Pam Pogue inducted into GS Sports Hall of Fame

GVGS Director of Development, Mrs Pamela Pogue, has been inducted into the Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame. 

The induction recognises Mrs Pogue’s many decades of dedicated service and high-level involvement with a variety of sports across the Goulburn Valley and Victoria, as well as representing Australia.

Goulburn Valley Grammar School Principal, Mr Mark Torriero, said, “Mrs Pogue’s outstanding achievements and selfless contribution to community sporting organisations makes her an excellent role model for all – particularly our GVGS students.” 

Along with husband Gavin, who was an early president of the GVGS Parents and Friends Association, Mrs Pogue has had a long involvement with GVGS. She began working at School as Assistant to Development Officer Mrs Karin Heinz in 1988, and was appointed Director of Development in 2005. In 2017, she was recognised for 30 years of service to GVGS. The Pogues’ eldest three children – Cameron, Julienne and Tara (Class of 1987) – were among the School’s Foundation students in 1982, with youngest child Anna (Class of ’94) later following. Three of their grandchildren have carried on the tradition – Ashia Pogue (Class of 2017), Milla Pogue (Year 12) and Angus Walta (Year 6). 

While she is well-known for her long-standing involvement with the School, Mrs Pogue (née Teague) is equally as esteemed for her prowess and near-lifetime commitment as a triathlete and on the hockey field. 

Growing up at Katandra on the family farm with siblings Kevin, Geoff and Maree, Mrs Pogue played many sports during her school years at Katandra Primary School and Shepparton High School, and it was here she discovered the sport that became her lifetime passion – hockey.

While her children were growing up, Mrs Pogue worked part time and was Secretary of the Toolamba Recreation Reserve for 15 years, also teaching aerobics in the evening at Toolamba and Mooroopna for 14 years. She continued playing hockey and tennis alongside her daughters, and was involved across administration, coaching and umpiring. 

A talented hockey player, Mrs Pogue represented the Goulburn Valley and State of Victoria for 40 years. She was formally recognised for her contribution to GV hockey through Life Memberships of the Shepparton Women’s Hockey Association and Strikers Hockey Club. 

In 1990, Mrs Pogue joined the Shepparton Triathlon Club. She competed in Olympic Distance Triathlons at national level, going on to represent Australia in the 1996 World Triathlon Championships in Cleveland, USA, and later in the World Triathlon Championships in Perth. She enjoyed competing in triathlons across the Goulburn Valley in Shepparton, Benalla and Echuca, and further afield at Yackandandah, Portarlington and Melbourne. She has also contributed to the Triathlon Club as a committee member, and was secretary from 1996 to 2002.

In the lead-up to the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, Mrs Pogue was selected as an official torchbearer, after having been nominated for both her outstanding athletic achievements and selfless contribution to numerous sporting organisations. 

Mr and Mrs Pogue, who married in 1966, have lived at Toolamba since 1976, having previously lived at Bunbartha. They both keep fit by regularly swimming, riding their bikes around the countryside and going to the gym. 

Mr Torriero said, “The GS Sports Hall of Fame has some well-known faces in Australian and local sport. Mrs Pamela Pogue is a highly deserving new inductee, and we, at GVGS, are very proud of this recognition for her.”