History of DCC
On Friday 11th November 1955, at the Athenaeum Hall, Doncaster, a public meeting was convened to discuss the formation of a Camera Club.
The following officers were elected:
President: Mr Ross Miller
Vice Presidents: Mr Keith Petty/Mr Harry Thomas
Secretary: Mr Russell Hardidge
Treasurer: Mr Ralph Petty
Publicity Officer: Mr Ken Silcock
Committeeman: Mr Eddie Secombe
Auditor: Mr Brian Norbury
The first resolutions were that the club be called the Doncaster and District Camera Club, that it “affiliate with the Victorian Association of Photographic Societies (VAPS)” and that “the annual subscriptions should be ten shillings ($1.00)”.
Meeting places over the years have been:
1955 – 1958 Athenaeum Hall, Doncaster Road, Doncaster
1958 – 1980 Lutheran Church Hall, Victoria Street, Doncaster
1980 – 1994 Church of Christ Kindergarten, Doncaster Road, Doncaster
1994 – 2018 Pilgrim Uniting Church, Westfield Drive, Doncaster
2018 – now East Doncaster Baptist Church, 47-53 Tunstall Road, Doncaster East
The first photographic competitions didn’t start until several months after the Club commenced, and the visiting judge on one of these occasions was so severe in his assessments that the membership dropped drastically. Thankfully, we recovered from the shock of this harsh judgement, and now enjoy a supportive and social club environment that attracts a growing membership. On top of that, quite a few of our members are achieving recognition in various national and international photographic competitions.
From1984 to 1987 the Club held four National Photographic Exhibitions. The first three were held in conjunction with the Donvale Rotary Club. The fourth was conducted solely by the Doncaster Camera Club. We were successful with these exhibitions with photographers from all over the world providing entries.