A tribute to a generous supporter
In 2022 Bionics Institute was saddened to learn of the death of Miss Joyce Buckland.
Joy was a regular donor to the institute for many years and her generosity supported several ground-breaking research programs.
Joy’s friends and family described her as having endless energy and an appetite to learn and grow, which is perhaps why she was initially drawn to the innovative work of Professor Graeme Clark and the Bionics Institute.
We are so grateful that Joy’s generous spirit lives on through a significant Gift in Will, helping to sustain our life-changing research into the future.
Joy was born in Ballarat in 1931 and was the youngest of seven children.
During her childhood, Joy was very involved with the Brownies and Girl Guides, where she learnt valuable practical skills.
She later took up nursing and trained at Ballarat Base Hospital, continuing a placement there before moving to Melbourne where she trained as an orthopaedic nurse at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
As part of her nursing career, Joy had the opportunity to travel to the UK, which sparked a lifelong love of international travel.
She later moved to Geelong to take up a position in the children’s ward at Geelong Hospital, where she also cared for adult burn victims and became a well-respected educator, teaching nursing and later lecturing at Deakin University.
Joy became connected to the work of Professor Graeme Clark and the then Bionic Ear Institute through her sister, Ruth Morris, who was a teacher for deaf children in the 1970s, originally teaching in her back sunroom, before the establishment of Taralye school in Blackburn.
Professor Clark fondly remembered Ruth in a message to Joy when she made her first donation to the Bionic Ear Institute in 2001:
In appreciation for your help and in memory of Ruth Morris whom I knew well. I greatly appreciated her talents. Professor Graeme Clark
Joy had strong faith and values, always ready to help those less fortunate.
She was the niece of prominent Victorian philanthropist William Buckland and continued the family legacy of philanthropy, giving generously during her lifetime to many charities across the health and social welfare sectors, both in Australia and internationally.
We are honoured that Joy was a supporter of our research and that we are to be able to continue Joy’s legacy through this Gift in Will.
We would like to thank Joy’s family for helping us learn more about Joy’s life and, of course, Joy herself, for her continued generosity to the Bionics Institute, both during her lifetime and after her death.
She acted from the heart, keeping in mind the hearts of others. Friend of Joy Buckland
