Our Society was formed at Ringwood in May 1955 as the Ringwood Aquarium Society, with Mr. A. Cameron as inaugural President and Cyril Callam as Secretary. Meetings were held monthly at the Ringwood town Hall.    

 

In 1958 the meeting place was relocated to a room in the Box Hill Club and the name changed to the Eastern Districts Aquarium Society in line with a plan to have Western, Northern and Eastern Societies under the umbrella of the central Aquarium Society of Victoria.

 

In 1959 a further change was made when the club moved to St. Peter's Church of England Hall in Whitehorse Road, Box Hill.

 After the move, St. Peter's hall caught fire in December1967, and all the club's equipment including the library was destroyed.

 

The committee room of the Infant Welfare Centre was made available for the Society by the Box Hill Council as a temporary measure, but the space allocated proved inadequate for the growing numbers attending.

 

In January 1972 meetings were held in the new Ringwood Library meeting rooms.1973 saw the formation of the Federation of Victorian Aquarium Societies, with  EDAS president, Mr. Graeme  Moulden, elected as president of the newly formed body.

 

Further expansion required relocation to the C. L. Willis Room at the Nunawading Civic Centre, the first meeting being held there on May 1st. 1973.

 

March 1978 saw EDAS instigate, and co-host the first Aqualife Exhibition, held at the Moorabbin Technical College, with over 10,000 people attending. Over the next decade EDAS used its special mobile display to stage exhibitions in four other locations.

 

Yet another move became necessary in January 1991 when the Willis Room became temporarily unavailable due to renovations. The Society moved to Eley Road Community Centre in  Blackburn South. Meetings were held here until the end of 1995 when the Willis Room again became available.

 

The Willis Room has been our home ever since with occasional transfers to the Nunawading Arts Precinct (Waratah room) as further renovations  were carried out. The Waratah Room is still used  for special features such as Auctions and the Fish Fair that EDAS stages throughout the year.  IN 2010 we enter a new phase of operation with convergence commenced with the Aquarium Society of Victoria. The two clubs paralleling, with meetings alternated between the two clubs.  In  2020 the Whitehorse Arts Precinct was demolished to make way for a new performing arts centre and a new location for our twice yearly auctions was sought. As of Nov. 2020 no suitable venue has been located.

Patrons

Mr. Ron Bowman*  and   Mr Heinz Staude*

 

Life Members

Mr. and Mrs. R. Lord* Mr. A. McHarry* Mr. and Mrs. J. Hammer* Mr. G. Moulden   Mr. R. Crawford* Mr.     R. Lee  Mr. R. Ashford* Mr. and Mrs. R. Turner Mr. A. Caughey Mr. P. McDonald Mr. E. Tootell Mr. N. Armstrong Mr. D. Maddock  Mr. J.Cousins Mr. L.Sabin Mr. J. Reeves Mr. D Thorn

1968 1968 1972 1976 1981 1981 1981 1983 1989 2000 2004 2010 2011 2016 2019 2019 2019 *Denotes deceased

 

Past Presidents

A. Cameron*  C. Callam*   R. Lord* A. McHarry* J. Anderson*  P. Chattaway R. Lord* G. Moulden C. Bicheno* R. Turner* R. Lee  R. Ashford* R. Turner* A. Caughey E. Brown R. Crawford * S. Gilbert (Ms) L. McFadden  G. Moulden  L. Sabin D. Thorn J. Reeves D.Thorn J.Reeves J.Maitland  J.Reeves J. Cousins

1955 - 57 1957 - 60 1960 - 62 1962 - 64 1964 - 65 1965 - 67 1967 - 70 1970 - 73 1973 - 74 1974 - 76 1976 - 79 1979 - 81 1981 - 84 1984 - 87 1987 - 88 1988 - 91 1991 - 94 1994 - 96 1996 - 98 1998 - 2000 2000 - 2003 2003 - 2006 2006 - 2009 2009 - 2012 2012 - 2015 2015 - 2018 2018 - 2021