Long before hashtags and social media streams, women like Shayne McCormack and Diane Marchant and Susan Batho built fandom as family: through letters, zines, and acts of solidarity that brought together a global network.
Long-time Star Trek fan Sue Batho introduces the background of Star Trek fandom in Australia:
“Star Trek was first shown in Australia in July 1967. It always rated well in Sydney, although not so well elsewhere. In 1968, GTV-9 (Melbourne) and NWS-9 (Adelaide) cancelled it due to poor ratings. However, they were forced to reinstate it after an avalanche of protest letters, spearheaded by a member of the Australian Star Trek Fan Club, based in Melbourne.
“The Australian Star Trek Fan Club was founded in 1968 by John Stepkowski of Melbourne as a result of publicity given to his efforts to save Star Trek after NBC in America cancelled it after its second season. As a result of such fan activity in America, the series was renewed. The ASTFC began with a membership of 98 and grew to 300 members by 1970. However, by then it had become rather inactive and ceased soon after.” – Batho, 1998.
It would therefore appear that the first formalised Star Trek fandom in Australia was born in Melbourne, but did not last long, and Stepkowski seems to have been lost to history. Star Trek briefly returned to Melbourne screens via ATV-0 (later Channel 10) in 1970, with Channel 9 quickly reclaiming its licensing option. In the early 1980s, HSV-7 also showed Star Trek, making it possibly the first TV franchise to appear on all three local commercial TV networks.
The history of Star Trek fandom (and aspects of Austrek history) correspond closely to the observations of Sue Kisenwhether:
“For nearly as long as there has been Star Trek, there have been stereotypes of Star Trek fans, as unflattering as they are false. The average Trekkie – or Trekker, if you prefer – is thought to be young (generally under 25), male, socially awkward, and unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. But in fact, the driving force behind Star Trek and Star Trek fandom – and modern science-fiction fandom in general – has always been women…
“By 1986, it’s estimated that close to 10,000 fans, predominantly women, had created over 30,000 Trek-related works (art, fiction, song, or otherwise), mostly appearing in fanzines. And as the fan community migrated to the internet in the mid- to late-1980s, so did the zines… “
This is not to say that only women were involved in Star Trek fandom, but that this fandom introduced many women to science fiction, and science fiction to many women. They took on roles within clubs and conventions – within the entire genre – that traditionally had been undertaken solely by men. In Australia, many women took up the call to be involved in this fandom. Two early fans helped lead the way for many others:
“Star Trek was finally cancelled after its third season in 1969 and Fans in America and Australia combined together to protest the cancellation. July 28, 1969 was designated Deluge Monday when everyone worldwide would phone NBC or write letters timed to arrive on that day. One of the organisers was Susan Smith (later Clarke)[now Batho], then a schoolgirl in Sydney’s Blacktown. Plans were made to combine local fans under Shayne McCormack, a stenographer from Auburn.
“Shayne was interviewed about her activities in TV Times in March of that year. As a result, she received over 75 letters from people wanting to help. This led to her forming D.U.S.K. (Down Under Space Kooks). The petition she helped organise measured 8 feet and contained over 2,200 signatures. D.U.S.K. published a fanzine, Terran Times, and organised irregular meetings and social outings before folding around 1970.” – Batho, 1998.
The first issue of Terran Times was published in October 1970. It would prove to be the first of hundreds of issues of Star Trek zines published in Australia.
Bruce Gillespie notes that Shayne’s activism began to impact the wider Australian SF community:
“… it was Shayne McCormack who became the first female fannish recruit of the 1970s. She and Sabina Heggie attended the 1970 Easter Convention. They were the first Star Trek fans to make contact with the mainstream of fandom. Sabina disappeared after a year or two, but Shayne began to publish some excellent fanzines. With Bob Smith, she organised Syncon II in 1972. It was the first hotel convention held in Australia, and was a great success, showing that a world convention could be held in Australia. By 1975, about half of the members of Aussiecon I were women.”
Meanwhile, Susan Batho, formerly Susan Smith-Clarke, was an influential member of the Australian science fiction community. Alongside Shayne, Nikki, Julie, Edwina and others, she established one of Austrek’s sister clubs, ASTREX. Susan wrote and produced numerous fanzines, and she chaired many conventions. Sue remains a friend and colleague of mine to this day.
While Sydney fans were running their first club, a Melbourne fan named Diane Marchant became involved down here:
“I was going through a bad time. My sister died and Mum was very ill. I was just coping, going to work, looking after Mum, eating and sleeping. The TV was permanently on in the background.
When Star Trek first came on it didn’t really register, but after a couple of weeks I found I was waiting for it to start every week.
Then I read in a magazine that five women in the USA were forming the Star Trek fan club.
I wrote to them and so became a founding member.” – Diane Marchant, quoted in 1978.
In 1972, Diane became the Australian representative – and for many years, the world representative outside of the USA – for the Star Trek Welcommittee, comprising fandom’s main information exchange to help fans connect with each other, and assisting newbies to find fellow fans, local fan clubs, fanzines, and conventions. In the in the days before the Internet and other modern digital social media, Diane’s pen pal exchange became vital in Australian Star Trek fandom.
Shayne, Diane, Susan, and many others helped to build the Australian Star Trek community.
Austrek New Year’s Day Party, 1 January 1979
In 2025, an early member of Austrek, Russ, accompanied me to an Austrek meeting, where we gave a talk on the club’s early days. During our talk, I showed an old photo of an Austrek party on New Year’s Day in 1979 – full of mainly young people having fun. The modern Austrek audience gasped at the photo, and someone exclaimed, “But there’s so many women!” Russ and I exchanged puzzled looks. Yeah, so?
The reality is that much of Star Trek fandom over the decades has featured women as leaders, committee members of clubs or conventions, authors of fan fiction, editors of fanzines, and much, much more. I recall early Austrek members who were a part of my childhood: Tessie, who graciously car pooled to provide free transport for many young fans; Elley, who provided a safe space for them to crash overnight or to enjoy alcohol-free all-weekend science fiction parties; Sue and Joan and Mandy and Helen and Katharine and Linda and Kathleen and Betty and Gail, who all wrote fan fiction, created artwork, or edited fanzines; Carol and Carol and Julie and Alison and Linda and Sharon and Jan, who served on committees; Majorie, who ran club charities. Plus many, many others.
This is not to say that men were not involved – of course we were. But in Austrek and in other clubs across Australia and around the world, fandom gave women opportunities for leadership, empowerment and active involvement. They made a difference in their own lives, and in the lives of others.
That was truly going where no man had gone before.
References:
Author Unknown, “Australian Fanzine Database: 1939 to 1975”, June 2010. p. 17 (Fanac).
Susan Batho (uncredited), “Star Trek Fandom in Australia”, the National Library of Australia, 20 May 1998 (archived on Wayback Machine 23 April 1999).
Bruce Gillespie, “The elder ghods, the johnny come lately, and the babes in arms; Fan Guest of Honour Speech, Aussiecon Three, 2 September 1999”, in Irwin Hirsh (ed.), The Incompleat Bruce Gillespie, 2004, p. 14.
Sue Kisenwhether, “A Brief Herstory of Women in Trek Fandom”, Journey Planet #42, pp. 5 & 6.
Eric Scott, “Carry on Trekking!” in TV Times, 8 July 1978, p. 36 (interview with Diane Marchant).
