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Sydney Stamp Expo 2007 – A Phenomenal Result
By John Sadler, Publicity Officer, Sydney Stamp Expo 2007 Organising Committee
Some months ago I had an inspiration from which arose the concept of the three postmarks for the show.The text included in those postmarks was intended to be a guiding light for all of those involved. Little did I realise then that by 4 pm on Sunday 17th June, 2007, the prophecy of the postmarks would become a reality.
4 pm on Sunday 17th June, 2007, the ultimate closing time for the show, was a proud moment to reflect upon the accuracy of the predictions expressed in those postmarks. The attendance on Friday certainly gave us an “Inspired Beginning”. The follow up attendance on Saturday could only be described as “Satisfactory Progress”. At 4 pm “Fulfilment” was probably an understatement.
After 15 months of detailed planning, it was exhilarating to have had the exhibition completed with no significant glitches.
The Joint Venture Concept
The exhibition was run as a joint venture between the Sydney Stamp Expo 2007 Organising Committee (the Committee) and the Australian Philatelic Traders Association (APTA). APTA will organise all aspects of the exhibition relating to dealer stands, whilst the Committee has responsibility for the philatelic aspects.
This was the first time this concept has been used. It grew out of the successful Melbourne Stampshow 2002 where it was first discussed, and many of the ideas were tested at that show, eg. the dealers had responsibility for decisions regarding dealer booths and advertising.
APTA and the APF plan to use this concept for future National and Half-National shows, and it is already in place for Sunstamp 2008 (Brisbane), and Melbourne Stampshow 2009. The Canberra shows, which are running very well, will remain unchanged.
Both APTA and the Committee are very pleased with how this ran, which holds much promise for the future. Some participants considered that three days was too short, and we should consider an increase to four days for full National shows. Half-Nationals would remain as three.
The Attendance
The key to the success of any show is the number of people that attend. The overall number was approximately 1,500. This number was at least 50% higher than expected by the Committee. APTA was pleased with the number that did attend, which was close to their pre-show estimate.
What brought the crowd in? There are a number of possibilities –
- Australia Post’s new releases timed for the Opening Day of the Show;
- The attraction of 33 stamp dealers from Australia and overseas;
- The rainy weather restricted alternative attractions;
- The lack of any significant philatelic activity in Sydney since Pacific Explorer over two years ago;
- The attraction of the 75th Anniversary of the Opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was adopted as the show’s theme. This theme influenced Australia Post’s new issues programme.
Perhaps it was all of the above, and reinforced
- that the stamp market is very strong,
- that people came to spend money, and
- that the demand for scarce items is continuing to grow.
Demand for Australia Post’s new products was so great that on the first day they sold out of miniature sheets, and more stock had to be airfreighted up from Melbourne.
The Philatelic Aspects
There were 128 exhibits, of which 7 were non-competitive. The 121 competitive exhibits were in 14 classes, of which Traditional with 37 and Postal History, 20, were by far the largest. There were 12 Philatelic Literature entries. 19 of the entries were in the non-FIP classes, Social Philately (9), Frugal Philately (3), Polar Philately (4), and First Day Covers (3).
The non-competitive exhibits included a 2 frame display by Australia Post showing rare archival material on the 1932 Sydney Harbour Bridge, and a one frame postcard display on the Bridge. These two displays added emphasis to the show’s theme, and complemented Maurice William’s Open Class competitive entry on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which won the Grand Award National Prize.
A third non-competitive entry showed one frame of information on the Literature Exhibits, a first for Australian Shows.
The quality of the material on display was exceptionally high, reflected by the awarding of 8 Large Gold, 17 Gold and 24 Large Vermeil medals.
There were 17 new exhibitors at National level, but this did not detract from the quality. The Grand Prix winner, Stephen Browne, with a Large Gold medal, was a new exhibitor. Other awards to this group included 2 gold medals and 4 large vermeil. This level of support from new exhibitors adds strength to the inference that the hobby is growing.
Full details of all of the awards and prizes can be seen on either of the following websites
The exhibits covered a large range of scarce and interesting stamps and covers from Australia and other countries all round the world.
Even non-collectors found the displayed material interesting. One comment overheard was “a stamp by itself is not very appealing, but put it with others together with a story line, and it can become very interesting.” Another comment was “there was certainly an interesting range of themes, some a little more interesting to non-philatelists than others.”
Seven club or society meetings were held during the course of the exhibition, all reasonably attended.
Kids’ Zone 
One corner of the mezzanine floor had been set up as a youth area, split into a video room and an activity room. On Friday 150 school children, in six groups, were introduced to philately, through a planned programme which included viewing a video, stamp related activities and touring the frames. The exhibit on “Camels” was a great favourite!
Saturday and Sunday saw a continuous stream of children in the Zone working on a variety of activities.
The “Design a Stamp” competition, sponsored by Australia Post, run in conjunction with the Exhibition, produced approximately 1,300 entries from eligible school children. Many of these entries were on display in the Zone, including all of the winning ones. On Sunday morning, on a specially laid red carpet, the winners were presented with their prizes.
These youth activities were a feature of the show, being well planned, controlled and co-ordinated by a group of very willing volunteers.
The Dealers
A spokesman for APTA indicated
- all the dealers that he had spoken with (almost all) were very pleased with the results of the show;
- the people who attended came to find things for their collections and spent money when the right items were found;
- a number of dealers commented on the "flight to quality" with collectors focusing on rare and unusual when available.
In addition to the 1,500 paying visitors, the dealers would have also been attended by the 200 (approx) “workers”, comprising the volunteers, exhibitors, Supporters’ Club, Jury and Organizing Committee.
The Venue
The venue, the Shannon Room at Royal Randwick Racecourse proved very satisfactory, with the big advantage of plentiful and free parking.
While some dealers had initial reservations about using a venue outside the CBD, these were quickly dispelled when the crowds flooded in. There is simply no Sydney CBD location that can offer the space required at an affordable cost, and this show has proven Randwick to be a suitable venue.
The Website
In December 2006 the exhibition website was launched and proved very successful. The website was constantly being updated as soon as new information or changes became available, thus getting data quickly to interested parties and making the release of regular show bulletins unnecessary.
Shortly after the exhibition closed, it was updated with details of awards, prizes and the Jury.
Souvenir Items
In conjunction with Australia Post a number of souvenir items were developed. All of these items were numbered limited editions, with purchasers being able to nominate the number desired. All orders were held for delivery until after the exhibition closed.
Items no 1 and 75 were not for sale. These were held for auction at the formal Awards Dinner on Saturday night. The Auction was a fun event at the Palmares dinner and together with the Souvenir sales, very successful in fundraising for future NSW Exhibitions.
In addition, unserviced covers overprinted with the show logo were available as were the latest Stamp Replica Cards No 45, marking the 50th Anniversary of Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) stamps, and the featured stamp die was the 1957 two shillings AAT stamp.
During the pre-exhibition sale of the souvenir items, the website was updated weekly with lists of the items remaining unsold.
The souvenirs proved to be very popular, and with the exception of the Replica Card, all had been sold by lunchtime on Saturday.
The Volunteers
Similar to the Olympics, no stamp exhibition can function without the valued assistance of a group of willing and capable volunteers. Volunteers were required in the mounting and dismounting of the exhibits, dealer liaison, trouble-shooting, providing information, and security.
In all, we had 103 who gave unselfishly of their time, and we cannot thank them enough. These people were all rewarded with a unique souvenir of the show.
Club and Society Support
The Exhibition was well supported by Australia Post and by many of the Philatelic Clubs, Societies and Associations, as well as generous individuals, who donated over 40 prizes.
The NSW Clubs and Societies also provided support through the attendance of many of their members, both as volunteers and visitors.
National Judges Training Course
On the Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the exhibition, a National Judges Training Course was held at Philas House, in Sydney. Thirteen trainees attended, representing five Australian States and New Zealand.
All attendees passed, and four were selected for apprenticeships at this exhibition. It is expected that all of the trainees will have been offered an apprenticeship before the end of 2009.
Conclusion
An overheard remark made by one of the senior judges is probably the best criterion by which this exhibition should be remembered – “It is the best organised exhibition that I have ever attended.” Another philatelist commented that this exhibition had “raised the bar for philatelic shows in Australia”.
The success of Sydney Stamp Expo 2007 will give a boost to philately in Sydney, in New South Wales and in Australia.
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