ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Andre Cleghorn is the proprietor of Flora Laboratories, specialising in the propagation of orchids and other plants from seed and by tissue culture. He is a member of the OSCOV Executive and its Conservation Officer.

Julian Coker and his wife Frances are proprietors of Atlantis Orchids, a nursery that specialises in cymbidiums together with other cool-growing orchid species and hybrids. Julian is a Past President of OSCOV and an Emeritus Judge of the OSCOV Judging Panel. He is well known throughout Australia as an accomplished speaker on cymbidiums and other orchids and as a prolific author of articles on a wide range of orchid topics.

Jim Doney was an electronics technician and schoolteacher before he retired a few years ago to grow orchids. He specialises in Australian dendrobiums, sarcochilus and masdevallias and is a member of North-east Melbourne, Melbourne Eastern and Maroondah Orchid Societies.

Alan Hope is an OSCOV judge and Deputy Liaison Officer of the OSCOV Judging Panel. He is an associate editor of the Journal of the Orchid Species Society of Victoria. Alan is a vice-president of the North East Melbourne Orchid Society. He grows a wide range of orchids (specialising in paphiopedilums and phragmipediums) and lectures widely on paphiopedilums, Asian orchid travels and orchid culture.

Rex Johnson lives in Underwood (northern Tasmania). He and his wife Lyn are experienced orchid growers who grow a wide range of orchids in a challenging climate. As well as being AOC judges in Tasmania, they are both fully accredited members of the Victorian (OSCOV) Orchid Judging Panel and visit Victoria on a regular basis. Rex is a prolific speaker on a variety of subjects, including his experiments with a range of potting mixes.

Bill Miles and his wife Jan Miles successfully grow a large collection of orchid species and hybrids at Kingston (located between Ballarat and Bendigo) in a rather challenging environment insofar as orchid culture is concerned. Bill is the current President of OSCOV, and Vice-President of the Orchid Species Society of Victoria. He is well known for his talks on orchid culture, mounts for orchids, the genus Masdevallia etc. Jan provides secretarial assistance and “does a bit of watering when required”.

Brian Milligan is an OSCOV judge and Liaison Officer of the OSCOV Executive. A vice-president of the North East Melbourne Orchid Society and editor of its monthly bulletin, Brian is also editor of the Journal of the Orchid Species Society of Victoria and a director of the Australian Orchid Foundation. He has spoken on species orchids, orchid history and travels in China to many societies throughout Victoria.

Hans Proebsting is a member of the Mid-Murray Orchid Club (based in Kerang) and editor of that club’s monthly newsletter. In his regular job, he is an engineer with the Swan Hill Rural City Council. Hans and his wife Ann began growing orchids four years ago and have a collection comprising mainly cymbidiums, native terrestrials and an assortment of miscellaneous and obscure species. Hans is currently in training as an OSCOV judge.
Barbara Walker is an OSCOV judge who has grown orchids for many years, at one time as proprietor of a commercial nursery, Arbor Orchids. In retirement she divides her time between caring for her orchids and searching for opals and other gemstones in outback Australia.