10 minute read
ISSUE NO 200
With just four or six issues each year it has taken some time for The Australian Orienteer to reach number 200. Since the magazine was introduced in 1979 a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, many controls have been punched, many courses completed, and Orienteering itself has changed from being essentially a navigation sport in the bush to suburban events, city races, Sprint, MTBO, electronic punching, virtual courses and virtual controls. In fact, the adrenaline rush we get from spotting those orange & white flags has virtually disappeared at many events these days.
To mark the milestone we asked the three Editors to look back over their time in the chair.
EDITORS: Ian Baker: ........................ June 1979 – November 1985 David Hogg: .................... February 1986 – March 1997 Ian Baker: ........................ June 1997 – June 2004 Michael Hubbert: ............ September 2004 – current
THE FIRST EDITOR
lan Baker
As Orienteering got going in Australia there was a need for an occasional newsletter to give news of upcoming events; at this time there was a bush event just once a month, though they soon became more frequent. As time went by the newsletter got bigger, we needed more copies for the growing membership. At Action Printing in Melbourne, Lawrie Barnett and his assistant Connie provided a more professional service and the newsletter became an A5 size publication with photos and other illustrations, published six times a year.
By the end of 2020, Ian Baker had completed 2386 events as competitor, organiser or course-setter.
The content expanded. There were feature articles on all sorts of things to do with Orienteering and related topics. Louie the Fly (John Lewis) and I had founded the O-Gear shop in the expectation of becoming incredibly rich as just about everyone in Australia took up the new sport; we had a regular page to promote our sales. We also were successful in attracting some advertising to help cover the costs of the newsletter Tom Andrews, the founding father of Orienteering in Australia and by now the Australian agent for SILVA compasses, and I used to lunch together. Over a steak and a few beers we came up with the idea to develop the Victorian newsletter into a national magazine, The Australian Orienteer. The economics would only work if we could build circulation by convincing States to take part, giving us economies of scale. We prepared a business plan and took it to the Orienteering Federation of Australia, the assembly of all States and the ACT and NT. In 1979 we launched the first issue of The Australian Orienteer. We had a more substantial printer by this time but it was still long before the age of the personal computer and associated publishing and design programs. I used to receive galleys (long strips) of type which I laid out on the dining room table to make a rough layout with photos and other illustrations. The printer would take my layout and assemble it into artwork which I then checked before printing plates were made. I never kept a tally of the many hours this entailed – the answer might have frightened me.
June-July 1979 – the first issue.
After the 1985 World Championships based in Bendigo, Victoria, I was feeling burned out. As well as managing the magazine I provided coming event details to the major Melbourne newspapers and results summaries of Sunday bush events. I also had a regular spot on “Sports Roundup” in drive time on ABC radio which was repeated on Saturday “Grandstand”. I was happy to hand over to David Hogg, not knowing that I would return some years later.
In 1997 I returned as Editor with an honorarium paid, though nowhere near commercial rates. The policy was “Be a good read/be on time/be financial.” The magazine was to be a ‘cost centre’, a ‘business’ owned by the Members with its own accounts, budgets etc. subject to overall OA review by the OA VP, mostly Bob Mouatt. The annual budget was approved by OA and administered by the Editor with essential accounting support by Kathy Liley (VIC) who managed the magazine finances for many years.
Oct 1985 cover – World Championships in Bendigo.
Our strategy was to publish a 36-page issue within our budget, with any additional funds from advertisements used to print extra pages and some in colour. We retained a surplus to smooth out any cost increases to members. In the interests of full transparency the magazine had its own separate bank account and financial reports We managed to pull in some advertising. SILVA was always a supporter through Tom Andrews. Ansvar Insurance came in too as part of a sponsorship package. These underwrote the introduction of some colour pages. Later, Warren and Tash Key came in with the Melbourne Bicycle Centre.
The first issue of Ian’s second term as Editor, Winter 1997, with Rob Walter on the cover.
A CHANGE IN DIRECTION
David Hogg
At the end of 1985, like many others who had been heavily involved in organising the World Orienteering Championships in Bendigo, I needed a break from major event organisation but still wanted to contribute to Orienteering at the national level. For several years, Ian Baker had been looking unsuccessfully for someone to take over as Editor and seemed delighted when during 1985 I offered to relieve him at the end of the year. Some orienteers were surprised by my change in direction, but I found it quite a natural challenge to take on. I had previous experience in writing, editing and publishing and, as a sideline to my consulting business, operated a typing service with very competent staff. That proved a major asset in the days before email when all copy, whether handwritten or typed, had to be retyped and put onto floppy disks for the printer. As technology advanced, we moved to desktop publishing, making the layout process more efficient, but still requiring the printer to screen and insert the photographs to achieve a suitable quality. My overriding philosophy for The Australian Orienteer was to make it a publication which orienteers would not only enjoy reading, but would also want to keep. To that end, I encouraged and often wrote interesting and diverse feature articles, including many that were built around specific themes. This was important not only for the readers, but also to maintain my own enthusiasm for producing the magazine.
David Hogg in the early days.
The production and distribution of the magazine was a team effort involving many people within and outside Canberra. These included the ACT Junior Squad who, every second month as a fundraising effort, spent an evening packing the copies for mailing to direct subscribers in those States where the subscription was optional. While I was keen to see subscription numbers increase, including among overseas readers, I was never an active proponent of compulsory subscriptions for State Association members. I took the view that, if members found the magazine worth reading, they would subscribe to it in any case, and preferred to focus on attracting readers through the quality of the content. While the content varied widely, during my eleven years as Editor the general appearance of the magazine changed only slightly, maintaining the same masthead that Ian Baker had used in the original issue. Towards the end of that period, I could see the potential for ‘jazzing up’ the magazine, but lacked the time, graphic skills and resources to put that idea into practice. When Ian resumed the position of Editor, I was pleased to see him and Peter Cusworth rejuvenate the magazine in a fresh and more adventurous style. I have always enjoyed writing and my enthusiasm for the task was constantly sustained by the compliments, both verbal and written, that were received along the way. I never published the written comments, however, in the belief that these were intended for my eyes only and were not of interest to the readership.
July 1995 cover featuring Blair Trewin and Eric Morris.
WOC 1997 Women’s Relay – podium 6th place: Tracy Bluett, Emily Viner, Alix Young, Nicki Taws (photo - David Hogg).
TAKING UP THE REINS
Michael Hubbert
One of my greatest memories took place just two years after I took on the editorship. Hanny Allston won the 2006 WOC Sprint at Aarhus, Denmark – the first and only WOC winner from a country outside of Europe. And I was there to cover it. At the midway spectator control I thought she was running like a cat – smooth and fast. And when she steamed up the Finish chute we had no idea whether her time would stand. But it did. And Crown Prince Frederik was there to award her the gold medal. (He, of course, has a close affinity with Tasmania.) Another pleasing element is being able to watch and report on the continual growth and development of our junior orienteers. They keep getting better and better. Hanny also won at JWOC in 2006 and Aston Key followed with a JWOC win in 2019. But it’s on the home front that we see more and more of our juniors improving every year and it’s a pleasure to be able to regularly feature them in the magazine. The move to full colour some years ago has allowed the inclusion of many more maps for your enjoyment. Maps being the basis of our sport the more we can include the better. Previously, maps were included as inserts which was an expensive exercise limited to just one or two per magazine. Now we can include many more.
Crown Prince Frederik congratulates Hanny.
Hanny on the podium. The moment Hanny realised she had won.
