HLWW: A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME…

From Australia to the UK, from America to Canada, from the skyscrapers of Los Angeles to the banks of the River Seine… how the ‘Highlander’ community evolved over time…

Highlander Down-Under, an Australian-based fan-organisation, held conventions in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia between 1997 – 2003. Those ‘HLDU‘ events established the standards fans came to expect and quickly became known as the cons at which almost all participants knew everybody else’s name – or would soon.  The events would lean towards discussion and participation and feature panels, workshops, displays, competitions, merchandise and much more (including get-togethers, meet-and-greets and a ceilidh).  From the outset, the idea was not just a celebration of a common interest, but active participation where attendees could meet people from all over the world, talk with the guests of honour, not merely see them from afar.

Over the years, the attendance of the HLDU events grew, as did the invited guests, with many guests eagerly returning again and again. Over the years, the guests of Honour included major Highlander stars and behind the scenes personnel: Adrian Paul, Bill Panzer, Peter Davis, Ken Gord, David Abramowitz Peter Wingfield, Jim Byrnes, Elizabeth Gracen, Valentine Pelka, Anthony De Longis, James Horan, Gillian Horvath, Donna Lettow, Roger Bellon, Don Paonessa as well as authors Maureen Russell and John Mosby (the latter of whom became the regular emcee for events).

The Highlander WorldWide Conventions…

Though initially founded for Australian fans, it became clear over time that HLDU‘s membership was spread across the globe and with the organisation working closely with Davis-Panzer, a reputation for quality and far-reaching inclusion was being established.

During the weekend of the Los Angeles Walkabout Workshop in February, 2004, Highlander Down-Under announced that through co-operation with Davis-Panzer, the fan-club would be formally changed its name… becoming Highlander WorldWide, the officially-endorsed fan-club of the franchise.

The first event thereafter as HLWW was the France Tour in October of the same year. The first full convention under the new banner was HLWW6 (continuing the count from HLDU years), held in April/May of 2005 in beautiful Sydney, Australia.

HLWW7 (‘A Call to Arms‘) took place in Leeds, England – the organisation’s first foray into European locations and, appropriately, most of the panels took place at the city’s famous Royal Armouries with guests and attendees surrounded by examples of weapons from throughout the ages. We were especially pleased to welcome Bill Panzer to our event, a rare appearance by one of the key-players of Highlander and his last event before his untimely death in 2007.

HLWW8 (‘Homecoming‘) whisked guests and attendees off to Vancouver, the Canadian city in which a large amount of the Highlander television series had been shot between 1992 and 1997. As well as many of the cast and crew, we were also joined by comic-book writer Brandon Jerwa who was the writer for Dynamite Entertainment‘s Highlander comic series. (We were also pleased to welcome Peter Davis to the event, an unofficial guest who was able to join us and observe proceedings and who gave his personal stamp of approval).

HLWW9 (‘Sanctuary‘) returned the event to Los Angeles and saw the most expansive line-up of guests that HLWW had offered, with so many people who had contributed in one way or another to the show’s success…

In 2017, Highlander WorldWide celebrated the tweenty-fifth anniversary of the start of the tv series at ‘The Gathering’ back in Los Angeles.

The largest event the fan-club had organised saw a huge audience and a record-number of guests, including… Adrian Paul, Jim Byrnes, Elizabeth Gracen Stan Kirsch, David Abramowitz, Gillian Horvath, Donna Lettow, James Horan, Ken Gord, F. Braun McAsh, Anthony DeLongis, Don Paonessa, Richard Martin, Morrie Ruvinsky, Clay Borris, Joe Pearson and Daryl Kyle.

The event involved panels, workshops and masterclasses hosted by the guests.

Sadly, this would be the last full convention for mainstays Stan Kirsch, Don Paonessa and fan-organiser and writer John Bierly, who all passed away within a few years of the event.

Though the COVID Pandemic of 2020 and the rising cost of events made this the last full-on physical convention organised by HLWW, the tradition would continue with online events…