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The ABC ARGONAUTS CLUB  -  The Books and Paperwork

10/6/2018

20 Comments

 
I said I would update my blog more often as I continue to collect and research, so here we go again.

There were approximately 500 Radio Listener Clubs in Australia.  These clubs embraced members of their community and worked hard with their members on various tasks.  Some clubs were charitable clubs, some entertainment, some were fan clubs for Radio Stations, Radio People and Radio Shows.  Some were set up by sponsors to promote their products and some clubs were a mixture of all of these.

But The ABC Argonauts Club was in a class of its own.  It truly mixed education with entertainment and created a listener participation that far exceeded all the other clubs.

Whilst I have included an Argonauts page on my website for a number of years,  I have been building towards updating the pages and adding more material to that section.

The information included here is simply to show you some of the items that are being added (there are more) and hopefully get feedback on areas of how the Argonauts Club worked in their contact with the members.

So, to that end, I introduce The Books and The Paperwork.

The first Children's Hour Annual was published in October 1956.

I am missing the 2nd Annual because all the ones I have seen are missing their covers and I am holding out for a complete version.  If anybody has a complete copy of a No2 Annual that needs a good home, please contact me via the contact page.

The 3rd Annual was published in October 1958, so I am guessing the 2nd Annual was 1957.

The 4th Annual was published in October 1960.

The 5th Annual was published in November 1961.

I am toying with the idea of scanning the books to pdf but I will have to seek permission from the ABC first.


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In 1960 Dangerous Secret was published.  This book was a collaboration between presenters and members.  I love that they listed the Artists and Authors involved in the project.

In 2018 I conducted several presentations on Australian Radio Listener Clubs, one of which was at my local U3A. Endymion 26 contacted me and generously offered me her Argonauts books.  Whilst they were books I already had, the fact that two of them contained Book Prize certificates was exciting.  But Endymion 26 had another surprise and her story can be found in 'Readers Contributions' along with another Argonaut's story.  I cannot stress enough, how important it is to hear about a club directly from someone who was a member.  I hope I receive more of these for the various Radio Listener Clubs. 

In 1962 'The Gold Smugglers' another collaboration.  This book belonged to Endymion 26 and contained the Book Prize Certificate. 

I am not aware of any further collaborations or book releases.  So please, if you know differently, let me know.

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I also had a copy of 'The Gold Smugglers'.   But my copy had a major difference.  My copy has the signatures of most of the collaborators.
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How did this come about?  Does anybody know?  It would have taken quite a bit of organising.  Was there a reunion and members signed?  There are signatures of presenters as well as the members.  Looking at Joanna Short, Plato 33, that looks like it would have been done at the time of the project rather than a reunion years later.

Did each of the collaborators have their copy of the book signed?  So many questions.  I really hope somebody does have the answers.

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Linda Price, Oricus 28, generously gave me permission to use scanned images of her certificates on the website as well as in the forthcoming book on the Radio Listener Clubs.  We owe so much to club members like Linda Price who have kept the paperwork for all these years and didn't lose or throw them away.  With fires, floods and time, its a miracle so much does survive.  Linda is also looking for her spare Blue Certificates to scan.  To date I have been unable to find any.  Sadly, Linda doesn't know what happened to her badges.
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Some of this paperwork is out of order, but it will be in order when laid out on The ABC Argonauts pages.  The following is an example of the acknowledgment of receipt of a contribution from the member.  A contribution could be in the form of a picture or short story for example.
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The ABC Weekly magazine contained The Argonauts page.  That page contained news, contributions received, upcoming outings or updates on outings that took place.  It also contain the application form to become an Argonaut member.
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Recently some Argonaut members supplied me with some rough photos of their Dragons Tooth and Golden Fleece badges.  I am looking for better images, but at least it helps me to identify the badges if I am lucky enough to find them.  I have been searching for 20 years now.  Those members value their badges and do not want to part with them and I fully understand.

However, if you have these badges and are looking for a good home for them, please keep me in mind.  If you have children and grandchildren lined up to take them, great.  I do not want to deprive them.  If however, there is no family interest, I would value them.

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Dragons Tooth Badge
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Golden Fleece Badge
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Well that brings you uptodate with my current work on the Argonauts.  I will be adding photos of the presenters, taken from the Annuals as well as other magazines I have.  I will also add some ABC Weekly Argonaut pages from  my radio magazine collection.  I also need to scan a scrapbook put together by an Argonaut member.  I now have a book scanner so I can undertake that project.

If you have any questions, corrections, or want to tell your story, please contact me via the contact form on this site.  If you haven't yet looked at the Argonaut pages, please take the time to do so.

Ian Grieve

20 Comments
Helene Jermolajew link
2/6/2019 04:52:41 pm

Hi Ian, it is such a delight to find your blog. I am trying to find out whether there is copyright attached to our Argonauts pledge. I am currently writing my healing grief through travel memoir and along the way I found myself called to visit Ancient Messene. Yes, you guessed it I was Messene 9. I want to quote our pledge as a result of that bit of synchronicity as it came to mind as I watched the sun rise over my rower namesake. I'm finding it very difficult to find definitive information as to whether their is copyright and whether I need written permission to quit e the pledge. As you have the pledge at the top of this blog would you have any helpful information? Oh and by the way I still have my badge, I can try to take a decent photo of it and get it to you if you like, somewhere I have my book prize too (Six Cousins at Mistletoe Farm) but that would take a bit more searching. Cheers Helene Jermolajew, Messene 9.

Reply
Ian Grieve link
2/7/2019 03:18:33 am

G'day Helene, there would have been copyright. In Australia currently, copyright is 70 years. Prior to 2004 it was 50 years.

It is always a good thing to ask the copyright owner, even if copyright has expired, its polite. When I contacted the ABC around 20 years ago and explained what I was doing, they told me that so long as the item was older than 50 years and not taken off a recent rerelease, that I would be fine. That sentiment may have needed to be adjusted to 70 years after the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. extended our copyright, but I didn't follow up as I am only interested in pre 1960s anyway..

But I wasn't taking the work and using it in a different way, only using it in the way it was designed. Fair Use allows quotes and comment, but if I were you, I would check with the ABC in Sydney and get clearance.

Which badge do you have? If it is the ARGO badge, I have a few different versions, but I am looking for Golden Fleece & Dragon's Tooth and would appreciate a good photo, thank you.

Reply
Helene Jermolajew link
2/7/2019 05:48:23 am

Hi Ian, thanks for your reply. I did get in touch with the ABC. The reply from them was a little vague basically saying that it might be OK under fair dealing with 'appropriate attribution' or I could seek private advice. It's a bit of a vicious circle because private advice advises to go to the ABC for advice. I think I'll risk it and hope that fair dealing is enough.
My badge is the Argo badge, unfortunately I didn't contribute enough to get to the higher levels. Thanks for your blog it's great to be finding this information. Cheers Helene.

Reply
Kerri Lee
2/23/2019 07:43:48 pm

Hi Ian, I am writing the story of my Grandparents' survival of the 1939 "Black Friday" Fires in Victoria. They lived in bush south of Cobden.
They walked across a gully to my Great Grandfather's home to listen to Dad and Dave weekly (I think).
The radio is a big part of the plot - if they had any updates.
Can you tell me if there would have been radio broadcasts in the area updating fire information of any kind? This was a BIG fire.
Did they just get general Australian news - not local? What stations would they have received?
I know I ask a lot, just any info or further references you can give me would be much appreciated,
thanks in anticipation.
Kerri Lee.

Reply
Anita Walker
3/19/2019 05:43:42 pm

The books were written over a period of time, one chapter at a time. An opening chapter would be chosen from contributions and read out over the air. The Argonauts would listen, then scribble away and send in their contributions for the next chapter, The chosen chapter would be read out....and so on. Artists would send in their illustrations for each chapter likewise.
The books would be launched with great fanfare. I can remember being at the Royal Melbourne Show one year, and the ABC had a stand outside with a big wall mural being painted by all the artists in attendance. I believe Alison French was the daughter of artist Leonard French, and she was there that day. The book that year was a space theme, "The Gravity Stealers", so it was 1965, and I was 14.

Reply
Anita Walker
3/19/2019 07:01:38 pm

Actually it might not have been at the Show, but some kind of festival in the Toorak area....it was a long time ago!

Reply
Kylie A
12/14/2019 07:29:50 pm

Hi Ian, I'm wanting to get in touch to ask some research questions about history of radio (and ABC). Thanks.

Reply
Anne Maguire
3/21/2020 05:24:36 pm

I was an Argonaut more years ago than I care to remember, and have been trying to find an Argo badge for many years. Do you have any ideas about where I can get another, please?
Sopheron36

Reply
Margaret Pengilly
8/23/2020 10:49:31 pm

I am presently writing some thoughts about my early life so my children and grandchildren will know about my upbringing (i am 82), i have come to where I remembered being a member of the Argonauts Club and wanted to find more about it. It is now that I have found your page and am highly delighted. I only have my badge and would live to know what my name or number might have been but have forgotten. I only remember that I loved listening to it on the radio.Could I please be added to your information page so I could receive any updates you may have? Keep digging,
Margaret Pengilly (nee Fragar of Nichol Street and later Lyall Street, Cowra NSW

Reply
Leonie Tidey nee Mansfield
1/5/2021 07:15:10 pm

I too am delighted to find this site. From memory I was Teucer 29 in the 1950s.
My older brothers were from memory Gordium 10 and 11.
Do records still exist of all members' names?
I don't recall anything about how the book chapters were written by children.
My how things have changed in this digital age!
Leonie nee Mansfield

Reply
Ian Grieve link
1/9/2021 04:36:15 pm

G'day Leonie, the cards used to record the Argonauts membership were destroyed by the ABC. There was an attempt via the Friends of The National Film & Sound Archive to recreate as much of the membership as they could, but I see the link to that page is not working.

I am still working on The Argonauts in the background, along with over 600 other Radio Listener Clubs. I will have a massive update of the section of the Radio Listener Clubs on this website in the future.

I have answered some of my own questions, thanks to Craig Nugent dumpster diving at Radio Australia when it closed, plus found a book 2, found a Dragon's Tooth Badge (with gold coating rubbed off).

ABC Archives have supplied me with some membership statistics from Annual reports and I have found some other ARGO badges with different manufacturers. The search for material continues.

Reply
Leonie Tidey nee Mansfield link
9/11/2021 11:39:08 pm

Thank you Ian for your reply. I am very happy for you having found a copy of Book 2 and the badge you were after.

Unfortunately my eldest brother is blind and rather deaf and lives in NZ and Ron passed in May this year. I am pretty sure I have the correct details for my brothers but it is a shame that no records were kept.

Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Leonie Nee Mansfield

Kyle
9/11/2021 10:43:08 pm

Hi there,
I’ve been a collector for a while and it seems I have similar interests to you. I’m wondering if you’ve come across any spare Argonauts or the Argus Superman club membership certificates or related items. If you have, or know anyone who has, I would be interested in purchasing them.
Thank you. Kyle

Reply
Anita Walker
9/11/2021 10:48:08 pm

Unfortunately no.
The only ABC publications I have are a couple of Russ Tyson's Philosopher's Notebook and Scrapbook..

Reply
Anita Walker
9/11/2021 11:42:42 pm

Let me know if you are interested in them

Ian Grieve link
9/12/2021 12:00:14 am

G'day Kyle, you best contact me via the contact page on this site and let me know your interests and more about what you are after. I do have several of the standard Argonaut Certificates I have had for several years. Other Certificates supplied by club members though are not available. They remain with the collection. Argus Superman Club is a Newspaper Club and as such I don't collect them.

Reply
Ian Grieve link
9/11/2021 11:55:39 pm

Thank you for the offer Anita, but I have all the different Russ Tyson books.

Reply
Doreen
9/28/2023 04:03:53 am

i was a member for some time and received two books for contributions sent in. Pride &
Prejudice was one book and Wuthering Heights was another.

Reply
Flora Bloomfield
8/14/2024 08:13:32 pm

Hi Ian --

Absolutely thrilled to have found your site! I’m nearly 90, and having no grandchildren or other interested relatives, I’ve been searching for someone to appreciate my treasured Argonaut memorabilia. This dates from the 1940s and extends into the 50s, when I eventually became a Golden Fleece and Bar. It includes a much-loved scrap book plus dozens of extra photos, a pile of certificates, a tape, a cd, lots of letters and ten book prizes. As you can see I became something of a fanatic — my schoolwork suffered accordingly!)

My Golden Fleece certificate seems to have been mislaid, as have my badges, but I still have hopes of finding them. (Incidentally, the Dragon’s Tooth badge was always grey, not gold.)

Please let me know if you’re interested in becoming custodian.

G.F.& B Acradina 48

Reply
Ian Grieve link
8/14/2024 08:57:17 pm

G'day Arcadina 48. I would love to add any radio related items, particularly Argonauts, to the collection. As a collection it will still be available to researchers to learn about that special era of radio and will remain intact at whichever Institution accepts the collection when I have gone. My family is of like mind.

Just go to the top menu and under home, select Contact Us and fill in your details including email address so we can discuss this further if you wish.

Thank you for making sure the items survive.

Ian Grieve OAM

Reply



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    Author

    Ian Grieve has been Collecting, Researching and Documenting Australian Old Time Radio since about 1998.  He enjoys the thrill of finding and identifying shows thought to have been lost and then researching their history as well as the people involved in their production.

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