ABOUT THE AUTHORS

David Banks, son of Graeme and Lynette Banks, has been growing orchids for over thirty years. He is Editor of the Australian Orchid Review and past Editor of The Orchadian. David has written five orchid books, the latest two being Orchids: Cultivation, Propagation and Varieties and Flora’s Orchids.

Graeme Banks OAM has grown orchids for over fifty years. He is a Past President of both the Australian Orchid Council and the Orchid Society of New South Wales, and a senior judge of both bodies. His Order of Australia Medal was awarded in 2003 for ‘service to export meat and affiliated industries, and to the study and cultivation of orchids’.

Mark Clements and Anne McKenzie, professional botanists based in Canberra, contributed the article on orchid viruses as part of the Australian Orchid Foundation’s Awareness Campaign. It is reprinted here for the benefit of all orchid growers.

Julian Coker and his wife Frances are proprietors of Atlantis Orchids, a nursery that specialises in cymbidiums, as well as other cool-growing orchid species and hybrids. Julian is a Past President of OSCOV and an Emeritus Judge of the OSCOV Judging Panel.

Stephen Early is Vice-President and Internet and Awards Secretary of OSCOV, and also an OSCOV judge, having grown and shown orchids for over twenty years. He now teaches computing, science and mathematics, although he once worked for a mining company.

Frankie Fraser was involved in Education in Western Australia, Victoria, New Zealand and the UK for more than 40 years before retirement. Her main interests are Australian native terrestrial orchids and cool-growing laelia, sophronitis and cattleya species.

Clive Halls and his wife Agi are proprietors of Mt. Beenak Orchids, a Victorian orchid nursery that specialises in cool-growing genera, especially masdevallias, odontoglossums and allied genera. Clive is an OSCOV judge.

Alan Hope is an OSCOV judge, Deputy Liaison Officer of the OSCOV Judging Panel, and associate editor of the Journal of the Orchid Species Society of Victoria. He grows a wide range of orchids and lectures on paphiopedilums, Asian orchid travels and orchid culture.

Rex Johnson lives in Underwood (northern Tasmania). He grows a wide range of orchids in a climate that most Victorians would find challenging. As well as being an AOC judge in Tasmania, he is also an OSCOV judge and visits Victoria on a regular basis.

Brian Milligan is an OSCOV judge and also the OSCOV Liaison Officer. He edits the North East Melbourne Orchid Society newsletter and the Journal of the Orchid Species Society of Victoria, and is a director of the Australian Orchid Foundation.

Vic Pearce began growing orchids when he retired from the Department of Defence in 1983 and has now accumulated an enviable collection of species and hybrids. He was an active participant in the formation of OSCOV and is a former Vice-President of its Executive body.

Michael Pender is an OSCOV judge and current President of the North East Melbourne Orchid Society. He has grown orchids for 35 years, having received his first disas from Gerald McCraith 20 years ago with a request to experiment with different growing media.

Hans Proebsting is a member of the Mid-Murray Orchid Club and editor of that club’s newsletter. Hans and his wife Ann have an orchid collection comprising mainly cymbidiums, native terrestrials and miscellaneous species. He is an OSCOV Associate Judge.

Ron Schliefert, a retired banker, is the OSCOV Promotions Officer, an OSCOV Associate Judge, a COSV Judge, and Treasurer of the Yarra Valley Orchid Society. He grows a wide range of orchids, and has a special interest in Australian native species orchids.

Ben Wallace is a botanist with a PhD from the Botany Department of the University of New England. Nine years as a Horticultural Botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney enabled him to study plants in many countries, including Chile, Costa Rica, Africa, China and PNG. He is currently an eco-tour operator, specialising in China and Southeast Asia.