Person

Potter, William Ian (Ian) (1902 - 1994)

Kt FAA

Born
25 August 1902
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died
24 October 1994
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Company director, Philanthropist and Economist
Alternative Names
  • Potter, Ian (Also known as)

Summary

Sir Ian Potter was a stockbroker and financier who was the Principal Partner in Ian Potter & Co. 1935-1967. He was highly influential in financial affairs in a wide range of activities. In the period after WWII he was adept at raising capital for industrial expansion. In the international sphere he was the Commonwealth representative at the Conference on Rural Debt Adjustment (1934 - 1935), Australian Member of the War Reparation Council, and represented Australia at World Bank meetings in the 1950s and 1960s. Philanthropy was a sphere in which Potter was particularly active. In 1964 he established the Ian Potter Foundation which distributes millions of dollars in grants each year. Beneficiaries have included the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, The Australian Academy of Science, CSIRO, the Zoological Board of Victoria, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Birdlife Australia (formerly The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union) and a number of medical institutions. He was instrumental on persuading the Australian Government to allow tax deductibility for charitable donations. In retirement he devoted his time to arts and cultural organisations.

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Details

Chronology

1928
Education - BEc, University of Sydney
1929 - 1933
Career position - Economist with stockbroker Edward Dyason
1933
Career position - Private Secretary to Richard Casey, Assistant Minister, Australian Department of Treasury
1933 - 1935
Career position - Economist, Australian Department of Treasury
1934 - 1935
Career position - Delegate, Conference on Rural Debt Adjustment
1935 - 1967
Career position - Founder and Principal Partner, Ian Potter & Co.
1940 - 1943
Career position - Served with the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve
1947 - 1953
Career position - Inaugural Treasurer, National Gallery Society of Victoria
1951 - 1971
Career position - Member of Council, University of Melbourne
1962
Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt) - for public service
1963 - 1971
Career position - Director, Howard Florey Laboratories
1964
Career event - Founded the Ian Potter Foundation
1971 - 1994
Career position - Director, Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine
1973
Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne
1978 - 1994
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
1983
Award - Knight First Class, Royal Order of the Polar Star, Sweden
1991 - 1994
Award - Honorary Fellow, Australian Stock Exchange

Published resources

Books

  • Vale, Peter; Montagnana-Wallace, Neil; Davies, Matt; and Weir, Avalee, The Ian Potter Foundation, 50 years: looking back, reaching forward ( [Preston, Vic.]: Bounce Books, 2014), 81 pp. Details
  • Yule, Peter, Ian Potter: a biography (Carlton, Vic.: Miegunyah Press, 2006), 429 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Glezer, Leon, 'Sir Ian Potter and his generation' in Australian financiers, biographical essays, Appleyard, R. T. and Schedvin, C. B., eds (South Melbourne: Macmillan, 1988), pp. 401-26. Details
  • Yule, Peter, 'Potter, Sir William Ian (1902-1994), financier, philanthropist, and patron of the arts' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 19: 1991 - 1995 A-Z, Melanie Nolan, ed. (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2021), pp. 683-685, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/potter-sir-william-ian-19778. Details

Journal Articles

Resources

Digital resources

Title
William Ian Potter
Type
Image

Details

Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn

Created: 12 March 1998, Last modified: 23 August 2023

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