Aussie Finch Forum

Hi to all,what Paul and myself are saying is you member of the Australian Aviculture of melbourne to put forward your comment to the committee about the melbourne birds sale ,that we want a change to a bigger venue.So the bigger breeder will come down to sell there birds in a bigger venue and people will rock up to buy those species what they are looking for,If we don't make a stand ,there want be a melbourne bird sale,and to keep this hobby going for the next generation so on so on,also good time to catach up with friend too.Also I know people who are willing to give a hand to set up too.Let all put a show of hand to the committee that we want a change for the future.

Cheer from Mr Tino

I will be sending my comments to the commiette a bigger venue will be
better for all.
cheers flavio

well i agree with Mr Tino & Gouldianpaul. i believe the bigger the venue the bigger and better the bird sale. so i think its time to move or the sale in july will be lost forever.

Cheers MCA01

Great to see your enthusiasm people.

Having been a member of the Avicultural Society of Australia for over 30 years it has saddened me to see its decline in recent years.

It was, without doubt, responsible for introducing me to many experienced aviculturists who not only taught me a lot of what I know but also have become lifelong friends.

I do remember when it was in its prime in the heady days of the VRI Ballroom meetings where as a star-eyed kid I would look and listen in awe at the experienced aviculturists, the photos of the birds they kept and their words of wisdom.

I now live interstate but still receive the magazine AA.

Improving the bird sale will be a great starting point and may result in increasing the membership.

Good luck

There should be a number of things done to make sure that a sale is a success,THAT IS WHY YOU NEED A SPECIAL COMMITTEE.
Organise the site BUT you need to promote it,not a few weeks out but months as well.This gives the sellers a choice of where they will sell
and the buyers time to plan.
Time must be spent convincing sellers to travel and offerring assistance(maybe bring 50 birds entry is free),as Melbourne is after a number
of Vic. Sales sellers need to be convinced to hold birds back and not sell earlier.
Once again I am convinced there is a need for that committee,also the branches should support the sale as well.
I know the branch sales are important but at the moment it seems that the tail is wagging the dog in a number of areas as well.
David Holmes

Well said folks....David several of us intend to attend the next monthly meeting....when the meeting is opened to the floor we intend to raise the issue of relocating the bird sale to a larger venue....your suggestion regarding a Sale Sub-Committee is an appropriate point to also bring up.

On the issue of the branches supporting Melbourne...I feel that members of the AAS that are also involved in running the branches see the branches as their main priority....the Ballarat sale is one example ...one of the members involved in running the Ballarat sale is also on the Melbourne Committee....blind Freddy could see his main focus is on the Ballarat sale (I'm sure many people on this forum know who I'm talking about)

The best way forward is to continue putting pressure on the Committee to take action....our next step will be to do this at the next monthly meeting....this is too important for us to just give up!!!

Cheers
Paul

Interesting comments by E.Orix... breeders must be convinced to hold back birds for this sale. This is a key point. Personally, I would prefer to have disposed of excess stock before winter so I'm not carrying too many. My suggestion would be to bring the sale back into May. Mornington as last sale, then Ballarat as first sale as both those groups appear to be successful. Good luck to the new blood. Any club is always looking for help. This is constructive as people are prepared to put up their hand to help. If it doesn't work, let someone else have a go.

Hi All,

Mr Tino and I went to the AAS meeting last night to raise our concern about the melbourne bird sale. When Mr Tine raised the issue we were informed that a letter from the Committee would be sent to us. They wouldn't allow us to raise our concern at the meeting because they felt we should receive our response before the issue could be raised in public,

We will post their reply to our concerns on this forum.

I remain sceptical that nothing will eventuate from our concerns. The Committee has not allowed us to raise the issue at the last 2 meetings....let's see what excuses they come up with next meeting when we raise it again.

In summary my advise to any member who are concerned is to write to the Committee or the Editor, or better still come to the monthly meetings and raise your concern....sitting back at home posting your complaints on this forum is not going to convince the Committee to act. Mr Tino and I cannot do this on our own.

Cheers
Paul

Hi All,

I received a letter from the Committee informing me of the outcome of their investigations to relocate the Melbourne Sale back to the Melbourne Show Grounds. According to their investigations our event is classified as a commercial activity and would result in hire charges being applied. (This point I actually believe to be true). In summary these charges are:
- $4500 for hall hire (2 days...Saturday @ 1/2 rate)...this is based on a $2/sq.m/day rate
- $1100 for cleaning services
- $45/hr security guard
- $10/day parking fee
- $10/trestle hire

Based on these figures the event would cost about $6000-$7,000. The Latrobe site costs them $1800 and they take about $2500 in income.

Personally i feel that if the Committee were serious about the relocation they would have been able to negotiate better rates for some of the items; ie $1100 for cleaning is ridiculous as is the $10/trestle hire. But on the surface of their information the Melbourne Show grounds appears too expensive.

This does not change the fundimental problem Mr Tino and I raised....the La Trobe site is too small and inappropriate. I beleive this is the main reason why the numbers attending the Melbourne have declined at the same time the Mornington, Geelong, Ballarat, etc have seen their numbers grow.

So for me this is the end of the road with this cause, as I firmly believe the Committee is too lazy to want to move from the La Trobe site. At the La Trobe site their only concern is to open/close the doors....no set up responsibilities, no cleaning, no bbq, etc, etc. I hope I'm wrong but I cannot see this sale lasting much longer.

Cheers
Paul

Is the hall really that big it needs a cleaning servce? after all the canberra sales a few of us stic around and go around with those big V-shaped broom things.....