Hi Peter, Glenn & All,
I wasn't there but from your description, I'd put a lot of money on the speaker being Scott Mellish -- an ASNSW mainstay, master deep sky observer, talented eyepiece sketch artist and all-round good egg. One of Scott's passions is the Hickson galaxy goups which are all very compact, mainly quite faint galaxy groups.
There are 100 exactly in the list and they are somewhat weighted to the northern hemisphere. Many are either lowish in the north or over the horizon for us. If you are an experienced observer with a dark sky and +12" 'scope (better +16"), they are some of the best fun you can have with your daks on.
I've seen about twenty-odd of the groups, and my favourites are Hickson 48 (Hya) and 44 (Leo).
Here is a full listing:
http://www.deep-sky.co.uk/observing/...s/hicklist.htm
Best,
Les D