Ian Potter
Sir Ian Potter | |
|---|---|
 Potter at the conferring of his honorary doctorate, 15 December 1973 | |
| Born | William Ian Potter July 25, 1902 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | October 24, 1994 (aged 92) Melbourne, Australia |
| Education | University of Sydney |
| Occupation |
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| Title |
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 daughters: Robin Potter and Carolyn Parker Bowles |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/ | Royal Australian Navy / Naval Auxiliary Patrol |
| Years of service | 1942-1946 |
| Rank | Staff Skipper (Sub Lieutenant) |
| Unit | HMAS Lonsdale, Port Melbourne |
| Commands held | HMAS Nordecia |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
Sir William Ian Potter (25 August 1902 – 24 October 1994) was an Australian stockbroker, businessman and philanthropist. The Ian Potter Foundation, which he established in 1964, has made grants to research institutes, charities, universities and arts organisations.
In 1962, he was knighted. In 1973, he received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Melbourne. Potter was the chairman of boards including the Australian Ballet, the Australian Opera and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. He was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1978.
He was survived by his fourth wife Lady (Primrose) Potter.[1] His daughter Caroly is married to Simon Betterman Parker Bowles, brother of Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, former husband of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Early life[]
Potter is the third child of James W. Potter and Maria Louisa Townsend McWhinnie, who was born in Glasgow in June 1869. Potter's parents married in Sydney in June 1899 then returned to England in 1903 with their three children. Returning to Sydney the Potter's lived in Mortdale and then Hurstville during which time Ian reportedly attended Fort Street High School.
According to Potter's World War 2 service records, Potter served as Lieutenant with the Australian Army's Citizens Military Forces (CMF) between 1920 and 1922.
Potter studied economics at the University of Sydney where he excelled graduating top of his year. Upon graduation Potter moved to Melbourne to take on a position as economist with stockbroker Edward Dyason, a successful mining entrepreneur and trained economist.
In 1933 Potter began an eighteen-month period as a Treasury economist in Canberra. This time was invaluable providing him an intimate knowledge of government finance. He also made many contacts in politics and the federal bureaucracy. Upon return to Melbourne in 1935 Potter established his own stockbroking firm, W.I. Potter, and the from 1937, Ian Potter & Co.
World War 2[]
Potter continued his business interest during the war while training for, and serving in, the Naval Auxiliary Patrol (NAP). Like many small motor vessel owners, Potter volunteered his own boat, the MV Nordecia, to the NAP. Nordecia was later commissioned as HMAS Nordecia carrying the bow number 624. Nordecia was fitted with a machine gun and depth charges.
Enlisting on 17 August 1942 Potter trained as a Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) cadet. He was commissioned as a Staff Skipper with substantive rank of Sub Lieutenant on 8 May 1944, and stationed at HMAS Lonsdale, Port Melbourne, until his discharge on 31 May 1946.
Following the war the members of the NAP established the Little Ship Club to maintain the skills acquired during their service. In 1949 King George VI approved warrants for the award by the Royal Navy of the Blue Ensign (Defaced) to the Little Ship Club, and to Potter's HMAS Nordecia as well as the San Vittoria and Mauranne, for service during the war. This is the only award of the Blue Ensign (Defaced) to an Australian boat club for wartime service. The Blue Ensign (Defaced) included a light blue coloured circle representing the dawn, within which a five pointed star represents the guiding star of their overnight patrols around Port Philip Bay.
Legacy[]
Institutions named after Sir Ian include:
- The Ian Potter Centre at Federation Square (part of the National Gallery of Victoria),
- The Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne,
- The Ian Potter Children's Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne.
- The Ian Potter Southbank Centre, Southbank, at the University of Melbourne
Honours and awards[]
- Knight Batchelor (Imperial), 1962
- War Medal 1939-45
- Australian Service Medal 1939-45
- Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, 1953
- Royal Order of the Polar Star (Sweden), 1983
- Honorary degree of doctor of laws by the University of Melbourne, 1973
- Honorary fellow of the Australian Stock Exchange, 1991,
- Honorary life member of the AETT, Australian Ballet Foundation, Australian Opera, and National Gallery of Victoria
References[]
- ^ National Library of Australia Bookshop; Retrieved 8 April 2013
Further reading[]
- "Ian Potter – A Biography: Financier, Philanthropist and Patron of the Arts", by Peter Yule. The Miegunyah Press (May 2006). ISBN 0-522-85252-1
- Australian Academy of Science biography
- Excerpt from Ian Potter - A Biography concerning his involvement with Melbourne University
External links[]
- 1902 births
- 1994 deaths
- Australian philanthropists
- Philanthropists from Melbourne
- Businesspeople from Melbourne
- Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science
- Australian Knights Bachelor
- 20th-century philanthropists