Hibiscus Coast Photographic Society is a relatively new camera club, with humble beginnings, dating back roughly ten years under the initial chairmanship of Eben Appel and assisted by his wife Christine. Soon thereafter, Hazel Suttill and Angelique De Wet (now Benny) were voted onto the committee and the Hibiscus Coast Camera Club evolved.
When I joined the club, digital photography was in its infancy and we did not have the advantages of Photovault. Our isolation and the lack of members and judges resulted in us having to rely on outsiders to judge our images. These were burnt onto a CD, posted to Durban and the results often received only three months later. Fortunately Henry Oppel was periodically invited to our club to judge our images. Sometimes Mo Hope-Bailey would drive down from Durban after work, spend the evening judging, sleep over and depart at dawn in order to miss the traffic and get to work in time. How fortunate we were that both Mo and Henry gave so unselfishly of their time and talent and in 2010 Henry was awarded honorary life membership. Both Mo and Henry were without doubt two of the cornerstones of the foundation of our club.
In 2008/2009 a decision was taken by the committee to increase membership and every attempt was made to ignite the enthusiasm of the club members, With the assistance of the local newspapers and businesses, coupled with competitions and exhibitions our membership steadily increased. We changed out name to Hibiscus Coast Photographic Society, and found a stunning new venue. Our numbers soon increased to over 60 wonderful, talented members. In an effort to ensure that members’ images were displayed correctly we decided to purchase a new projector, computer and other equipment. In order to finance these, we organised and hosted our first very successful salon.
Kathy Kay (APSSA)
Chairperson
(Extract from: 2016 PSSA Congress brochure, page 2 – hosted by Hibiscus Coast Photographic Society, 10-12 June 2016)