It all began with the discovery, in 2017, that the current Club work shed and kiln shed were located on the neighbouring lot and needed to be moved. This led to a long process of negotiation with the Melville City Council regarding what form a replacement facility should take. An enthusiastic and persistent working party led by Barrie-Anne Morgan lobbied local politicians, drafted plans, made a formal presentation to a full Council meeting and spent long hours in discussion with representatives of the Council who were assigned to the project. What began as a ‘like-for-like’ replacement of the old sheds has morphed into a state of the art facility that will serve the needs of the Club and act as a community arts and crafts hub for many years.

Construction began on September 22nd, 2021 with completion of the building and handover in September 2022. Since then the building has been the beating heart of the South of the River Potters’ Club. The studio is used daily by Club members and many hundreds of students have enjoyed it’s facilities during pottery classes. It has seen exhibitions and master-classes by local and overseas ceramicists and has become a focus for the arts community of the City of Melville.

All of this activity came to an abrupt halt in April, 2026, when a catastrophic fire caused major damage to the studio building and necessitated it’s temporary closure while repairs could be made.

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