The rain may have been lashing down on Saturday, July 17 but there was a cosy atmosphere inside the Pavilion at Hamilton Gardens where a group gathered to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Waikato Orchid Society with a sneak peek at the orchid show, which opened to the public the next day, and a special jubilee lunch. After the event was postponed last year, it was lovely just to be together and hear everyone sharing their memories.
The Waikato Orchid Group was founded on June 6, 1960 and two of the founding members were on hand to help cut the cake – Elsie Young and Rae James – with the name changed to Waikato Orchid Society in 1963. The club opened with 47 members and has about the same membership now, but in the 1980s, in the heyday of commercial Cymbidium growers in New Zealand, had an almost unbelievable 500 financial members. It has always had a close relationship with the NZ Orchid Society in Auckland and in the early days the two clubs had many members in common. Apparently someone (from Auckland) was reported as saying of the first show in 1963, “I never knew orchids could grow so well south of the Bombays”! Waikato Orchid Society hosted National Expos in 2000 and 2005, and another Expo will be held in the area in 2023.
Best table display went to Trevor and Pearl Martin of the Waikato Orchid Society, both also members of the jubilee organising committee. The best display was judged to be by the Howick Orchid Society.
Best specimen plant: Dendrochilum javierense, grown by Michelle Tung (Howick), with 78 spikes. Novice award: Terry Evans (Waikato, Oip. Nelly Isler); Best Pleurothallid: Maurice Bycroft (Waikato, Masd. Funky Leopard); Best Phalaenopsis: Yvonne Tong (Waikato, Phal. (Ark’s Green Angel x Chia E Yenlin x Yuanshan Golden Beauty)); Best Vandaceous: Glenn Poffley (Howick, V. Manuvadee); Best Oncidium: Leroy Orchids (Waitakere, Rossioglossum Rawdon Jester ‘Great Bee’); Best Cattleya: Keith Smart (Waikato, C. Joanna Rose); Best Cymbidium: Jane Napper (Waikato); Best Any Other Genera: Ninox Orchids (Whangarei, Zga. Queen of Adelaide x Freestyle Meadows); Best Seedling: Helen Barrio (Waikato, C. Arizona); Smallest Flowering Orchid: Toby Marris (Waitakere, Aergs. citrata).
