Joy Potter

Joy Potter grew up in the city and was introduced to farming life by her first husband. They made a home together at Barwidgee in Caramut, south-west Victoria. As well as learning the ropes from her new in-laws, Joy was introduced to the Royal Melbourne Show, where her mother-in-law exhibited Angus cattle and her two brothers-in-law were councillors of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV).

After the death of her first husband, Joy became actively involved with RASV through her second marriage to Bob Potter. When Bob became a councillor in 1982, Joy was asked if she would become a steward in the Show’s Beef Cattle and Art, Craft & Cookery Competitions. She happily took up the opportunity and has spent over 35 years volunteering as a steward. Joy recalls:

We’d come down about a week before the Show started and we’d be here going through all the entries and checking them, putting them in different areas. Those friendships have continued right through, it’s been amazing.

When Bob became President of RASV, Joy found herself with even more responsibilities, assisting Bob in his role. During the Show week, they would both be running in different directions, making sure everything was operating as needed. ‘It was very full on for all those things that you found you were needed to do’, Joy recalls. While he worked hard to get funding for the much-needed redevelopment, Bob passed away before the state government funding came through. Joy, however, witnessed the whole redevelopment and was asked to become a director on the newly formed RASV Board. As a director of RASV, Joy helped to develop strategies and goals for RASV to work towards. As Joy puts it, ‘you have to make some good, sound decisions for what we can manage to do and what we can do in the future, and to keep the Show viable’.

As well as looking towards the future of the Show, Joy was also a founding member of the Heritage Committee, committed to preserving the long and rich history of the Show and RASV. Looking back at decades of involvement with the Show and RASV, Joy feels grateful to have been a part of such an important institution. ‘I was very, very honoured to be made an honorary life member of RASV’, she reflects. Joy passed away in July 2019.