment and enthusiasm we continue on with the upcoming projects and activities and I thank you all for your willingness to be a part of it all. Enjoy what you do. Wayne

Amendment to President’s July Report: Di Profke won the Club Award for Novice Cabochon. 

Mal Wanchap won Ray Sanderman Trophy for Novice Facet.

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ATTENTION! ATTENTION! All silver smith enthusiasts— September is the start of our monthly Silver Jewellery Competition.

Our Judge’s are Lady Marie Howard and Jadwiga Siwka.

The sections are as follows-: (limit 2 items per member) A) Hand fabricated silver jewellery with lapidary items cut and set by the member. B) Hand fabricated silver jewellery with commercial lapidary item C) Hand fabricated silver jewellery item with out any lapidary item.

Please make sure you have clearly put your name and item’s section and its description in a closed zip lock plastic bag. By Friday September 26th . Items must be placed in the competition box mounted on the wall in the cabbing room. Should you have any queries please have a chat to either Marie or Jadwiga.

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ATTENTION CLUB MEMBERS

SUPPORT OUR CLUB BY PARTICIPATING IN OUR RAFFLE!!!

THE GENERAL MEETING RAFFLE! (DRAWN ON THE 31st OF AUGUST)

FIRST PRIZE: NED KELLY PRINT,

DONATED BY CLUB MEMBER TAMIE O'KEEFE AND CHRISTINE LANDSBOROUGH

SECOND PRIZE: WIRE WRAPPED PENDANT

MADE AND DONATED BY LADY MARIE HOWARD

ONLY $2 PER TICKET OR $5 FOR 3 TICKETS

RAFFLE BOX IS LOCATED IN THE CLUB, OTHERWISE ASK RAFFLE COORDINATOR ELENA SPARKS

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!

Merv’s on the recovery road

Our recent graduates of the Basic Silversmithing Course

Sometimes, fossicking can be a little too hard, so you have to resort to something easier. Oops, I've stitched this to my pants!!!!! Good one Laurence

Steve’s 60th Birthday bash Thanks Jadzia for the Strudel

CAUGHT BY YOUR ‘CAMERA ‘

Merv’s Miniature woodwork Show case All items work….unbelievable

The Three Musketeers' receiving their achieve-ment awards

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BEADING ON MONDAYS

Come and join Di and the beading ladies on Mondays 10am—3pm

Guaranteeing laughter and fun whilst you learn the art of Seed

Beading contact Di Scott on

0400-342717

Associate members welcome

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS we look forward to seeing you around the club house.

Patty Ivascanin Kenneth Stanley

Casy Ramage Bettina Withington

Michael Hill Esther Stelty Josh Lardner

Christina Chitra Myla Yeomans

Adam Richmond

UPCOMING GEM SHOW DATES August 15th-16th Goldfest, Clermont Central Queensland August 16th-17th– Central Queensland Gem Show, Monto Qld September 6th-12th—AFG Seminar—Glen Innes http://www.facetorsguild.com.au/afg-seminar.html September 13th-14th Bribie Island Gem Festival; 191 Sunderland Dr, Banksia Beach, Bribie Island September 27th Caloundra Gem Show, Caloundra State School, George Street, Caloundra October 4th Beenleigh Gem Festival, Beenleigh Showgrounds, James Street, Beenleigh October 11th Nambour Gemfest, Nambour Show Grounds, Coronation Ave Nambour October11th-12th– Central coast Lapidary Show, Mingara Sports & Recreational Club, Mingara Rd, Tumbi Umbi October25th-26th– Toowoomba Gemfest, Centenary Heights High School, Ramsay St Toowoomba November 8th-9th– Bundaberg GemFair– Bundaberg Civic Centre, Burbong St Bundaberg November 15th SunCoast GemShow, Mooloolaba State School, Douglas St, Mooloolaba December No Events If you know of any other Gem shows , please place the info in the SNIPPETS BOX or email me on seiira@bigpond.net.au - Thanks Deb

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Dear Club Members! Most of us collect stones, minerals, specimens and so forth. With time we get overloaded with the amount of items we have so suddenly acquired! In addition to that, we always have something to share or donate to the club. (unwanted jewellery and tools, books and magazines, plants, clothes and so on). Thus allowing club members to make a reasonable offer on the goods. All monies raised go back into the club. Your donations and generosity is always appreciated Thank you very much for your support! Elena Sparks

“Fossicking” Fossicking is a pastime most of us have done,

Enjoying the outback with its clean air and hot country sun.

After we park our van in a picturesque spot, We have a quick look around for unusual rocks.

Next day we head to a secret spot in a creek, Looking for the perfect stone that plays hide and seek.

Dressed with a flair of comfort and style, With jeans and flano shirt and a big smile.

Armed with a shovel, pick and our colourful wellies on, We sieve in the dirt for sapphires and zircons. With our heads down and our bums in the air, Its obvious were excited and don’t really care.

After six hours we’ve found some good looking stones, Now it’s back to our van which we call home.

Relaxing outside with a cold beer and wine in our hands, Thinking about tomorrow to scratch again in the sand.

By Bob Wakeham 1/08/2014

GEMFIELDS LAPIDARY and CRAFT CLUB Inc. I was recently in Sapphire attending one of John Broadfoot’s Faceting Courses, which was held at the Gemfield Lapidary Club. This club was formed in May 2011, and is situated at the Showground's on the Sapphire / Rubyvale Rd, Sapphire. (virtually opposite the Blue Gem Caravan Park) On the Wednesday, of the course I was fortunate to meet several members including the President Pat Marsh and Donna Zaghi, who were more than welcoming to all that were there. (Pat even gave us beautiful home made scones, jam and cream for morning tea ). I guess I have been spoilt living in the “Big Smoke” as the electricity is hooked up to our houses. The Club has to rely on its diesel generator, and was not pleased with all of our machines and lamps, we kept shorting out the place. Thankfully another generator was quickly located to cope with our de-mands and the power remained on . The poor generators needed down time so at the lunch break, the generators were turned off for a needy rest. There is a local Sapphire Market on every Sunday of the month from around April to just after the Gemfest in August, here you can purchase rough sapphire thru to completed items of jewelery, there is also a variety of stalls selling items from machinery to clothing, wood and home made jams. The Sun-day I was there the club doors were open to the public, the members were not only telling people about their club but selling Devonshire teas, Cake and Coffee. It is interesting to note that our very own Sir Paul Howard is their Pa-tron and will be demonstrating at the club on the Sunday of the Gem-fest. So if you are up that way, please call in and say Hi. I have placed a few of their brochures near the Old Polisher, please feel free to take one. Cheers Deborah Gemfields Lapidary and Craft Club Inc, Sapphire/Rubyvale Rd , Sapphire, 4702 ph: 0456037117 : email: gemfieldslapidary@hotmail.com

August Birthday Wishes to the following members: Ali Abouloukme, Elaine Arch-Rowe, Denise Barker, Rachel Bible, Robert Castle, Kath-ryn Heffernan, Christine Landsborough, Brian Lightfoot, Maria Luke, Catherine Lynch, John Morris, Ron Palmada, Gary Sandoz, Jennie Thompson, Wayne White-head, and Richard Williams

AUGUST BIRTHSTONES

Peridot– Protection,

Love, Truth, faithfulness, loyalty, fame and dignity. Sardonyx– Strength and

Protection

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FOSSICKINGFORLABRADORITEINSPRINGSURE

SpringsurecountrysideisaverypicturesquepartofCentralQld.ItssurroundedbyZamiaNationalPark,hugemesas&gentlyrollinghillsandifyouareluckyenoughtobetravellingaroundthesepartsstopforacoupleofdaysandgofossickingforLabradorite.Weguaranteethateveryonewillbeabletofindmorethensomething.TheLabradoritefossickingareaissituatedonlyabout20minutesdrivefromSpringsureanditisonaprivateproperty.TheStationiscalledCarbeignStationandtogothereyouhavetogetapermitinSpringsurefromtheMitre10HardwareStoreandthepermitisonly$5percarforonedayandwiththatyouwillgetamapanddirectionsandifyouwanttofossickfortwodaysjustgetapermitfortwodays.Theownersareverynicepeopleandallthemoneycollectedfromthepermitstheydonatetolocalcharities.Thereisabsolutelynocampingonthepropertyandtheownersarealwaysaroundwhetheritisonhorsebackorin4WDanddonottakekindlytopeopletryingtocamporhidetheircampsinthebushwhichisfineasafterallitistheirproperty.It’sabout20kofgood,hardpackdirttrackofthemainroadandthefossickingareaisfullofzamiapalmsandsomebush,verygoodforspeckingasitisasurfacestoneorforlightsievingbutnodiggingoflargeholesasthereisstockontheproperty.Sievingisdoneinandaroundtheusuallydrycreek.AplacetostayinSpringsureisTheRoadHouseCaravanParkat$30anightorTheShowGroundsCaravanParkat$20orthefreecampjustoutsideoftown.Chez&Iwentthereonlyforonedaybeforegoingontothesapphirefieldsandonaverydulldaywestillfoundspeckingabout½kofstoneasyouseeonthephoto.Ourbiggestwas75.5ct.BestwishesfromJadziaandChezandwewillinformyouallonanyotheractivitiesinfossickingaswemovealong.