Our People
10 May, 2026
As I Remember - Joy Wheeler
FEW people can say they’ve seen the Queen in person—let alone four times—but for Ararat’s Joy Wheeler, those moments are just part of a rich life story shaped by family, community and a love of simple pleasures.
Growing up on a farm at Elmhurst, Joy’s early years were filled with both hard work and happy memories. Joy’s love of music and singing began at an early age, in between helping with jobs such as hand turning the milk separator, feeding calves and chooks. It was also Joy’s job every Saturday afternoon as the eldest to two little brothers, to bake the dessert for Sunday’s lunch. Whenever the hay needed bailing or milking at weekends, ‘the kids would just hop in. They’d say ‘you kids come and help’ and we just did.’
It was in 1954, on the occasion of the electricity being connected and ‘turned on’ in Elmhurst that Joy has fond recollections of a concert at the Elmhurst Hall, of which she was a part. The policeman’s wife organised it and this is what Joy credits with the beginning of her love of singing. There were also costumes and she remembers all of the girls in her class wearing pastel-coloured clothes whilst they sang ‘Anchors Away.’ This concert was followed by, as all community gatherings were, by a large supper with cakes and sweets. Joy tells of the coffee and tea being brewed in ‘big cans’ to serve everyone with.
Faith has also been a constant in Joy’s life. With an Anglican mother and a Methodist father, Sundays were always spent at church—another place where her love of music could flourish.
As a young girl, Joy had long curly hair which she wore in ringlets. This was until she was due to have her tonsils removed and for a reason she cannot recall, it was decided she needed to have her hair cut before the operation. This took a few attempts as Joy was ‘too upset to have to have it cut.’
Joy’s first three sightings of the Queen also came in 1954 when she was in grade 6 at Elmhurst Primary School. The first was with the students from Elmhurst when they were taken to Ballarat for their experience of seeing the Queen. Then, Joy’s mother and a relative made the decision to try and catch a sighting by driving right into the city to Government House. They did see her and Joy says she can still vividly remember seeing the Queen ‘in the car with all of the lights shining.’ The trio then slept in their car out at the Essendon Airport that night in order to catch their second (Joy’s third) sighting, as the Queen boarded her airplane the next morning.
Upon graduation from Elmhurst Primary School, it was time for Joy to take the bus into Ararat College (Ararat High School at that time). This was where Joy was able to pursue her love of music with weekly piano lessons at a house opposite the school at lunchtimes with Miss Sing. She also enjoyed the girls marching practices and playing softball. For many things the boys and girls were separated, including ‘cookery’ for the girls whilst the boys did ‘tech things.’ Joy also learnt to sew at school: they did needlework and cross-stitch. She continued this skill and has created embroidered pieces for each of her grandchildren’s 21st birthdays over the years.
Joy fondly recalls learning to knit from her mother, along with happy memories of trips to Melbourne to visit aunts and uncles. “It was special, because she would just take me,” she says. Time spent one-on-one with her father was just as meaningful, especially when she accompanied him to Melbourne for meetings.
“It was a treat to go to Myers—I can still picture going up the escalator.”
Joy explains the Ararat College girl’s school uniforms of that time: a navy tunic with white shirt and a tie. ‘We had a hat, too. We were not allowed out of the gate without that on.’ For Physical Education, there was a pale blue uniform, of which the skirt length was measured by asking the girls to kneel so that it could be checked. She also remembers that the teachers had to dress to a high standard, they wore ‘suits and dressy clothes.’
As a teenager, Joy remembers they kept scrapbooks with magazine pictures pasted in of their favourite film stars of the time: Elizabeth Taylor and Katherine Hepburn among others. Attending the movies in Ararat was also a fun occasion as were the occasions there were movies shown at the Town Hall.
Joy finished her secondary schooling and then went on to do her nursing training in Stawell. This led to a position in Wangaratta in the midwifery ward on night shifts for 12 months. She recalls many very busy nights, at times there were ‘two or three babies born a night. I thoroughly enjoyed it.’
On returning to Ararat, Joy married and raised her three children, and for a time worked at Jack and Jill Kindergarten. She later became a teacher’s aide at Ararat West, where she has especially fond memories of one particular student who became “part of the family.” Joy continued supporting him when he moved on to Ararat Secondary College.
Her fourth Queen sighting was in 1970, again at an airport, this time in Swan Hill with a friend. To complete the tale, Joy later in life has travelled to Buckingham Palace and was in awe of the ‘grand, sweeping staircase and the magnificent gardens.’ Although this visit took place during the Queen’s lifetime, there was no fifth sighting, as Her Majesty was not in residence at the time.
A lifetime of enjoying ‘being outside’ has fed Joy’s love of gardening. It is now very different to garden in town with reliable water when compared to the reliance on tanks when she was at Elmhurst. When Joy and Harry built their home on a ‘bare block’ and Joy took inspiration from her father-in-law to begin their garden. It is now flourishing, something she and Harry continue to work on together and the blooms are testament to their care.
Joy has made a significant contribution to her community over many years. She has served as president of the Probus Club, been a member of the (then) Technical School Board, and held the role of Retirement Village president. She has also been an active member of Sing Australia, volunteered with Red Cross emergency catering, and worked as a scribe for the Ararat Eisteddfod. In addition, she has been deeply involved with the Ararat Musical Comedy Society (now ARTS), contributing as a director, manager, leading lady and cast member in numerous productions.
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